$9M trees grant will help rebuild urban forest in Allegheny County
Federal funds needed in a county that loses 2% of its tree canopy every 5 years
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service has awarded $9 million to plant trees and related activities in Allegheny County and the city of Pittsburgh.
This unprecedented infusion of money to grow the tree canopy comes from the Federal Inflation Reduction Act and is the largest climate investment in history, according to the USDA announcement Thursday.
Nationally, more than $1 billion will pay to plant and maintain trees in disadvantaged communities to protect against extreme heat and climate change and improve access to nature.
“It’s going to be catalytic,” said Danielle Crumrine, executive director of the Lawrenceville nonprofit Tree Pittsburgh, which restores and protects the urban forest.
“This will enable us to get boots on the ground in neighborhoods where we didn’t have the resources to do so.”
Allegheny County is losing 2% of its tree canopy every five years, according to the local environmental consortium Pittsburgh Canopy Alliance.
Ms. Crumrine and Tree Pittsburgh led the alliance on the grant request. They asked for $13 million for county communities and received $8 million in addition to the $1 million for the city, Ms. Crumrine said.
Although the grants will “catapult us forward,” it will not solve the region’s tree canopy deficit, she said.
“The environment is dynamic. The storms are getting worse and the pests are great. We got to be ahead of it,” Ms. Crumrine said.
Mayor Ed Gainey’s office announced the funding on Thursday.
“These federally funded grants will make maintaining and creating green spaces for Pittsburgh residents easier,” Mr. Gainey said in announcing the grants. “Due to climate change, we all can appreciate the shade of a healthy tree and the cool breezes they generate.”
The city’s vacant lots tree planting project will receive $1 million for projects to remove hazardous trees and plant new ones to lessen urban heat.
The Pittsburgh Canopy Alliance’s $8 million grant for the county and $1 million for the city will go to Justice40 communities, which experience high levels of pollution and are economically distressed, Ms. Crumrine said.
President Joe Biden’s Justice40 Initiative prompts federal agencies to work with state and local communities to deliver at least 40% of federal investments in climate and clean energy to disadvantaged communities.
Justice40 communities in Allegheny County targeted for the grant money include parts of Baldwin Borough, Blackridge, Blawnox, Brackenridge, Braddock, Braddock Hills, Carnegie, Clairton, Coraopolis, Corliss, Dravosburg, Duquesne, East Pittsburgh, Eden Park, Elizabeth Township, Glassport, Hamnett Historic District, Homestead, Laketon Heights, Eastwood, McKees Rocks, McKeesport, Riverton, Millvale, Munhall, Natrona, North Braddock, Pitcairn and Pittsburgh.
The grants will be distributed over four years. In addition to tree planting, the funds will go toward tree maintenance, supporting local shade tree commissions and aiding local governments’ efforts to take care of their trees. The intent is to create more work opportunities as well as to educate residents about managing their share of the urban forest.
In addition to Tree Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Canopy Alliance includes the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Landforce, Allegheny Land Trust, Allegheny County Conservation District, Goatscape, UrbanKind Institute and Friends of the Riverfront.