Time is running short for Michigan communities, college campuses and utilities seeking Tree City, Tree Campus or Tree Line USA designation. Interested? Apply or contact the DNR by the end of the year.

These annual programs are sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation and administered by forestry agencies in each state. Applicants must meet criteria established by the foundation, which can be found online at arborday.org/programs/.

Specifically, communities wishing to be certified as a Tree City USA must have met these standards during 2018:

• A tree board or department responsible for public tree management.
• A public tree ordinance.
• A tree-care program and annual budget of at least $2 per capita.
• An Arbor Day observance and formal proclamation.

This program began in 1976 as a bicentennial project to promote tree planting in urban areas and call attention to the economic, health and aesthetic benefits trees provide.

“Michigan has seen a steady increase in the number of communities, utilities and, most recently, college campuses being certified,” said Kevin Sayers, the DNR's urban forestry program coordinator. “Last year, 117 communities, two utilities and five campuses achieved designations.”

Michigan currently ranks ninth among all states in total number of certified communities. They range in size from the village of Richland (fewer than 1,000 residents) to the city of Detroit (nearly 700,000 residents).

Online and paper application materials for Tree City USA are available at: arborday.org/programs/treecityusa/.

Send completed paper applications to DNR, Forest Resources Division, P.O. Box 30452, Lansing, MI 48909.

Questions? Contact Kevin Sayers at 517-284-5898.