SPEARFISH, SD – During Monday’s City Council meeting, Mayor Dana Boke proclaimed April 29, 2022, as Arbor Day. She also proclaimed May 1-7, 2022, as National Travel and Tourism Week.
The Arbor Day Proclamation describes that in 1872, J. Sterling Morton proposed to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture a special day be set aside for the planting of trees, and Arbor Day was first observed with the planting of more than 1 million trees in Nebraska. Arbor Day is now observed across the United States annually and recognizes all of the impacts trees make on the environment, from producing oxygen and providing habitat to wildlife, to reducing the erosion of topsoil, beautifying the community, and more.
“I urge all citizens to support efforts to care for our trees and woodlands and to support our City’s community forestry program, and further, I urge all citizens to plant trees to gladden the hearts and promote the well-being of present and future generations,”
Mayor Boke said.
The National Travel and Tourism Week Proclamation describes how travel plays a critical role in Spearfish and the nation, providing significant economic benefits to South Dakota. In 2021, more than $4.4 billion was generated in economic output for the state, with the average traveler spending $323 per day while in South Dakota. For the first time, Spearfish exceeded $850,000 in hospitality tax in 2021.
“Travel and tourism-related businesses, 83 percent of which are small businesses, depend on our community’s support, and … the spirit of travel and hospitality remains the enduring character of the travel industry and Spearfish, South Dakota,”
Mayor Boke said.