IDNR Urban and Community Forestry Grants

Agency Annual or Other State, Federal Agency and Organizations Grant Programs

The purpose of the Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Grant is to provide financial assistance to local units of government for the development of local urban and community forestry programs. These activities must help to establish, manage, conserve and preserve the urban and community forests from inner city to associated public lands.

1. Local unit of government or a co-application between a local unit of government and a not-for-profit defined by the General Not-For-Profit Corporation Act of 1986.
2. The applicant must have an approved tree care ordinance or equivalent or must use Application A to ask for funding to create a tree care ordinance. The ordinance must accomplish the following:
   a) establishes tree authority,
   b) specifies duties and responsibilities of Tree Authority,
   c) specifies the number of members and their qualifications,
   d) identifies the need and importance of local urban forestry programs,
   e) identifies tree planting and tree care standards, and
   f) contains the provisions for hazard and diseased trees from private property.
3. By law, the program is set up as a 50/50 cost share reimbursement, with no more than 5% of the total funds available to one unit of government.
4. Eligible Core Local Urban Forestry Program Projects include: tree care ordinances, tree board establishment, tree inventories, tree preservation ordinances, comprehensive urban forestry management plans, forest insect and disease mitigation plans, residual wood utilization, public education on urban forestry, training of city staff on tree care, tree planting/beatification, tree care demonstrations beyond routine maintenance, Tree and Utility Conflict Resolution, and Tree preservation/tree protection demonstration sites.

• Deadline:   Application Period Closed.  No New Grant Cycle Has Been Designated 
• Please read Grant Application Cover Letter with a description of the Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Grant funding. 
• All non-Tree City USA communities that do not already have a tree care ordinance implemented within their municipal code are only eligible to use Level 1 - A Tree Care Ordinance Development Application and are required to first apply for or implement a local tree care ordinance. This requirement is per the Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Act law which states that a municipality can’t be reimbursed unless they have a local tree care ordinance in place.
• All communities with a tree care ordinance in place are eligible to apply for a program development grant Level 2 –Program Development Application or a Level 3 – Applied Project. However, if a community wants to be competitive for a Level 3 grant project then they should have an urban forest management plan based on a tree inventory.

Level 1 – Tree Care Ordinance Development Application
Level 2 – Program Development Application for tree inventory, management plans, insect and disease management plans, public education/outreach on urban and community forestry topics   
Level 3 – Applied Project Application for tree planting, EAB reforestation and other field oriented local community forestry projects

If you have questions, please contact Reinee Hildebrandt.

For other information see the links below:

The Law - 

Title 17: Conservation Chapter I: Department of Natural Resources; Subchapter d: Forestry; Part 1538 Urban and Community Forestry Grant Program