ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, June 13, 1995                   TAG: 9506140026
SECTION: EDITORIALS                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CHARLES A. BLANKENSHIP
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CONGRESS IS TRADING TREES FOR BULLETS

THE JUNE 3 Business section of your newspaper contained an article on the elimination of the Small Business Administration's tree-planting program (``GOP budget chops down tree-planting program''). Written by Cindy Skrzycki of The Washington Post, this article wrongly implied this program was tainted by ``too many bad apples.'' The writer reported an inside-the-Beltway view not shared by most people in cities and towns across America.

One successful role of this program was to provide a safety net for urban trees on public lands. Urban foresters recognize the Roanoke Valley, even without the gypsy moth, is losing too many trees on public lands every year.

Skrzycki reported 18,000 small businesses did the tree planting in the past. She overlooked the significant role played by nonprofit organizations and volunteers who matched federal funds with contributed cash and labor.

From the inception of this SBA program in 1991, $59 million in grants was matched by $88 million in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.

More than 5,600 projects were accomplished resulting in the planting of 15.1 million trees in rural areas and 800,000 in urban areas. In Virginia, $1.5 million and $2.9 million in matching funds planted 418,271 tree seedlings and 8,881 larger trees.

The National Association of State Foresters, the Virginia Urban Forestry Council and a wide coalition of professional arborists, nurserymen, landscape architects and foresters appealed to Sen. Bob Dole to continue this "outstanding program.''

The article reported the small savings from eliminating this program will go to the Defense Department for military readiness.

From my perspective, cutting this program will never be remembered by most Americans as one of the worthwhile accomplishments of Sen. Dole and key GOP congressional leaders who wielded the ax.

Charles A. Blankenship, of Roanoke, is chairman of the Roanoke Valley Urban Forestry Council. 


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