American Forests is a world leader in planting trees for environmental restoration, a pioneer in the science and practice of urban forestry, and a primary communicator of the benefits of trees and forests. American Forests is the nation’s oldest nonprofit citizens’ conservation organization. Citizens concerned about the waste and abuse of the nation’s forests founded American Forests in 1875. American Forests’ Ecosystem Restoration and Maintenance Agenda presents our core values and seeks to build support for our policy goals. These goals focus on assisting communities in planning and implementing forest actions to restore and maintain healthy ecosystems and communities.

Meryl Streep taped two public service announcements for “American Forests” in 2001. In the PSAs, which aired on ABC, CBS, HGTV, Animal Planet, and dozens of local network television affiliates and cable companies across the United States, Meryl encourages television viewers to plant trees with “American Forests”. Their tree-planting projects help restore a wide range of ecosystems including many that have been scorched by wildfire in recent years. The USDA Forest Service, a partner in the campaign, is currently matching every tree planted for wildfire restoration. “I support the tree-planting efforts of American Forests’ Global ReLeaf campaign,” says Meryl Streep. “The millions of trees being planted this year through Global ReLeaf’s ecosystem restoration projects will help clean the water we drink, remove pollutants from the air, and provide habitat for an array of species from salmon to salamanders, bears to bald eagles for generations to come. I encourage everyone to join American Forests’ Global ReLeaf campaign and plant trees to improve the environment.”