The United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (“USFS”) issued a September 14th news release announcing it was awarding more than $1 billion in competitive grants to:
- Plant and maintain trees
- Combat extreme heat and climate change
- Improve access to nature in cities, towns, and suburbs
Funding is provided by the Inflation Reduction Act.
USFS selected 385 grant proposals. A total of 842 applications requesting the total of $6.4 billion in funding were received.
Grant funding was open to community-based organizations, tribes, municipal and state governments, non-profit partners, universities, and other eligible entities.
The two Arkansas organizations awarded grants include:
- Arkansas Human Development Corporation
- The Pathways to Future Program Proposal is described as a pilot program in Eastern Arkansas with a scalable strategy across three programmatic elements which include:
- Workforce Advisory Board
- Youth Summer Preparation
- Youth Summer Work program
- The shared purpose program is stated to include fostering individuals, groups and other organizations in disadvantaged communities to become engaged participants in urban forest planning and management
Total funding awarded is $1,563,071:
- Water Conservation Resource Service
- Connecting community to urban streams and forest in a low-income neighborhood at Walker Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas, is stated to include the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas, as a partner and restoring a local stream in riparian areas and native forests in a park in a disadvantaged/low-income neighborhood.
- Activities will include utilizing green infrastructure to treat stormwater runoff and provide wildlife habitat within the Beaver Lake Watershed.
The funding awarded is $2,674,100.
The USFS news release states that studies indicate trees and communities are associated with:
- Improved physical and mental health
- Lowering average temperatures during extreme heat
- Increasing food security
- Creating new economic opportunities
A copy of the news release can be downloaded here.
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