The Tree City USA Citizen Advisory Committee was established in 1984 in Springfield, Missouri with the goal of bringing greater attention and care to our urban forest. Committee members serve as volunteers and meet on a regular basis to develop community programs and review current policy affecting our community forest on city property including the Springfield Public Works Tree Inventory and implementation of the Tree Canopy Policy and Enrichment Goals adopted by both Springfield Public Works and Springfield-Greene County Park Board. Our community upholds the national Tree City USA standards, which were established to help qualifying cities and towns have quality tree management programs.
The committee serves as forest stewards through:
- The Springfield Tree Registry
- NeighborWoods Tree Planting Program
- Tree City USA Annual Certification
- Arbor Day Poster Contest
- Tree Trimmer Training
The Springfield Tree City USA Citizen Advisory Committee is comprised of nine mayor-appointed Springfield citizens who work to protect our urban forest, including representatives from the development community, Community Foundation of the Ozarks, Springfield Neighborhood Association, Ozark Greenways, Inc., The City of Springfield, and at-large representatives who are residents of the City of Springfield.
Springfield has earned the following designations through the Arbor Day Foundation:
- Tree City USA since 1985 and Tree Growth for 14 years - City of Springfield
- Tree Line USA for 23 years - City Utilities
- Tree Campus - Missouri State University and/or Drury University
These recognition's have earned our community the exclusive Triple Crown designation.