Friday(4/28) is Arbor Day, a day set aside to appreciate the many things trees provide us in our lives.
The state designates this week as Forest Appreciation Week as a lead up to Friday's Arbor Day observance. Jeff Roe is the DNR's urban forestry team leader. In honor of Arbor Day, the Division of Forestry donated 33,000 tree seedlings to Wisconsin fourth-grade classrooms to help young people learn about the important role trees play in Wisconsin's natural beauty and economy. Roe says events are going on around the state.
Roe says urban forests have drawn attention as many communities have ash trees that are the target of the invasive species the Emerald Ash Borer.
Wisconsin is second in the nation for Tree City USA communities. To qualify as a Tree City USA community, you must meet four standards established by the Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of State Foresters.
Roe says overall the number of trees in Wisconsin is growing....
"..the state and private businesses and entities and property owners have been planting have been doing enhanced and proper forest management for many years, so the number of forested acres have been going up for a number of years. In urban areas there's a large planting effort. I would say the tree numbers are necessarily going up with things like Emerald Ash Borer reducing numbers in some areas but overall, yes, tree numbers are going up...."
Forestry officials say the 17 million acres of state forests provide nearly 65,000 Wisconsin jobs and contribute more than $24 billion annually to the state's economy along with recreation.
