EDITORIAL

To Spell Bay Country ReLeaf, Say T-R-E-E-S

Some people look at the year 2000 and see breakdowns and weirdness.

We look toward the new millennium and see trees.

That's because at New Bay Times we are fortunate to have become part of an effort to plant 20 million new trees globally.

Whoaaaaaa, you say, that's a mess of trees. True, but we've got a little help. We're working with American Forests, the nation's oldest conservation group. American Forests is sponsoring Global ReLeaf, the drive to plant all those millions of trees around the world.

Our part is, well, throwing a party, a free barbecue and picnic with live music on May 16, from noon to 5pm at Surfside 7 on the South River in Edgewater. It's our birthday party, called Metamorpha-Mash, and as you may recall, we hold a lively auction to toast a worthy Bay-related cause. Last year it was oysters, and with your help, we raised $6,500 for the Oyster Recovery Partnership.

This year we raise our plastic cups to American Forests and 20 million trees.

We chose trees because we can't do without them. They do our dirty work by absorbing polluted run-off, soaking up nutrients and keeping contamination on land so it won't flow into the Bay and cause worse damage. They prevent erosion and produce oxygen, filtering the air we breathe.

They stand like sturdy forts against development. All that and they still look good. Plus they don't yak at us incessantly, like everything else around us.

Here in the Chesapeake watershed, trees once covered about 95 percent of our 41 million acres. As recently as 25 years ago, it was still 55 percent in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan corridor. Now it's down to 37 percent. Developed acreage rose from 462,000 to 732,000 since the 1970s, while trees declined from 821,000 to 555,000 acres.

Those surveys were compiled by American Forests, which must be as good with computers as they are with shovels.

But 20 million is a lot of trees, whether you're counting them in keystrokes or holes in the ground. That's why American Forests needs a hand on May 16. Both of your hands as a matter of fact, even if one is wrapped around a hunk of BBQ and the other clutching a beer.

(If you or your business want to donate for either our silent auction or our live auction, please phone us immediately at 410/867-0304. To join Global ReLeaf, phone American Forests directly at 202/955-4500.)

| Issue 18 |

Volume VII Number 18
May 6-12, 1999
New Bay Times

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