Arbor Day

April 24, 2009

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Profile America — Friday, April 24th. When J. Sterling Morton moved to Nebraska in 1872, he immediately missed the shade trees of Michigan. So, he set out to do something about it. His action led to the first Arbor Day, in which the people of Nebraska planted over a million trees. Today is once again the annual observance of Arbor Day In many parts of the country, school classes, civic groups and everyday folks will plant trees. Some are good-sized, some just seedlings. All will beautify the landscape and make an investment in the future environment. In the U.S. today, there are nearly 750 million acres of land covered by forest, with close to 100 million acres in the national forest system. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 231, 232
www.arborday.org
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 841
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html