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1000 Vermont Ave, NW Suite 300 Washington, DC 20005 Tel: 202/ 789-2900 Fax: 202/ 789-1893 www.anla.org		950 Herndon Parkway Suite 450 Herndon, VA 20170 Tel: 703/ 736-9666 Fax: 703/ 736-9668 www.landcarenetwork.org

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For additional information contact:
Jonathan Bardzik, Director of Membership & Marketing, ANLA, (202) 789-2900
Sherry MacDonald, Director of Marketing, PLANET, (703) 736-9666

PLANET and ANLA Agree Not to Merge at this Time

HERNDON, Va., May 26, 2006 — The Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) and the American Nursery and Landscape Association (ANLA) today announced that they have decided not to proceed with plans to merge the two organizations.

In confirming the decision, PLANET President John Gibson, CLT, Swingle Lawn, Tree, & Landscape Care (CO) said, “Although we achieved encouraging momentum, we have decided that it is in the best interests of the memberships of both organizations not to merge at this time. The PLANET Board of Directors is focusing on alignments that are still being solidified coming out of the PLCAA/ALCA merger of 2004.”

The ANLA-PLANET merger task force embarked on a full-scale evaluation after determining last summer that there was sufficient reason to consider the creation of a single, national industry trade association. The current memberships of the two associations are largely based in different sectors of the green industry, and the merger would have brought together agricultural nursery production, wholesale distribution, retail garden centers, landscape design/build/installation, lawn care, landscape management, and interior plantscaping services.

“When you make this kind of investment — volunteer and staff time, as well as financial resources — it is critical to ensure that you are making the right decision at the right time for the good of both organizations,” said ANLA President Buzz Bertolero, Navlet’s Garden Centers (CA). “Our thorough investigation substantiated the potential of an ANLA-PLANET merger, and we plan to continue working together as green industry associations and re-examine this possibility in the future.”

There is no doubt that some important groundwork has been laid for the future by the due diligence efforts undertaken this year, and a merger would have a dramatic positive impact on the industry. In the meantime, the two organizations intend to remain aligned in delivering services, expanding public outreach, and exerting political influence.

Jointly, the ANLA and PLANET represent more than 6,000 green industry business professionals nationwide that specialize in the growing, selling, installing and maintaining of plant material.

For more information, please call the PLANET offices at (800) 395-2522 or the ANLA offices at (202) 789-2900.

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PLANET represents approximately 4,300 green industry service provider companies and suppliers nationwide that specialize in design/build/installation, interior plantscaping, lawn care, and landscape management. These firms and their employees represent more than 100,000 green industry professionals.

ANLA, a Washington, DC-based trade association, represents green industry business professionals seeking market leadership through advocacy with our nation’s government, a community of industry innovators and experts, and unique profitability focused programming, products and services.