Arbor Day Fact Sheet

Contents

• Introduction
• History
• Early Advocates
• Celebrations
• Arbor Day Foundation and Tree City USA
• Legislation
• Related Research Reports
• Selected Congressional Speeches and Recognitions
• Presidential Proclamations
• Government Resources
• Nongovernment Resources

Summary

Arbor Day is a civic holiday observed in all 50 states. In the United States, it is celebrated as National Arbor Day on the last Friday in April, although some states observe it on other dates, depending on the local planting climate.

This fact sheet is designed to assist congressional offices with work related to National Arbor Day and celebrations of Arbor Day. It contains a brief history, legislation, sample speeches and remarks from the Congressional Record, presidential proclamations and remarks, and selected governmental and nongovernmental resources.

Introduction

Arbor Day is a civic holiday observed in all 50 states and many other countries around the world. In the United States, it is celebrated as National Arbor Day on the last Friday in April, although some states observe it on other dates, depending on the local planting climate.¹

This fact sheet is designed to assist congressional offices with work related to National Arbor Day and celebrations of Arbor Day. It contains a brief history, legislation, sample speeches and remarks from the Congressional Record, presidential proclamations and remarks, and selected governmental and nongovernmental resources.

History

Arbor Day was first observed on April 10, 1872,² when Sterling Morton put forward a Nebraska state resolution to designate a day for planting trees and offered a prize for the person who planted the most trees.³ Over 1 million trees were planted.⁴ Nebraska was the first state to established Arbor Day as a state holiday in 1885, held annually on April 22 in honor of Morton's birthday.⁵ The holiday spread through other states, starting with Kansas, Tennessee, Minnesota, and Ohio,⁶ and by 1978⁷ all 50 states officially celebrated Arbor Day.

While Arbor Day is not a federal holiday, President Richard Nixon declared the last Friday in April as National Arbor Day in 1972,⁸ on the centennial anniversary. However, not every state celebrates on the official day, depending on local climates and planting seasons.⁹

Early Advocates

Sterling Morton moved to Nebraska in 1855, where he edited the Nebraska City News and took an avid interest in agriculture, which led him to planting trees to serve as windbreaks and provide lumber and shade.¹⁰ He served in the Nebraska territorial legislature and as Secretary of the Nebraska territory.¹¹ President Grover Cleveland appointed Morton as Secretary of Agriculture from 1893 to 1897.¹² In 1937, Nebraska donated a bronze statue of Morton to the National Statuary Hall Collection (replaced in 2023 by the statue of Willa Cather).¹³ His home was donated in 1923 and is now the Arbor Lodge State Historic Park.¹⁴

Another early proponent of Arbor Day was Dr. Birdsey G. Northrup. He traveled across the country and globally to encourage the planting of trees and village beautification projects.¹⁵ Northrup was also an advocate for children's involvement with Arbor Day celebrations—he even offered cash incentives for children to plant trees in 1876.¹⁶ Northrup viewed economic tree-planting and school celebrations of Arbor Day as different in scope and did not think Arbor Day should become a legal holiday except in Nebraska.¹⁷

Celebrations

Morton wrote that "other holidays repose upon the past—Arbor Day proposes for the future."¹⁸ Arbor Day is frequently celebrated in schools and youth-focused civic groups. These celebrations began in 1882, when a Cincinnati superintendent closed its public schools¹⁹ and created a program for children to celebrate with tree planting, parades, reading poems, hymns, and speeches. The National Forestry Association and the National Education Association adopted resolutions in 1883 and 1885, respectively, advocating for active involvement of schools and schoolchildren in the observation of Arbor Day.²⁰ On April 15, 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt penned an "Arbor Day Letter to the School Children of the United States."²¹

Arbor Day trees are frequently planted in memory of key figures or as memorials, including on Capital grounds.²² A Juglans nigra (Eastern Black Walnut) tree was planted at the Capitol in 1932 to honor the 100^th anniversary of the birth of Sterling Morton,²³ and the Arbor Lodge Association of Nebraska City planted a Ginkgo biloba (Maidenhair) tree in 1967.²⁴

Arbor Day Foundation and Tree City USA

The Arbor Day Foundation was established in 1972 by John Rosenow on the centennial of the first Arbor Day.²⁵ It has planted over 500 million trees²⁶ since its inception. In association with the National Association of State Foresters and the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service,²⁷ the Arbor Day Foundation has sponsored the Tree City USA program—a national program to recognize communities committed to trees and forests. To become a designated Tree City USA, cities must meet four standards:²⁸ they must have (1) a community tree board or department, (2) a public tree care ordinance, (3) an annual expenditure of $2 per capita on community tree care activities, and (4) an Arbor Day observance and proclamation. Over 3,500communities have been recognized as Tree City USA.²⁹

Legislation

Below is a list of selected proposed legislation and resolutions concerning Arbor Day:

H.R. 2477—Urban Forests Act of 2021—would have in part established a grant program known as the Tree City USA Grant Program

S.J.Res. 14 (2013) —would have amended title 36, United States Code, to designate the last Friday in April as Arbor Day

H.R. 1357 and H.R. 3832 (1977)—would have prevented the unauthorized manufacture and use of the name and symbol "Tree City, USA"

Resolutions (1970-1994) to authorize the President to declare specific days as "National Arbor Day" each year.

Resolutions (2012-2024) celebrating the anniversary of Arbor Day

Related Research Reports

CRS Report R48065, Congressional Recognition of Commemorative Days, Weeks, and Months: Background and Current Practice, by Jacob R. Straus.

Selected Congressional Speeches and Recognitions

Members of Congress often speak on the floor or enter Extensions of Remarks into the Congressional Record on or around Arbor Day, including

• recognizing National Arbor Day and the anniversary of Arbor Day,
• recognizing Tree City USA designations and Arbor Day celebrations in their districts, and
• offering tributes to individual constituents involved with Arbor Day.

Presidential Proclamations

Presidential proclamations and statements have been issued since the early days of Arbor Day, including the following:

Warren G. Harding, "Proclamation 1624—Forest Protection Week and Golden Anniversary of Arbor Day" (March 31, 1922).

Harry S. Truman, "Statement by the President: The Diamond Anniversary of Arbor Day" (April 10, 1947).

Richard Nixon, "Proclamation 4126—National Arbor Day" (April 24, 1972).

Additional presidential statements and proclamations related to Arbor Day are available through the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara.³⁰

Government Resources

The Library of Congress has a variety of resources on Arbor Day, including books, newspaper articles, photographs, and school celebrations.

Urban and Community Forestry Program – United State Forest Service

Arbor Lodge State Historical Park – Nebraska Game & Parks Commission

Nongovernment Resources

Arbor Day Foundation

The Arbor Day Foundation partners with several programs, including Tree City USA, Alliance for Community Trees, Tree Campus Higher Education, Tree Campus K-12, and Natural Disaster Recovery.

Footnotes