50 Virginia Communities Earn Tree City USA Status;
First-Time Achievement to be Recognized with Ceremony in Charlottesville

Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Robert Bloxom will be the keynote speaker at a celebration ceremony to honor the 50 towns, cities and military installations in the Commonwealth that have achieved Tree City USA certification. This is the first time in the 30-year history of the Tree City USA program that Virginia has had 50 communities earn this designation.

The ceremony, sponsored by the Virginia Department of Forestry, will be held at the Doubletree Hotel in Charlottesville beginning at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 24th. The event will begin with a lunch for the honorees, be followed by the Secretary’s address and conclude with the awards presentation.

Mayors and representatives from the 50 communities (listed on the next page) will be on hand to receive their Tree City USA flag and certificate, which will be presented to each community leader by Secretary Bloxom and State Forester Carl Garrison.

“As a group, the 50 communities – which are home to more than 3.6 million Virginians – invested more than $21.7 million last year to meet the Tree City USA standards that were established by The National Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of State Foresters,” said Secretary Bloxom. “That’s quite the investment and quite an achievement.”

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The Virginia Department of Forestry protects and develops healthy, sustainable forest resources for Virginians. Headquartered in Charlottesville, there are Forestry staff members assigned to every county to provide service to citizens of the Commonwealth. VDOF is an equal opportunity provider.

With nearly 16 million acres of forest land and more than 184,000 Virginians employed in forestry, forest products and related industries, Virginia forests provide more than $29 Billion annually in benefits to the Commonwealth.

Tree City USA Communities

Total Population: 3,697,884