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SPRINGFIELD, IL – Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Acting Director Sam Flood today announced that 186 Illinois communities have received the Tree City USA designation for managing their local community forest resources in an effort to enhance citizen safety and welfare. These communities will be presented with awards on March 27 at Morton Arboretum, Lisle, and at the Northfield Center in Springfield on March 29.
Tree City USA is a part of the Urban and Community Forestry profession and a part of a $4.7 billion industry in Illinois. Illinois ranks second in the nation for the number of communities participating in the Tree City USA program, an honor it’s held for more than a decade, and first in the nation for Tree City USA Growth Award communities. This is the 31st year for the national Tree City USA program.
“Recognition as a Tree City USA community is an important designation, and for more than a decade, Illinois has ranked among the top states in the nation for participation in this program. I applaud the local communities for their dedication to maintaining a healthy community forest,” said Dir. Flood.
The Tree City USA program promotes tree planting and care programs in urban areas and calls public attention to the economic, health and aesthetic benefits trees offer. Citizen participation in community reforestation and beautification efforts is encouraged through this program. The Tree City USA program provides support to communities to assist in the battle against exotic invasive species such as emerald ash borer (EAB).
“Annually, Illinois Tree City USA communities spend more than $83 million collectively on tree planting and tree care,” said IDNR Program Administrator Reinee Hildebrandt. “With the newly found emerald ash borer, many local budgets are hardly adequate to address the EAB infestation facing Illinois. Wilmette alone faces a $2.5 billion impact to its community forest, but as a Tree City USA community, it is ready with staffing and forestry budgets to begin its battle with the EAB.”
To be eligible to participate in the Tree City USA program, a community must legally designate a city official or volunteer tree advocate as having authority over the management and care for the urban forest. The second standard is to have a community tree ordinance that specifically recognizes the designated tree authority and identifies urban forest management and tree care standards by which the community will abide. Third, the community must expend $2 per resident for its urban forestry program. Illinois communities expend an average of more than $11.57 per capita. The final requirement is to conduct an annual Arbor Day tree planting ceremony with an official Arbor Day proclamation being developed for announcing the day of the celebration.
First year participants in the Tree City USA program include the communities of DIXON, ROUND LAKE, SYCAMORE, TROUT VALLEY, and WAUCONDA. Other milestone communities include: Five Year Awards – Edwardsville, Lake Barrington, Charleston and Savoy; Ten Year Recognition – Aurora, Batavia, Channahon, Glendale Heights, Gurnee, Lindenhurst and Wayne; Fifteen Year Recognition – Antioch, East Peoria, Hinsdale, Lisle, Macomb, Marshall, St. Elmo, Streamwood and Vernon Hills; Twenty Year Recognition – Berwyn, Bloomington, Des Plaines, LaGrange Park and Orland Park; and Twenty-Five Year Recognition – Chicago.
This year, 47 Tree City USA communities will receive the “Growth” award to recognize additional efforts that are being accomplished to improve basic urban forestry programs. This is the first year the communities of DeKalb, Lincoln, Macomb, and Savoy will receive this award. The 10-year Growth Award – called the Silver Certificate Milestone – was reached by: Champaign, Genoa, and Northbrook. To qualify for a Growth Award, a community previously must have been designated a Tree City USA participant, conduct a variety of urban forestry activities, and spend at least the same amount of money on its program this year as last year. Illinois’ state program ranks first in the nation for Tree City USA Growth Award Communities. The City of Chicago, with 15 years of participation, holds the record for the Illinois community with the most number of years participating in the Tree City USA Growth Award.
The Tree City USA program is annually sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation and the Department of Natural Resources Urban and Community Forestry Program, in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters and the U.S. Forest Service. Through the State of Illinois Urban and Community Forestry Program, the IDNR offers communities technical and financial assistance in urban forestry efforts. Information is available by contacting the Urban and Community Forestry Program, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702.
The annual application deadline for the Tree City USA program is December 31. This year’s awards will be presented on March 27 at Morton Arboretum, Lisle, and at the Northfield Center in Springfield on March 29. Southwestern Resource and Conservation Development, Inc. co-sponsors the Springfield event. Morton Arboretum co-sponsors the Northern Illinois event.
Attached is a complete list of Tree City USA honors.
TREE CITY USA LISTING
Attached is the list of 2006 Tree City USA communities. The first number is a counting number. The number behind the community name represents the number of years of participation in the Tree City USA program. An asterisk indicates a community also receiving a GROWTH award. The number to the far right is the counting number for the GROWTH awards. Both GROWTH and NEW TCU communities are in bold print.
