The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Arbor Day Foundation announced that 111 Michigan communities, four campuses and two utilities received their respective “Tree City,” “Tree Campus” or “Tree Line USA” designation.

The participants were honored for their promotion of community forestry at an awards ceremony on April 11 in East Lansing.

Since the program began in 1976, Michigan has seen a steady increase in the number of communities being certified as a “Tree City.” Two new certified participants, the City of Wyoming and Washtenaw Community College, were added to the roster for 2016.

Michigan ranks eighth nationally in number of communities certified.

Among the local communities that received the designation were Dowagiac and Buchanan.

The Tree City USA program promotes proper tree care and management in urban areas and calls attention to the economic, health and aesthetic benefits trees offer.

“Healthy trees provide numerous important benefits to our communities and the environment,” said DNR Urban Forestry Coordinator Kevin Sayers. “The ‘Tree City USA’ award is a highly regarded achievement that allows us to recognize communities who have committed to maintaining these important public assets.”

To be eligible to participate, a community must have:

• A designated board or department responsible for tree care issues

• A local tree ordinance

• A budget for public tree care of at least $2 per capita.

• An annual Arbor Day celebration and official Arbor Day proclamation

Along with the “Tree City USA” program, the DNR re-certified two Michigan utilities (Lansing Board of Water and Light and ITC Holdings) through the “Tree Line USA” program, and four campuses (University of Michigan, Western Michigan University, Calvin College and Washtenaw Community College) through the “Tree Campus USA” program. These programs encourage utility companies and college campuses to offer tree care education programs and sponsor tree planting events as part of their commitment to maintaining healthy urban forests and trees locally.

To find out more about the Arbor Day Foundation’s various Tree USA programs, visit arborday.org/programs.

For questions on the DNR’s Urban and Community Forestry Program, contact Kevin Sayers at (517) 284-5898 or sayersk@michigan.gov or visit michigan.gov/ucf.