Celebrate Arbor Day during COVID-19 outbreak with a tree in your honor among nearly 2 million seedlings

Friday April 24, 2020

(Boise) – Today is Arbor Day - a national, annual observance that began in 1872 and celebrates the role of trees in our urban, community and remote forests. Idaho’s stay-home order is still in effect due to COVID-19, but you can celebrate Arbor Day at home in Idaho with #MyIdahoTree.

This year, the Idaho Department of Lands is planting nearly 2 million tree seedlings on Idaho Endowment Land. Those who participate in #MyIdahoTree will have a seedling planted in their honor this spring near Kooskia, Idaho. The seedlings will help restore an area hit by the devastating Clearwater Complex Fire in 2015. Pictures of the fire, the damaged area and seedlings can be found for download here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/x6elj0ndyng5dkz/AABwzWYNUE5h6ZDLjPQFD8toa?dl=0

To participate, post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #MyIdahoTree today and this weekend for Arbor Day. Or find IDL on social media and comment on one of our posts. Those not on social media can email IDL to submit their name for a seedling at comments@idl.idaho.gov. IDL staff will share pictures of the trees when they are planted this spring.

“Tree planting is a major effort that we undertake each year and is a critical part of sustainable forest management,” said State Forester Craig Foss with the Idaho Department of Lands. “We care for our forests from seedlings to mature trees. Then we watch for the best time to harvest, before they become over-mature and vulnerable to insects, disease, and wildfire.”

The Idaho Department of Lands manages about a million acres of forests growing on Idaho Endowment Lands. In fiscal year 2019, timber sales generated more than $43 million in net income for beneficiaries, which are primarily public schools. At the same time, $1.3 billion in services and goods were generated from timber harvests on endowment lands, which supported more than 6,600 jobs, and more than $270 million in wages.

 

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Contact:

Robbie Johnson
Public Information Officer
Idaho Department of Lands
208-334-0236
pio@idl.idaho.gov