The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources welcomes applications from local units of government within Minnesota that use strategic actions to replace trees lost to forest pests, disease, or storm; or to establish a more diverse community forest better able to withstand disease and forest pests.
Donor Name: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
State: Minnesota
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 10/02/2023
Size of the Grant: $500,000
Details:
Priority Projects
Ensuring fairness, precision, equity, and consistency in competitive grant awards is a policy of state of Minnesota. This includes implementing diversity and inclusion in grant making. The Policy on Rating Criteria for Competitive Grant Review establishes the expectation that grant programs intentionally identify how the grant serves diverse populations, especially populations experiencing inequities, disparities, or both.
Priority will also be given to communities who have staff, plan to certify their staff during the grant period, or will contract with companies with staff with professional tree care credentials such as Minnesota Tree Inspector, International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist, etc. Any such credentials must be listed on the application to be considered. Projects that clearly benefit environmental justice priority populations and areas of concern for environmental justice (communities with higher populations of low-income residents, or people of color, including tribal communities, or both) will be rated higher.
Funding Information
- The DNR has a total of $10,063,000 available in bond dollars ($8,400,000 in general obligation bonding and $1,663,000 general fund bonding) to fund projects managing forest pest and disease through community forestry activities on public or tribal lands. No minimum dollar amount is required. The maximum amount that will be funded is $500,000.
- There are two kinds of match funding, cash match and in-kind match. A cash match is a direct project expense provided by a grantee as a contribution to the project; i.e., cash expenditures for costs related to the specific project. This can include project-related staff salaries if they are dedicated to the project, consultant’s fees or contractor expenses, equipment rentals and travel costs. In-kind match funds are materials and services, salaries and wages (including fringe benefits) being used that are not projectdedicated, space or utilities, equipment and/or technical assistance provided by the grantee or donated by a third party specifically for the project.
- All project work must be completed by December 31, 2027 and final grant reports must be submitted, by January 15, 2028.
Eligible Activities
- Removal and replanting of shade trees on public or tribal land to provide environmental benefits
- Replacement of trees on public or tribal land lost to forest pests, disease, or storm
- Tree planting on public or tribal land to establish a more diverse community forest better able to withstand disease and forest pests
Any tree planted with this grant must be a climate-adapted species to Minnesota.
Eligible Project Expenses
Eligible project expenses are those incurred through project activities that are directly related and necessary to produce the outcomes described in the project application. Grant funds can be used for, but will not be limited to:
- Professional contracts for technical assistance or project implementation by individuals or organizations not a part of the local government unit
- Site preparation and planting, including mulch, watering bags, staking materials, and tree wrap or guards
- Equipment purchases less than $5,000 that are used to complete the project
- Purchasing of trees for diversity.
Eligibility Criteria
All local units of government within Minnesota, including cities, counties, regional authorities, joint powers boards, towns, and tribal. Parks and recreation boards in cities of the first class are also eligible to apply.
Priority will be given to:
- Projects that serve communities with populations less than 20,000
- Projects removing and replacing ash trees that pose significant public safety concerns
- Projects that benefit underserved populations and areas of concern for environmental justice.
For more information, visit MDNR.
