OLYMPIA, Wash.-Applications are now open for urban and community forestry grants from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
DNR expects to distribute over $7 million in grants through the 2024 Community Forest Assistance Grant Program. According to the DNR the money is the most funding ever offered by the agency, more than double the amount distributed since the grants started in 2008.
All Washington municipalities, counties, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, Tribes, educational institutions and special taxing districts are eligible for the grants that will range from $10,000 to $350,000.
Applications opened on October 2 and the DNR will accept applications through January 8, 2024.
“Investments in urban forestry will help us protect our most vulnerable communities from extreme heat waves, lower the amount of pollutants in our air and water, and help us create green spaces in neighborhoods that lack places for children to play and for families to create lasting memories in,” said Hilary Franz, Commissioner of Public Lands.
Funding for the grants is coming from a $5 million award of Inflation Reduction Act money by the USDA Forest Service, and $2 million of state funding appropriated during the 2023 legislative session according to a DNR press release on the grants.
“There has never been this level of interest or this many resources directed at urban forestry in the history of Washington state,” said DNR Urban and Community Forestry Program Manager Ben Thompson. “I am excited to work with our longstanding partners and hopefully some new ones as we put these dollars to work.”
