Photo By Aimee Malone | A post youth helps plant red pine seedlings during the installation Arbor Day...... read more read more
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Approximately 35 people attended the 2019 Arbor Day observance April 26 at Fort McCoy where more than 400 trees were planted.
During the observance, Fort McCoy Garrison Commander Col. Hui Chae Kim and other installation personnel helped children from the post Child Development Center plant tree seedlings, said Forestry Technician Charles Mentzel with the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch.
The observance was the 31st of its kind held on the installation.
“The post received its 30th Tree City USA award from the National Arbor Day Foundation (NADF) during the celebration,” Mentzel said.
According to history.com, the origins of Arbor Day dates back to the early 1870s in Nebraska City, Neb. A journalist by the name of Julius Sterling Morton moved to the state with his wife, Caroline, in 1854.
The couple purchased 160 acres in Nebraska City and planted a wide variety of trees and shrubs in what was a primarily a flat stretch of desolate plain.
Morton later became editor of the state’s first newspaper, Nebraska City News, which became a platform for Morton to spread his knowledge of trees and to stress their ecological importance within Nebraska.
On Jan. 7, 1872, Morton proposed a day that would encourage all Nebraskans to plant trees in their community.
An agriculture board agreed, and Arbor Day was born. The first Arbor Day was held April 10, 1872.
The tradition spread quickly. Within 20 years, Arbor Day had reached a large swath of the nation and was celebrated in every state except for Delaware.
It wasn’t until 1970, however, that Arbor Day became recognized nationwide, thanks to President Richard Nixon.
This move was in line with other environmentally friendly actions taken by Nixon in the 1970s, including passing the Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, National Environmental Protection Act, and more.
In addition to the 400-plus trees planted during the observance, thousands more were planted on post earlier in the year.
“Those 400 seedlings are a part of 6,000 that were planted in total this spring around post,” Mentzel said. “Others were planted in training area B-9 by students with the Challenge Academy and Sparta High Point School.”
Fort McCoy Forester James Kerkman said planting new trees is an important thing to do every year.
“Fort McCoy has more than 46,000 acres of forested land managed by the Forestry Office, and it’s important to maintain those forested areas,” Kerkman said.
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services each year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”
(The Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch contributed to this article.)
| Date Taken: | 05.10.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 05.10.2019 11:23 |
| Story ID: | 321863 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 44 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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