It is April 26 so please go outside and hug a tree!  Today is when we celebrate Arbor Day!

Arbor Day is a special holiday where planting, nurturing and appreciation of our forests and trees is encouraged. Besides being beautiful to look at, trees are essential to life on our planet. From their roots to their leaves, they provide oxygen, conserve water and soil and provide a safe place for a multitude of wildlife. 

Trees provide shade on a hot summer day. Taking an opportunity to watch their leaves rustle in the wind is a benefit for your mental health.

It is rare when one person is credited for starting a countrywide observance of a holiday. However, it was a very cold day in Nebraska on April 10, 1872. At a meeting of the State Board of Agriculture, J. Sterling Morton scraped some ice off a window and gazed at a relatively treeless tract of land.  Perhaps he was influenced by the coming warmth of spring when he stood before the board and proposed a holiday that would encourage tree planting in the state. 

Arbor day has grown into a global movement in many countries. The Arbor Day foundation has set a goal to plant 500 million trees by 2027! It has made such an ambitious challenge because trees around the world are threatened. Forests are under attack to be cleared for farming. Global warming has made devastating forest fires a common occurrence. 

However, there is a silent, sinister crisis that threatens the tree population. There is a growing concern about the illegal poaching of trees. This crime is often overlooked as an aspect of threatening our environment. 

Illegal logging, the harvesting of trees, is a violation of many laws around the world. In the United States, our national forests are under constant attack by those hoping to profit by cutting down endangered species of trees. Like the traditional supply and demand theories, the rarest varieties of trees are being ravaged.

The World List of Threatened Trees reveals that over 17,000 species of trees are threatened with extinction. That is 30% of all tree species! That enormous number eclipses the combined total of endangered mammals, reptiles, birds and amphibians!

We have watched a multitude of television series where forensic technicians solve crimes with science. Our National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory is using science to catch poachers. They have collected samples of thousands of tree species. They can use these samples to test wood at lumber yards, furniture manufacturers and even musical instrument builders.

Those acoustic and even electric guitars that have a unique natural wooden design are prized possessions. Unfortunately for the endangered big leaf red maple species, they are in great demand.

Conservation efforts must be put on the front burner. Protecting habitats of endangered species, enforcing stricter logging laws and encouraging reforestation projects are imperative.

The changing climate and the global attack on tree species on a larger scale such as deforestation and illegal poaching has put those leaf bearing friends of ours in jeopardy.

So, if a tree is felled in the forest, we may not hear it. However, eventually we will feel its impact.

Many years from now when so many species of trees have disappeared, maybe scientists who have preserved living samples of those trees will be able to pick an uninhabited island and use those samples to create a safe environment for reforestation.  Maybe a tree-oriented movie will be made, akin to the Jurassic Park franchise. But instead of being attacked by a T Rex, Jeff Goldblum’s great grandchildren will be in awe of the giant redwoods that used to thrive in California.

Hudson Cooper is a resident of Sullivan County, a writer, comedian and actor.