What Does It Take To Become a Tree City USA? Part One

According to the Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of State Foresters, http://www.arborday.org/programs/treeCityUSA/standards.cfm , a city or town must prove they have the following to become a Tree City USA:

• 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

In City Management terms, a bureaucracy must be established and staffed, a municipal code promulgated, a good deal of money must be spent every year, and a Celebration must be held annually.

Before becoming a Tree City USA, Mission Viejo was quite thoroughly landscaped as part of the original Master Plan. Slopes were covered with trees and shrubs. Numerous well-planted open spaces were maintained within the city budget.

Since becoming a Tree City USA, Mission Viejo has torn out countless plants and chopped down scores of full-grown, healthy trees. Why?

In order to retain the Tree City USA designation, the city MUST SPEND at least $2 per capita, annually. Does that mean we just keep tearing out, chopping down and re-landscaping in perpetuity?