There has been a lot of news on actions of the new Trump Administration to reshape the federal government. The Benicia Tree Foundation belongs to the non-partisan Sustainable Urban Forests Coalition (SUFC) which unites groups representing the tree care and horticulture industry, professional associations like arborists, as well as affiliated nonprofit organizations that support trees growing in our cities. SUFC recently sent a letter to President Trump asking him to support two federal programs that work, the Urban and Community Forestry Program and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) which are both run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Every year, the Urban and Community Forestry Program serves nearly 7,500 communities and over 200 million people in all 50 states helping to maintain and protect approximately 12 billion trees. This federal program leverages state and local funds for urban forestry and generates over one million volunteer hours each year for tree care. In addition, there are tens of thousands of job opportunities to support the urban forests in communities across the country —jobs that cannot be shipped elsewhere.
The APHIS combats the increasing numbers of insects and disease pathogens introduced from abroad that attack our urban forests. Municipal governments across the U.S. are spending an estimated $2 billion each year to remove trees on city property due to pest infestations. Featured photo is of street trees in Boulder Colorado attacked by the emerald ash borer, a pest inadvertently introduced from Asia. Homeowners spend an additional $1 billion to remove and replace trees on their properties and are absorbing an additional $1.5 billion in reduced property values. Without APHIS, these costs would be much higher.
APHIS prevents introductions pests and responds rapidly to those that occur. Effective protection of urban forests requires strengthening APHIS’ enforcement policies and enhancing resources devoted to containing emerging outbreaks.
The Urban and Community Forestry Program and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service are two federally-sponsored activities that warrant additional federal investment.