Pamela C. Louks Community & Urban Forestry Coordinator Indiana DNR, Division of Forestry presented Mayor Bill Marksberry with the Tree City USA Plaque and flag on Saturday April 25 during the Arbor Day Celebration.  Mayor Bill Marksberry also proclaimed Saturday April 25th Arbor Day for the City of Rising Sun.  Indiana Tree Cities dot Indiana map.  Cities and towns of all sizes across Indiana are putting their knowledge of the benefit of trees to seed .. or seedling.

The Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry (DoF) has recognized 64 Indiana cities and towns as Tree Cities USA, a program sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of State Foresters.  The nearest cities to Rising Sun on the list are Greendale and Madison.  The newest Tree Cities in Indiana are Alexandria, Fishers, Rensselaer and Rising Sun.
Others on the list include Anderson, Angola, Auburn, Avon, Beech Grove, Bedford, Berne, Bloomington, Carmel, Chesterton, Columbia City, Crown Point, Culver, Decatur, Delphi, Dyer, East Chicago, Edgewood, Elkhart, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Fortville, Fremont, Geneva, Goshen, Greencastle, Greenfield, Grissom Air Reserve Base, Huntington and Indianapolis.  Rounding out the list are LaPorte, Lafayette, Michigan City, Middlebury, Mishawaka, Montpelier, Mount Ayr, Muncie, Munster, Nappanee, New Harmony, Noblesville, North Manchester, Richmond, Rochester, Russiaville, Salem, South Bend, Syracuse, Terre Haute, Tipton, Valparaiso, Vincennes, West Lafayette, Westfield, Whiting, Winamac and Zionsville.
In 2008, Indiana Tree City municipalities and non-profits planted 15,036 trees, removed 5,621 dying or dead trees, and pruned 20,792 trees.  “These communities are working aggressively to improve their environmental and economic health by caring for their urban forest,” said John Seifert, State Forester