Media Contact:  John Lisle at (202) 671-2004

(Washington, DC) 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

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is committed to ensuring that no person is excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, its projects, programs, and services on the basis of race, color, national origin, or gender, as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or on the basis of disability as provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

If you need special accommodations or language assistance services (translation or interpretation) please contact Amber Kenny at 202/671-5133 or by email at amber.kenny@dc.gov seven days in advance of the meeting. These services are provided free of charge.