TREE CITY USA RECIPIENT LIST, 2006
TCU GROWTH
CITY #of Years # of Years Growth count
1. ADDISON* 19 11 1
2. ALGONQUIN 11
3. ALTAMONT 21
4. ALTON 13
5. ANTIOCH 15
6. ARLINGTON HEIGHTS 22
7. AURORA 10
8. BANNOCKBURN 16
9. BARRINGTON 21
10. BARRY 9
11. BATAVIA* 10 6 2
12. BEECHER 17
13. BELLEVILLE 14
14. BENSENVILLE 19
15. BERKELEY 8
16. BERWYN 20
17. BLOOMINGDALE 12
18. BLOOMINGTON 20
19. BOLINGBROOK* 17 14 3
20. BROADVIEW 4
21. BROOKFIELD* 26 14 4
22. BUFFALO 21
23. BUFFALO GROVE 19
24. BURR RIDGE 13
25. CARBONDALE 26
26. CARLINVILLE 6
27. CARROLLTON 17
28. CENTRALIA 18
29. CHAMPAIGN* 22 10 5
30. CHANNAHON 10
31. CHARLESTON 5
32. CHICAGO* 25 16 6
33. CHILLICOTHE 17
34. CLARENDON HILLS 17
35. CLINTON 6
36. COLLINSVILLE 24
37. COUNTRY CLUB HILLS* 17 4 7
38. DAKOTA 9
39. DECATUR 26
40. DEKALB* 9 1 8
41. DES PLAINES 20
42. DIXON NEW 1
43. DOWNERS GROVE* 23 8 9
44. DUQUION* 3 2 10
45. EAST PEORIA 15
46. EDWARDSVILLE* 5 4 11
47. ELBURN 8
48. ELGIN 17
49. ELK GROVE VILLAGE 22
50. ELMHURST 27
51. EVANSTON* 23 8 12
52. FORREST 6
53. FORRESTON 7
54. FORSYTH 11
55. FRANKFORT 11
56. GALESBURG 7
57. GALVA 22
58. GENEVA 9
59. GENOA* 13 10 13
60. GLEN ELLYN* 23 11 14
61. GLENCOE* 23 8 15
62. GLENDALE HEIGHTS 10
63. GLENVIEW 22
64. GRAYSLAKE 13
65. GREENVILLE 12
66. GRIDLEY 9
67. GURNEE* 10 6 16
68. HAMPSHIRE 3
69. HANOVER PARK 22
70. HAZEL CREST* 22 11 17
71. HENNEPIN 2
72. HENRY 11
73. HICKORY HILLS 11
74. HIGHLAND* 18 8 18
75. HIGHLAND PARK 27
76. HINSDALE 15
77. HOFFMAN ESTATES 16
78. HOMEWOOD* 9 8 19
79. INDIAN HEAD PARK 17
80. INVERNESS 16
81. IRVING 13
82. ITASCA 22
83. JOLIET 16
84. KANKAKEE 11
85. LA GRANGE 24
86. LA GRANGE PARK 20
87. LAKE BARRINGTON* 5 4 20
88. LAKE BLUFF 11
89. LAKE FOREST 27
90. LAKE IN THE HILLS* 3 1 21
91. LAKE ZURICH * 12 7 22
92. LAKEWOOD 6
93. LANARK 14
94. LIBERTYVILLE 14
95. LINCOLN* 6 1 23
96. LINCOLNSHIRE* 18 14 24
97. LINCOLNWOOD 9
98. LINDENHURST* 10 6 25
99. LISLE 15
100. LOMBARD* 17 12 26
101. MACHESNEY PARK 21
102. MACKINAW 6
103. MACOMB* 15 1 27
104. MARQUETTE HEIGHTS 16
105. MARSHALL 15
106. MARTINSVILLE 13
107. MASCOUTAH 3
108. MATTESON 16
109. MCHENRY 13
110. MIDDLETOWN 17
111. MOKENA 2
112. MOLINE* 16 8 28
113. MORTON GROVE 6
114. MOUNT CARROLL 19
115. MOUNT PROSPECT * 22 6 29
116. MOUNT VERNON* 13 9 30
117. MOWEAQUA 19
118. NAPERVILLE* 17 15 31
119. NEW LENOX 7
120. NORMAL* 8 5 32
121. N. BARRINGTON 7
122. NORTHBROOK* 13 10 33
123. NORTHFIELD 22
124. O’FALLON 9
125. OAK LAWN 11
126. OAK PARK 23
127. ORLAND HILLS 18
128. ORLAND PARK* 20 9 34
129. OSWEGO* 13 6 35
130. OTTAWA* 8 2 36
131. PALATINE* 22 6 37
132. PALOS HEIGHTS 17
133. PALOS HILLS 19
134. PALOS PARK 3
135. PARK RIDGE * 23 11 38
136. PAXTON 18
137. PEKIN 17
138. PEORIA 22
139. PETERSBURG 14
140. PLAINFIELD* 16 5 39
141. PRINCETON 18
142. PROSPECT HEIGHTS* 9 7 40
143. QUINCY 21
144. RANTOUL 21
145. RIVER FOREST 9
146. RIVER GROVE 12
147. RIVERDALE 6
148. RIVERSIDE 2
149. RIVERWOODS 4
150. ROCK ISLAND 17
151. ROCKFORD 18
152. ROLLING MEADOWS 18
153. ROSELLE 21
154. ROUND LAKE (NEW) 1
155. SALEM 17
156. SAVOY * 5 1 41
157. SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE 14
158. SKOKIE* 21 11 42
159. SOUTH ELGIN 3
160. SOUTH HOLLAND 6
161. SPRINGFIELD 19
162. ST. CHARLES* 9 8 43
163. ST. ELMO 15
164. STEWARD 3
165. STOCKTON 4
166. STREAMWOOD 15
167. SUGAR GROVE 13
168. SYCAMORE (NEW) 1
169. TAYLORVILLE 19
170. TOWER LAKES 14
171. TROUT VALLEY (NEW) 1
172. URBANA* 31 15 44
173. VERNON HILLS 15
174. VILLA PARK 22
175. WARRENVILLE 21
176. WAUCONDA (NEW) 1
177. WAYNE 10
178. WESTERN SPRINGS 23
179. WESTMONT* 11 5 45
180. WHEATON 21
181. WHEELING* 17 5 46
182. WILMETTE* 23 12 47
183. WINNETKA 14
184. WOODALE 2
185. WOODRIDGE 16
186. ZION 11
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