TANGENT, Ore. – Just in time for Oregon Arbor Month, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) is announcing that the city of Tangent in Linn County has earned the Tree City USA designation. ODF administers the program for the national Arbor Day Foundation, based in Nebraska.
Tangent joins 68 other communities in Oregon that hold the Tree City USA designation.
Brittany Oxford, ODF Urban and Community Assistance Forester, says to earn the designation, a city or town must meet four criteria:
- Maintain a tree board or department
- Have a community tree ordinance
- Spend at least $2 per capita on urban forestry
- Celebrate Arbor Day each year
In 2023, during Tangent’s 50-year celebration, the Park Commission was renamed the Park & Tree Board to promote the city’s efforts to maintain parks and trees. The city council unanimously approved new tree care ordinances, and the Mayor signed a proclamation recognizing Arbor Day during a celebration with food trucks and community members gathering to celebrate.
For 2024, the City of Tangent again plans to recognize Arbor Day. City staff are looking forward to using TreePlotter Inventory software to catalog all public trees and invite the public to come out and volunteer to help. Along with plotting trees, the city is looking at planting new trees along two parks this year and encouraging residents to be aware of the importance of tree maintenance and reporting tree health concerns.
The Tree City USA program dates to 1976, when the first group of 42 cities in 16 states were named. Today, more than 3,600 communities across the country and located in every state and Puerto Rico hold the distinction.
