Applicants are invited to apply for the 2024 National Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Cost Share Grant Program.
Donor Name: Forest Service
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/29/2024
Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 million
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
Urban forests provide trees for people, where they live, work, and play. These natural resources, on public and private property, contribute to quality of life, support community development, green infrastructure, and provide a wealth of benefits to cities and towns. The USDA Forest Service Urban & Community Forestry (U&CF) Program is the only dedicated urban forest program in the federal government. It is a technical, financial, and educational assistance program that delivers nature-based solutions to more than 84 percent of Americans. The program works in partnership with State and local forestry agencies, non-profit and tribal organizations, and institutions of higher education to restore, sustain, and manage more than 140 million acres of urban and community forest lands for the benefit of communities across the United States. Healthy urban & community forests and green infrastructure are not only critical to all the nation’s forests, but research and studies have also shown that the urban and community forests are essential to the economic, environmental, physical, and mental well-being of the citizens.
Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity, the Forest Service is seeking proposals to address the National Ten Year Urban and Community Forestry Action Plan (2016-2026), (Action Plan) – Goal 4 and Goal 5 in the Ten Year Action Plan:
- Goal 4 Strategy A: Action 1: Increase the biodiversity, health, and resilience of trees in urban and community forests
- Goal 5: Strategy A: Support the use of more locally grown, regionally adapted, insect and pestresistant, and diverse native or site-appropriate species. Action 1: Facilitate funding to promote planting higher quality trees in urban forests with less emphasis on the quantity of trees planted
Successful urban forest nursery inventories should include but are not limited to:
- A national inventory and assessment of the existing Forest Service’s RNGR tree nursery database.
- Identifying any additional inventory of suitable urban forestry nurseries and their assessment, to be included into the Forest Service’s RNGR tree nursery database.
- Include in the database key elements/characteristics that are unique for suitable urban tree species.
- Disseminate available and suitable urban trees species database to state forestry urban program managers, Inflation Reduction Act – Urban Forestry tree Planting grant recipients, Conference of Mayors, tribal organizations, and other applicable entities in the U.S and U.S territories.
- Provide a list of stock type and species in highest demand for different metro areas across the country and U.S. territories. Identify and include demand for cultivars and native seed sources.
- The tree needs assessment should include, but is not limited to, filters for:
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- resistance to climate change impacts,
- variety of species
- stock types (tree sizes)
- identification of genetically modified species, native species, cloned species
- anonymity blocks as necessary to protect sensitive areas/species
- inventories are to note availability and barriers to securing urban tree species.
- customer feedback/reviews for urban nurseries
- identify existing nursery programs that provide training, internships
- and job opportunities.
- Identify opportunities to inform and empower members of disadvantaged communities on how to develop their own climate resilient urban tree species lists as applicable.
- Identify assistance, training, and workforce development around urban nursery establishment, development, and management for disadvantaged community members.
Funding Information
- Aligns with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 116- 260), the U.S. Forest Service may provide approximately $1,000,000 (Based on availability of funding, the quality of applications received, agency priorities, and other applicable considerations.)
- The Cooperative Agreement is to be completed within 3 years.
Eligibility Criteria
- Special district governments
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- State governments
- County governments
- City or township governments
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- Private institutions of higher education
- Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
- Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
