May planting to mark 20th anniversary of Plant a tree, Cool the globe campaign

WASHINGTON, April 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Global ReLeaf, the tree planting arm of American Forests – the nation's oldest nonprofit conservation organization – will plant 4.8 million trees this year in 43 projects in 14 states and 10 countries to help restore forests important for wildlife, clean water, and carbon sequestration.

Since its beginning over 20 years ago, Global ReLeaf has planted more than 30 million native trees in more than 600 restoration projects. A Global ReLeaf project map is online.

"We are able to plant so many extraordinary projects because of the generous support of individuals and corporate sponsors," said American Forests' Acting Executive Director Gerry Gray. "We are confident we can reach our goal to plant 100 million trees by 2020."  Every dollar donated online or though a sponsor promotion results in the planting of a tree.

Nine of this year's projects focus on restoring severely burned forests in California, Montana, Colorado, and Idaho. Other projects will plant longleaf pine in Florida, red spruce in Maryland, and disease-resistant whitebark pine seedlings in Idaho, to aid the recovery of this iconic tree under threat from invasive disease and the explosion of mountain pine beetle populations.  

Global ReLeaf will plant over a million trees in community forestry projects in 10 other countries from Costa Rica to Cameroon. American Forests will also plant trees at a number of urban sites including the Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte and Miami regions.

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the first Global ReLeaf project – a 1990 jack pine planting for the endangered Kirtland's warbler – three large jack pine projects will be planted in Michigan and celebrated May 15 at the Kirtland's Warbler Wildlife Festival in Roscommon, Mich.

American Forests' spring magazine includes a special report on whitebark pine and a feature on the comeback of the Kirtland's warbler, one of America's rarest birds. The magazine will be available online May 1st.

An influential voice for conservation since 1875, today American Forests continues its work with individuals, communities, and policymakers to protect and restore forest ecosystems. Headquartered in Washington, the organization is online at www.americanforests.org and publishes the quarterly magazine, American Forests, and monthly e-newsletter Forestbytes.

SOURCE American Forests

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