[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 182 (Friday, November 3, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1055-E1056]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       RECOGNIZING THE FAIRFAX TREE COMMISSION'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, November 3, 2023

  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

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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.

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