SRES 187

Whereas Arbor Day was founded on April 10, 1872, to recognize the importance of planting trees;

Whereas Arbor Day is a time to recognize the importance of trees and an opportunity for communities to gather and plant for a greener future;

Whereas Arbor Day is observed in all 50 States and across the world;

Whereas participating in Arbor Day activities promotes civic participation and highlights the importance of planting and caring for trees and vegetation;

Whereas Arbor Day activities provide an opportunity to convey to future generations the value of land and stewardship;

Whereas working forests have contributed to an increase in the number of trees planted in the United States and are sustainably managed, with less than 2 percent of working forests nationally harvested each year;

Whereas a key factor in preventing forest conversion and deforestation is keeping forests productive;

Whereas working forests are a critical part of a nature-based solution to climate change, and by providing a continuous cycle of growing, harvesting, and replanting, active forest management maximizes the ability to sequester and store carbon and improves forest resilience;

Whereas private forests play an important role in conserving at-risk and declining species, and collaborative conservation efforts can benefit species while also helping to keep forests as forests;

Whereas sustainably grown wood can be used in a wide variety of resilient infrastructure and building applications—from traditional timber framing to high-tech mass timber—and as a natural, renewable, and biodegradable material, the significant use of wood building materials in buildings and bridges helps decrease global carbon emissions;

Whereas the Arbor Day Foundation and the Tree City USA program have been committed to greening cities and towns across the country since 1976, and, in that time, more than 3,500 communities have made the commitment to becoming Tree City USA communities;

Whereas Tree City USA communities are home to more than 47 percent of individuals in the United States, who are dedicated to core standards of sound urban forestry management and who dedicate resources and time to urban forestry initiatives, which helps make their communities and our country a better place to live;

Whereas National Arbor Day is observed on the last Friday of April each year; and

Whereas April 25, 2025, marks the 153rd anniversary of Arbor Day: Now, therefore, be it