[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 378 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 378

            Celebrating the 149th anniversary of Arbor Day.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 7, 2021

Mr. Westerman (for himself, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Ms. Herrera Beutler, 
and Mr. Kilmer) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
                to the Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
            Celebrating the 149th anniversary of Arbor Day.

Whereas Arbor Day was founded on April 10, 1872, to recognize the importance of 
        planting trees;
Whereas Arbor Day is a time to recognize the importance of trees and an 
        opportunity for communities to gather and plant for a greener future;
Whereas Arbor Day is observed in all 50 States and across the world;
Whereas participating in Arbor Day activities promotes civic participation and 
        highlights the importance of planting and caring for trees and 
        vegetation;
Whereas such activities provide an opportunity to convey to future generations 
        the value of land and stewardship;
Whereas working forests have contributed to an increase in the number of trees 
        planted in the United States and are sustainably managed, with less than 
        2 percent of working forests nationally harvested each year;
Whereas a key factor in preventing forest conversion and deforestation is 
        keeping forests productive;
Whereas working forests are a critical part of a nature-based solution to 
        climate change, and by providing a continuous cycle of growing, 
        harvesting, and replanting, active forest management maximizes the 
        ability to sequester and store carbon and improves forest resilience;
Whereas private forests play an important role in conserving at-risk and 
        declining species, and collaborative conservation efforts can benefit 
        species while also helping to keep forests as forests;
Whereas sustainably grown wood can be used in a wide variety of resilient 
        infrastructure and building applications--from traditional timber 
        framing to high-tech bridges to high-rise buildings made of mass 
        timber--and as a natural, renewable, and biodegradable material, 
        substituting wood for other materials in buildings and bridges could 
        significantly decrease global carbon emissions;
Whereas the Arbor Day Foundation and the Tree City USA program have been 
        committed to greening cities and towns across the country since 1976, 
        and in that time, more than 3,400 communities have made the commitment 
        to becoming a Tree City USA;
Whereas Tree City USA communities are home to more than 143,000,000 people in 
        the United States who are dedicated to core standards of sound urban 
        forestry management and who dedicate resources and time to urban 
        forestry initiatives, which helps make their communities and our country 
        a better place to live;
Whereas National Arbor Day is observed on the last Friday of April each year; 
        and
Whereas April 30, 2021, marks the 149th anniversary of Arbor Day: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) celebrates the 149th anniversary of Arbor Day;
            (2) supports the goals and ideals of National Arbor Day; 
        and
            (3) encourages the people of the United States to 
        participate in National Arbor Day activities.
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