Recognizing the Fairfax Tree Commission's 50th Anniversary

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the 50th Anniversary of the Fairfax County, Virginia Tree Commission.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors chartered the Tree Commission as a board of public members in August 1973, and in 1976 it was expanded and incorporated into the county code to advise the Board on implementing the newly enacted Tree Planting and Preservation Ordinance. The Tree Commission's has operated for 50 years in service to the health and well-being of the county's urban forest, which in turn affects the health and well-being of all county residents.

In 2005, as then Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, I recognized that the county's population had grown exponentially and so had the stressors on our tree canopy. I appeared before the Tree Commission and asked it to develop a Tree Action Plan the county could use to manage and enhance the county's forests and trees. That Plan was adopted by the Board in 2006.

In 2008 the county successfully sought new Virginia state legislation to better protect trees, which led to the county enacting the Tree Conservation Ordinance (Chapter 122). It requires a minimum percentage of tree canopy to be preserved or replanted during the development process and established within 10 years.

The Tree Commission worked to update the Tree Action Plan, which the Board adopted in 2020. It includes a detailed description of the health and environmental benefits of trees, as well as a strategic management plan to protect, preserve and expand the county's urban forest. That plan continues to guide the Tree Commission's advice to the Board on policies and procedures affecting trees.

The Tree Commission has long sponsored the Fairfax County Friends of Tree Awards, which are designed to inspire individuals, agencies, organizations, and developers to protect, maintain and expand the county's tree canopy with exceptional and innovative tree actions and tree education programs. The Tree Commission created and continues to update and distribute a public education pamphlet, Tree Basics, explaining how to select the right tree, for the right location, at the right time, and how to plant and care for trees so they will survive. It is one of the county's most widely distributed and popular information brochures. Members of the Tree Commission participate in county outreach events, in the Tree Community of Practice as authorized by the Tree Action Plan, in the Tree Preservation and Planting Fund, and in other tree-related activities as needed.

The Tree Commission promotes the equity goals of the county's One Fairfax policy by supporting tree preservation and planning projects that will benefit historically underserved neighborhoods in Fairfax County. And the Tree Commission has supported programs such as the Communitywide Energy and Climate Action Plan, which seeks to expand the overall county tree canopy to 60 percent, with a minimum of 40 percent canopy coverage in every census block by 2030. Everyone deserves to benefit from living near trees.

I am pleased to join the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, which has recognized 2023 as the Tree Commission's 50th Anniversary year, a time to honor and celebrate all its members over the years who faithfully served to preserve, protect, and expand our urban forest for the benefit all county residents, both now and in the future. To honor the Tree Commission's stellar service, the Board has planted 50 trees next to the Fairfax County Government Center, where they will grow and flourish for the next 50 years and beyond.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source