North Dakota. Centennial Decade Trees Committee

The Centennial Decade Trees Commission (CDTC) was formed in the late 1980s by the Centennial Commission. The committee consisted of seven members who met annually, six of whom were appointed by the governor. The mission of the CDTC was to increase tree planting in North Dakota. The committee administered the Centennial Trees Trust Fund, with the ultimate goal of planting 100 million trees by 2000. On April 28, 1990, the Centennial Trees Commission received an award from the National Arbor Day Foundation. According to the Commission's newsletter, The Trees Tradition, the award was presented because "each year the Foundation recognizes outstanding projects and educational efforts..." Many cities participated in the project and received funding by applying for the "America the Beautiful" grant sponsored by the federal government and the Centennial Trees Commission. The purpose of the grant was to get cities and community members involved in the project. The Commission published its newsletter once a year to inform people of the Commission's events. The CDTC also designed special projects, such as the North Dakota Centennial Decade Windbreak Program, and published information for teachers to help promote Arbor Day to young children. Each year the Centennial Trees Commission sponsored a Centennial Trees Bowl at a North Dakota State University football game. The purpose of the bowl was to recognize individuals or groups of people with superb achievements in both tree planting and tree care. In 2001, the bowl was canceled due to the tragedy of September 11th. Therefore, the final Centennial Trees Bowl was played in 2002, at which time the award recipients for 2000 were honored.