Area Urban Forestry Projects to Receive Inflation Reduction Grants

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(Columbus) – The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry recently awarded nearly $5.5 million in grants for 36 urban forestry projects across Ohio through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Urban Forestry Grant Program.

Area communities named for funding include the cities of Chillicothe, Portsmouth, Logan, Jackson, and Washington Court House, along with the villages of Greenfield, and Baltimore.
 
“We are pleased to be able to provide these grants to local urban forestry programs,” said Dan Balser, chief of the ODNR Division of Forestry. “These programs are integral to their communities, and the grants we provide help bring trees and their life-sustaining benefits to urban communities across the state.”
 
Two grant programs were made available to nonprofit organizations in Ohio. Eligible projects are focused on developing emerging and established urban forestry programs, with an emphasis on expanding tree canopy in underserved communities.
 
Urban forestry programs may use the grant funds to invest in program development such as staffing, urban forestry planning, training programs, risk mitigation, and tree planting and establishment. Grants up to $50,000 were available for emerging urban forestry programs, while grants up to $1 million were available for established programs.
 
“Many urban forestry programs in Ohio have tight budgets, and most of their limited resources focus on keeping essential services up and running,” said Carrie Morrow, Urban & Community Forestry Program Manager with the Division of Forestry. “Our grant program helps supplement urban forestry program budgets and facilitates the growth and development of community forests that support all Ohioans.”
 
These IRA grant funds are provided to ODNR Forestry by the USDA Forest Service. The funding from this cycle of IRA grants is a portion of $9 million from the IRA that has been allocated to Ohio for forestry. This is the single largest pass-through grant ever administered by the Division of Forestry.

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