USDA Forest service develops partnership to plant up to 20 million trees

USDA FOREST SERVICE DEVELOPS PARTNERSHIP TO PLANT UP TO 20 MILLION TREES
Nez Perce Tribe receives funds to reforest thousands of acres damaged by wildfire


WASHINGTON, April 29, 2005 - Agriculture Under Secretary Mark Rey joined American Forests this Arbor Day to announce a reforestation partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and American Forests, a not-for-profit organization, supported by Coleman Natural Foods. The collaborative effort will result in the restoration of forest ecosystems damaged by wildfire, insects and disease, by planting up to 20 million seedlings nationwide over the next decade.

"This year, the Forest Service is a hundred years old, and for a century now it has relied on partnerships in caring for the land and serving people through tree-planting projects like these," said Rey, who helped commemorate the partnership by planting a 10-foot Colorado blue spruce on the grounds of USDA's headquarters. "Through this effort, we will restore healthy, functioning forested landscapes that can improve the ecosystem by delivering clean water and providing habitat for native wildlife."

This cooperative conservation effort will leverage Forest Service funding with dollars from the private sector to restore forest cover on and adjacent to national forests and grasslands. This year, the Forest Service will contribute $200,000 for the projects, with another $100,000 coming from private funds, to support the National Fire Plan and President Bush's Healthy Forests Initiative. A total of $300,000 this year will be spent on the reforestation effort.

Coleman Natural Foods, the first corporate sponsor of the effort, has pledged $100,000 per year for the planting of one million trees over the next decade. The company has also challenged other companies and the public to join in the effort by helping to plant additional trees. The Forest Service will match each tree planted.

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