Memorandum on the President's Tree Planting Initiative

Memorandum for the Heads of Certain Departments and Agencies

Subject: President's Tree Planting Initiative

I am writing to remind you of this Administration's continuing commitment to increase tree planting across America. The national tree planting program, a component of the America the Beautiful initiative, calls for public/private partnerships involving communities and volunteers throughout the Nation. Our goal is to plant and maintain in our cities and countryside an additional one billion trees per year through the year 2000. This is an ambitious goal that will significantly enhance the environment and boost economic activity. Federal agency leadership will contribute greatly to the achievement of this goal.

During this last year, a representative of your organization has been asked to participate in a coordinating committee to promote, inform, and participate in tree planting activities in your agency nationwide. I urge you to energetically support the committee and its activities in order to ensure that the Federal Government does its part for tree planting.

Americans are enthusiastically joining this effort. Urban tree planting increased by 25 percent last year. In rural America, our cost-sharing program with private nonindustrial private landowners is now underway and should result in the planting of an additional 200 million trees this year -- a 10 percent increase over past years but a long way from our goal due to insufficient funding from the Congress.

My FY 1993 budget seeks to double the level of funding for the tree planting initiative to $138 million. Reforestation remains a cornerstone of my commitment to protecting and enhancing America's natural resources and environment in a way that is consistent with our efforts to promote economic growth.

On June 1, at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, I announced the Forests for the Future Initiative to conserve and sustain the Earth's forests. Appropriate models for worldwide commitment and action to save the forests may well stem from the public/private partnerships developed in your agency. With your help, we can reach our goal.

George Bush

The Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Army, the Acting Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Air Force, the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Administrator of General Services, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, the Director of the United States Information Agency, the Chairman of the Postal Rate Commission, the Director of the Institute of Museum Services, the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, the Acting Director of the Office of Policy Development, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy