News Source: Apache Junction
The City of Apache Junction is pleased to announce that it has been named a 2025 Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation, and earned its first Tree City USA Growth Award for its commitment to planting, growing, and maintaining trees across the city. This is the second consecutive year the city has been designated as a Tree City USA.
“Being recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation reflects our staff’s unwavering dedication to expanding our urban tree canopy,” said Liz Langenbach, director of the Apache Junction Parks & Recreation Department. “Trees play a vital role in Arizona communities by providing shade, reducing urban heat islands, improving air quality, and enhancing the quality of life.”
To earn Tree City USA recognition, the Apache Junction Parks & Recreation Department had to uphold four core standards including maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry, and participating in an Arbor Day celebration.
Additionally, Apache Junction’s two consecutive Tree City USA recognitions made it eligible to apply for the Growth Award which recognizes higher levels of tree care and community engagement. To achieve the award, the city had to earn at least 10 points by completing qualifying activities from five categories: Building the Team, Measuring Trees & Forests, Planning the Work, Performing the Work, and the Community Framework.
One activity the city earned points for was its city code requiring all public and private development to incorporate a rescue plan for native, protected trees and vegetation in the area. As a result, during the construction of Painted Sky Park and the public linear parks, the contractor identified, boxed, cared for, and replanted 314 trees, in addition to the over 300 trees that were salvaged on the site and replanted throughout the rest of the community.
The city continues to work towards expanding its tree canopy, most recently partnering with SRP’s Right Tree, Right Place program. Through this program, SRP removed and replaced 30 trees that were too close to power lines and considered a threat to critical infrastructure. SRP replaced every tree it removed with three new trees, providing the city with 90 new trees for its community.
