The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is offering District residents a unique opportunity to learn more about the street trees in their neighborhoods and how they can help care for them. DDOT’s Urban Forestry Administration (UFA), in partnership with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) and the US Forest Service, will host a Citizen Tree Forum on Wednesday, June 3, 2009.

“There are 144,000 street trees in the District,” said DDOT’s Chief Forester John Thomas, “and they are subjected to a tremendous amount of environmental stress. They need care and nurturing and residents can play a critical role to ensure the trees survive and thrive. This forum will provide them with a lot of really useful, practical information that will help them do that.”

Two nationally recognized experts in tree care and diseases will be available at the forum to discuss urban trees and answer questions. The participants include:

John Ball, PhD, South Dakota State University
Chris Luley, PhD, Urban Forestry Associates, LLC
Representatives from the Northeastern Area, US Forest Service
District Department of the Environment (DDOE)
Urban Forestry Administration (UFA) arborists

This event is made possible through a grant with the USDA Forest Service. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

To register online, please go to www.mwcog.org/DCTreeForum or call COG at (202)962-3393 or UFA at (202)671 –5133.

Meeting Information:
What: Citizen Tree Forum
When:Wednesday, June 3, 2009, 10 am – 3 pm
Where: Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG)

777 North Capitol Street, NW,

Suite 300