Registration Now Open for 2011 STIHL Tour des Trees

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., March 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Register today to cycle in America's largest fundraiser for tree research, the STIHL Tour des Trees to benefit the Tree Research and Education Endowment (TREE) Fund, scheduled to roll through Virginia Oct. 2 to Oct. 8, 2011.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110308/PH61156LOGO )

The STIHL Tour des Trees returns to the East Coast in 2011 for a weeklong, 500-mile cycling tour through many of our nation's historic locales, including Williamsburg, Jamestown and Charlottesville. The "VA2DC Tour" route includes 65 miles along Skyline Drive, a designated National Scenic Byway and the only public road within the Shenandoah National Park. The 2011 Tour kicks off with a one-day recreational Ride for Research in Virginia Beach on Oct. 2, and full Tour riders continue on from there.

Cyclists can register online for the STIHL Tour des Trees or the Ride for Research at www.stihltourdestrees.org. Riders can sign up for the full 7-day Tour or any portion thereof. The registration fee is $100 until Aug. 20, 2011 and $125 from Aug. 21 until registration closes Sept. 17. Registration fee for the Ride for Research is $75.

To participate in the weeklong Tour, riders must raise a minimum of $3,500, which provides funding for scientific research grants and educational scholarships administered by the TREE Fund. Full- and partial-Tour registrants receive all lodging, meals, snacks, beverages, and mechanical support for the duration of the Tour, along with an official STIHL Tour des Trees cycling jersey, wind jacket and t-shirt. Ride for Research participants are not required to fundraise.

To date the Tour has generated more than $4.8 million and has funded a variety of research projects including new disease control methods, alternatives to pesticide usage, new technology to increase post-planting survival in urban trees, and improved safety methods for arborists and other tree care professionals.

Sponsors of the 2011 Tour include STIHL Inc., The Davey Tree Expert Co., APS, Casey Trees, Lewis Tree Service, the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), NGK Spark Plugs, West Coast Arborists, Vermeer, and Wright Tree Service. TREE Fund sponsors include Bartlett Tree Experts, Asplundh Tree Expert Co. and KASK Helmets.

View videos from previous Tours and learn more at www.stihltourdestrees.org.

About the TREE Fund:

The TREE Fund's mission is to identify and fund projects and programs that advance knowledge in the field of arboriculture and urban forestry to benefit people, trees, and the environment.

The TREE Fund has supported research that has led to important developments in:

• Understanding air pollution reduction and carbon sequestration by trees
• Determining the costs and benefits of urban trees
• Improving conditions for tree growth in difficult sites
• Strategies to manage diseases and pests that affect urban trees

For more information, visit www.treefund.org.

About STIHL Inc.:

STIHL Inc. manufactures the number one selling brand of gasoline-powered handheld outdoor power equipment in America for homeowners and professional landscapers*, as well as the number one selling brand of chain saws in the world. STIHL products are sold through servicing power equipment retailers from coast to coast -- not mass merchants. STIHL products sold through U.S. STIHL dealers are for distribution in the United States only. For more information or for the name a local STIHL retailer, call toll free 1-800-GO STIHL (1-800-467-8445) or visit the dealer locator on the STIHL website at www.stihlusa.com.

*"Number one selling brand" is based on syndicated Irwin Broh Research (commercial landscapers) as well as independent consumer research of 2010 U.S. sales and market share data for the gasoline-powered handheld outdoor power equipment category combined sales to consumers and commercial landscapers.

STIHL is pleased to support the work of Independent We Stand, the Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund (TREE Fund), International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA), National FFA, Professional Landcare Network (PLANET), the American Tree Farm System (ATFS), and the National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD).

SOURCE STIHL Inc.