Yes, we were similarly perplexed at the idea that the District had recently been deforested. The Amazon maybe, but the District?

Well, it has been, and as such, the District Department of Transportation is taking it upon itself to plant a record 8,000 trees around the city from now until April 2006. DDOT’s Urban Forestry Administration will plant everything from maples and oaks to sweetgums and lindens, 6,000 of those along area roadways and the remaining 2,000 in District parks. Says DDOT director Dan Tangherlini of the project:

I am proud that DDOT will be taking this major step toward achieving the goal of the Williams Administration to reforest the District. Trees minimize erosion and improve the aesthetics, environment and quality of life of a community.

They also provide needed foods, medicines, and offer inexpensive shade and shelter. This program will dovetail nicely with the District’s new “Forage for Food” program and “Big Trees Make Big Houses” initiative.

There is no word as of yet as to rumored plans to similarly repopulate the city with the Native American tribes and assorted wildlife that were pushed out by our modern ways.