Several Dane County communities were among the recipients of Urban Forestry Grants from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for the 2024 grant year, according to a press release. The program helps fund projects consistent with state and national goals for increasing the urban forest canopy.
The Urban Forestry Grant Program is distributing almost $805,000 in grant funds, with $554,680 in state funding and an additional $250,066 in federal funding. A dollar-for-dollar match puts the estimated cost of these projects over $1.6 million. In total, 58 applications were selected for funding, with awards ranging from $1,580 to $25,000.
Among the local programs selected were:
- The village of Dane — $5,000 for year two of the Dane Tree Initiative;
- The city of Madison — $25,000 for seeding a bare root planting program;
- The city of Sun Prairie — $25,000 for a planting site assessment and structural pruning; and
- The city of Verona — $20,140.40 for emerald ash borer management and a management plan.
Two types of competitive grants were available for this application cycle: regular and startup. Regular grants award up to $25,000 to support new, innovative projects to develop sustainable urban and community forestry programs. Startup grants are simplified grants that award up to $5,000 to communities that want to start or restart an urban forestry program.
The full list of selected grant recipients is available on the DNR Urban Forestry Grant homepage.
