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ANCHORAGE RECOGNIZED NATIONALLY AS “TREE CITY”
City meets four standards to win award
The Municipality of Anchorage Assembly Vice-Chair Shelia Selkregg and the Alaska State Division of Forestry were on hand at Russian Jack Springs Park today to receive the distinguished Tree City, USA award.
The Municipality of Anchorage received national recognition by being named a Tree City, USA for the second time by the National Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters. The Tree City, USA program recognizes cities and towns that have provided an outstanding example for other communities by taking care of the urban forest resource.
“Anchorage is taking a lead role in the State by hiring Alaska’s first Municipal Forester position,” says Anchorage Assembly Vice-Chair Shelia Selkregg. “I am proud to join with cities across the nation to recognize the importance of our community forest to future generations.”
Anchorage joins Wasilla, Juneau, Sitka, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Fort Richardson and Fort Wainwright as Tree City USA for 2008. The Municipality would also like to recognize Chugach Electric Association for their commitment as a Tree Line USA company for nine years.
For a city to earn the distinguished Tree City, USA award, four standards must be met on an annual basis:
1. Tree Board or Department. The Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department is responsible for the care and management of the community's trees in parkland and road rights-of-ways. The Municipality has four International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborists that provide professional guidance on planting and maintaining our urban tree resource.
2. Local tree ordinance. The Anchorage Municipal Code Title 21 provides our city guidance on tree planting and retention for all public and private development. The Municipality’s citizen appointed Urban Design Commission has regulatory authority over public facility landscape plans. This Commission meets monthly to review public facility landscape plans and make recommendations on the design and implementation of new landscapes.
3. Spend $2 per capita. The Parks and Recreation Department annually spends $360,000 on maintaining trees in parks and road rights-of-ways. The Municipality spent $1.8 million for landscape improvements associated with road improvement projects in 2007. Based on the 2007 Census Estimate of 283,823 people, Anchorage invested $7.62 per person to care for and improve the urban forest resource.
4. Promote Arbor Day. Alaska’s Arbor Day is May 19. Join the Municipality of Anchorage, the Anchorage School District and the Anchorage Garden Club for a tree planting at Rabbit Creek Elementary School.
The Municipality of Anchorage celebrates partnership contributions to this award from the USDA State and Private Forestry, Anchorage School District King Career Center Forestry Class and University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service
Anchorage TREErific, a local community group with a mission “to enrich our community through the planting, caring and promotion of trees’ will award their first annual ‘Certificates of Recognition’ to three community establishments that have enhanced Anchorage with their exceptional use of landscaping and/or preservation of natural vegetation. The three recipients are: Arctic Office Products, The BP Energy Center, and the University of Alaska Anchorage.
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