LEWISTON/AUBURN: The National Arbor Day Foundation has designated both Lewiston and Auburn as a "Tree City USA." This is the second year in a row that the municipalities have acquired the prestigious distinction, joining only 13 other Maine cities.

Lewiston Mayor Lionel C. Guay, Jr., notes, "Being named a Tree City USA speaks very highly of our commitment to providing a healthier and beauty-enhanced community. In Lewiston for example, members of the Lewiston-Auburn Forest Board and the Lewiston Public Works Tree Work & Landscape Crew recently teamed up with St. Joseph's School 4th graders for a tree planting to shade a local playground and add to the aesthetics of Oak Street-- truly a win-win effort."

Auburn Mayor Normand W. Guay concurs, "It's very important that we acquire and maintain this distinction. There is certainly no question that planting trees and having trees within our community enhances the quality of life for everyone."

To be designated a Tree City USA, a municipality must have a tree board or department, a tree care ordinance, a budgeted community forestry program, and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation, the latter of which the Twin Cities Mayors proclaimed on May 13, 2005, during an American Heart Association "heart healthy" tree planting.

Steve Murch, Lewiston's Arborist, notes, "The fact that both cities have been designated a Tree City USA for two years in a row is another reminder that 'It's Happening Here.' Wherever trees are planted, they often serve as a symbol of community renewal, and that is certainly true here in L/A."

The National Arbor Day Foundation inspires people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees, envisioning a world where trees and forests are abundant, healthy, and sustainable, and highly valued by all people.

The Foundation notes, "A community's public image is a very real phenomenon and important in many ways. Being a Tree City USA helps present the kind of image that most citizens want to have for the place they live or conduct business."

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mayor Lionel C. Guay, Jr., City of Lewiston, 784-2951, X110, TTY/TDD: 784-5999 OR Mayor Normand W. Guay, City of Auburn, 333-6600
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FOR MORE INFO on any Press Releases contact:
Dot Perham-Whittier - Community Relations Coordinator
Lewiston City Hall
784-2951 - Extension 110
dottie@ci.lewiston.me.us