Deadline: 1-Jun-23
The Forest Service is requesting proposals from eligible entities that are working to provide equitable access to trees and green spaces and the benefits they provide.
The funding opportunity is open to proposals spanning a broad range of investments working at a community, regional, and national scale.
USDA is a partner on the Interagency Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Promoting Equitable Access to Nature in Nature-Deprived Communities, which seeks to reduce the number of people without access to parks and nature in their communities. The America the Beautiful Initiative supports the prioritization of locally led conservation and park projects in communities that disproportionately lack access to nature and its benefits.
Priorities
- The Forest Service making up to $1 billion available in Urban and Community Forestry competitive grants for investments that:
- Increase equitable access to urban tree canopy and associated human health, environmental and economic benefits in disadvantaged communities
- Broaden community engagement in local urban forest planning
- Improve community and urban forest resilience to climate change, pests and storm events through best management and maintenance practices
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $1,000,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $50,000,000
- Award Floor: $100,000
Eligible Activities
- Examples of eligible activities include projects that:
- Foster individuals, groups, and organizations in the communities served to become engaged participants in urban forest planning, planting, and management, especially those in disadvantaged communities that do not have adequate resources to install or maintain green infrastructure or are underrepresented.
- Protect, enhance, and expand equitable urban tree canopy cover to maximize community access to human health, social, ecological, and economic benefits particularly in disadvantaged and nature-deprived communities experiencing low tree canopy cover, extreme heat and frequent flooding. Improve and increase access to parks and nature in communities.
- Encourage long-term urban forest planning, assessment, and management.
- Encourage proactive and systematic maintenance and monitoring of urban trees and forested natural areas to improve forest health; assess risk to forests from pests, disease, and adverse climate impacts; and formulate adaptive management strategies to improve forest resilience.
- Advance the use of tree and forest inventories, monitoring, and assessment tools in priority areas, including monitoring and measurement of extreme heat.
- Improve preparation for severe storms and the recovery of damaged or deteriorated landscapes to more healthy and resilient conditions.
- Protect, enhance and increase access to watersheds in urban and developing areas with a focus on conserving and managing forest patches, and green stormwater infrastructure.
- Provide paid training experiences for urban forestry crews to establish and maintain urban forests into the future. Support youth employment opportunities, including workforce development and training for the creation and maintenance of green jobs and economic opportunities for planning, planting, and sustainably maintaining trees and forests, including training and retaining urban arborists, and producing and using urban forest products.
- Develop paid on-the-job training opportunities, including pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships, to expand workforce development pathways for green careers in urban and community forestry.
- Address exotic invasive pest species that adversely impact urban forests.
- Work across jurisdictional boundaries, leveraging ideas and resources to increase capacity to provide equitable access to benefits across the larger landscape and at a greater geographic scale.
- Aid in planning, goal setting, and skill sharing with other professions such as urban planners, engineers, educators, recreational and public health officials.
Eligibility Criteria
- Entities eligible to apply for funding under this NOFO include:
- State government entity
- Local government entity
- Agency or governmental entity of the District of Columbia
- Agency or governmental entity of an insular area
- Federally Recognized Tribes, Alaska Native Corporations/villages, and Tribal organizations and operating within the United States, or its territories
- Non-profit organizations
- Public and State-controlled institutions of high er education
- Community Based Organization
- Applicants that include contributing partners must clearly describe the relationship between the applicant and the “partner(s).” Partner organizations from disadvantaged communities must be full partners in the project. A letter of commitment is required to be submitted by each contributing partner.
- Eligible Lands
- Eligible applicants may apply for funding for a project to be conducted on non-Federal lands such as:
- State and local government,
- Homeowner associations,
- Private lands, and
- Tribal/Alaska native corporation (includes Trust lands).
- Eligible applicants may apply for funding for a project to be conducted on non-Federal lands such as:
Lands owned or administered by the federal government are not eligible for this funding opportunity except for lands held in trust for Native American Tribes and individuals (hereinafter Trust lands).
For more information, visit Forest Service.