Dear Colleagues,
The USDA Forest Service Urban & Community Forestry (UCF) Program is a technical, financial, and educational assistance program, delivering nature-based solutions to ensure a resilient and equitable tree canopy where more than 84 percent of Americans live. It is the only dedicated urban forest program in the federal government.
The UCF Program assists State Forestry agencies and partner organizations in addressing and applying nature-based solutions to chronic and emergent economic, social, and environmental challenges in communities across the United States by providing direct funding to communities and especially to communities experiencing low urban tree canopy, dead and hazardous tree conditions, extreme heat and severe flooding, and limited awareness of or access to green job workforce to help them:
- Become more resilient to climate change
- Combat extreme heat with the cooling effects of increased urban tree canopy
- Experience improved forest health conditions and safer access to tree benefits
- Attain broadened exposure and access to environmental career pathways.
The Inflation Reduction Act provides up to $1.5 billion for Urban and Community Forestry investments that foster increased and equitable access to urban tree canopy and associated human health, environmental, and economic benefits in disadvantaged communities, broadened community engagement in local urban forest planning, tree planting, and management activities, and improved community and urban forest resilience to climate change, extreme heat, forest pests and diseases, and storm events through best management and maintenance practices. Urban and Community Forestry is a covered program under the Agency's Justice40 Initiative established through Executive Order 13985. To advance the mission of Justice40, proposals that deliver 40% of the benefits of IRA investments through established partnerships with local organizations working to support disadvantaged communities experiencing low tree canopy and environmental justice will receive priority consideration.
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.
Only non-Federal lands may be included in projects under this funding opportunity: Eligible land owned by state and local governments, homeowner associations, the private sector, and tribal/Alaska native corporations (including Trust lands). 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.
The USDA Forest Service welcomes proposals spanning a broad range of costs from eligible entities working at a community, regional and national scale. The minimum Federal funding amount for projects is $100,000. The maximum Federal funding limit is $50,000,000.
All federal grant funds are to be matched at least equally (dollar for dollar) with non-federal match which may include allowable and allocable in-kind contributions (i.e., personnel salary, fringe, and indirect costs; services, materials, supplies, equipment donations; and volunteer assistance), and private and public (non-federal) monetary contributions. Match may be waived for proposals that deliver 100 percent of the funding/program benefits to disadvantaged communities. All funding agreements will be for a period of 5 years.
Applications are due by June 1, 2023 at 5:00 pm PT. If you are interested in this funding opportunity, please contact the ANR Office of Contracts and Grants to request proposal development assistance. The complete application requirements are available at the following link: https://iraucfgrants.urbanandcommunityforests.org/forms-library/resources/UCF-IRA-NOFO.pdf
For inquiries specific to the NOFO requirements, please contact the following shared inbox: SM.FS.UCF_IRA@usda.gov.
Thank you.
Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)