Tree City USA
DEC staff assisting a western
New York Tree City
Tree City USA is a program sponsored by The National Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service and the state forestry agencies. It provides direction, technical assistance, public attention, and national recognition for urban and community forestry programs in thousands of towns and cities that more than 93 million Americans call home.
We are proud of the following New York communities with Tree City USA designation:
2008 Tree Cities
Communities are recognized in 2009 for activities undertaken in 2008. An "*" denotes community has not yet recertified for 2008.
Region 1
Amityville (23)
Babylon (19)
Bellport (22)*
East Rockaway (11)
Floral Park (13)
Garden City (20)
Glen Cove (18)
Great Neck Estates (20)
Greenport (V) (5)
Hempstead (V) (15)*
Lindenhurst (25)
Lynbrook (26)*
Malverne (21)
Mineola (24)
Oyster Bay (21)
Rockville Centre (21)
Smithtown (23)
Westhampton Beach (21)&
Region 2
Bellerose (V) (4)*
New York City (13)
educating at Cobleskill Tree City presentation
Region 3
Beacon (14)
Bedford (9)
Cornwall (T) (5)
Cortlandt (16)&
Croton-on-Hudson (25)
Dobbs Ferry (22)
Eastchester (19)
Goshen (16)*
Hastings-on-Hudson (26)
Hyde Park (14)&
Irvington (26)
Kingston (14)&
Larchmont (28)
Lloyd (T) (14)
Mamaroneck (T) (17)
Mamaroneck (V) (28)
Middletown (9)
Montebello (1)
Mt. Vernon (23)
New Paltz (22)*
New Rochelle (20)
Newburgh (C) (5)*
Ossining (T) (10)*
Ossining (V) (2)*
Pleasantville (23)
Port Jervis (21)
Poughkeepsie (30)
Red Hook (T) (3)
Red Hook (V) (7)&
Rye Brook (14)
Scarsdale (26)
Sleepy Hollow (17)*
Tarrytown (27)
Tuckahoe (15)&
Walden (4)
Warwick (25)&
West Point (12)&
White Plains (26)
Yonkers (23)
Albany's Mayor Jennings celebrates his Tree
City Award by planting a ceremonial tree
Region 4
Albany (7)&
Cobleskill (7)
Cooperstown (26)*
Oneonta (23)
Schenectady (11)
Sidney (16)
Region 5
North Elba (1)
Region 6
Massena (V) (7)
New Hartford (27)
Ogdensburgh (16)
Rome (6)
Watertown (9)
stream restoration work made easy
in Buffalo
Region 7
Auburn (8)
Baldwinsville (23)
Fayetteville (9)
Fulton (C) (6)
Ithaca (21)*
Jordan (7)
Manlius (T) (5)
North Syracuse (20)
Norwich (18)
Oneida (19)
Oxford (16)
Skaneateles (4)
Syracuse (19)&
Region 8
Bath (23)
Brighton (7)
Brockport (1)
Canandaigua (17)
Fairport (V) (6)
Geneva (4)*
Greece (12)&
Hornell (8)
Medina (2)
Rochester (28)
Cobleskill receives their Tree City Award
Region 9
Amherst (13)
Buffalo (23)*
Cuba (6)
East Aurora (11)&
Ellicottville (28)
Franklinville (25)
Gowanda (7)
Jamestown (28)
Lancaster (10)
Middleport (13)
Olean (23)
Tonawanda (12)&
Wellsville (18)
Williamsville (5)*
( ) Number indicates years of Tree City USA designation
& Growth Award
* has not recertified for 2008
(C) - City | (T) - Town | (V) - Village
Benefits of Becoming a Tree City
Every community, regardless of size, benefits in different ways from being a Tree City USA.
Framework for Action
Meeting the four standards for becoming a Tree City USA provides initial direction for an urban or community forestry program. Like the first rungs on a ladder, the standards help get a community started toward annual, systematic management of its tree resources, ensuring an achievable tree management plan and program.
The four standards are: A Tree Board or Department; A Tree Care Ordinance; A Community Forestry Program with an Annual Budget of at Least $2 Per Capita; An Arbor Day Observance and Proclamation.
Education
Education begins with discussion of the standards and getting organized to apply for Tree City USA status. It continues as the desire for Tree City USA recognition leads to contacts with the State Forester's staff. In turn, this can set in motion aid from a variety of professionals in the form of technical advice, literature, films, and other assistance.
Public Image
A community's public image is a very real phenomenon and important in many ways. Being a Tree City USA helps present the kind of image that most citizens want to have for the place they live or conduct business. The Tree City USA signs at community entrances tell visitors that here is a community that cares about its environment. It is also an indication to prospective businesses that the quality of life may be better here. It has even been known to be a factor in where meetings or conferences have been held. This reason alone caused a motel owner to start action for his community to join the network!
Cobleskill Tree Board members learn from
Landis Arboretum Arborist Fred Breglia
Citizen Pride
Pride is sometimes a less tangible benefit. Gaining and retaining Tree City USA recognition is an award to the tree workers, managers, volunteers, tree board members and others who work on behalf of better care of a community's trees. Non-involved citizens, too, often share a sense of pride that theirs is a Tree City USA. This may translate to better care of trees on private property or a willingness to volunteer in the future.
Financial Assistance
Preference is sometimes given to Tree City USA communities over other communities when allocations of grant money are made for trees or forestry programs. The reason is that there are invariably more requests than available funds when grants are available through state or federal agencies. If requests are equally worthy, some officials tend to have more confidence in communities that have demonstrated the foresight of becoming a Tree City USA.
Publicity
Presentation of the Tree City USA award and the celebration of Arbor Day offer excellent publicity opportunities. This results not only in satisfaction for the individuals involved and their families, but also provides one more way to reach large numbers of people with information about tree care. As one forester put it, "This is advertising that money can't buy- and it is free!"
To request a Tree City USA or Growth Award application, contact your local DEC Forester.
