Arizona Forestry Awarded $6 Million in Funding to Help Underserved Communities Maintain Healthy Outdoor Living Spaces
Phoenix, AZ (4/20/23) - The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management proudly announces a multi-million dollar investment into the state of Arizona and the agency’s Urban and Community Forestry program through the Investing in America Agenda under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
Recently, DFFM’s Urban and Community Forestry program received a $6 million award from the USDA Forest Service to improve the urban forest conditions in disadvantaged communities and increase equitable access to green spaces across Arizona. DFFM will use a significant portion of the funding to offer competitive grants for urban forest advocates and their programs, including municipalities, tribal organizations, non-profits, and schools to enhance existing trees, increase the number of neighborhood shade trees, and assist with community resiliency to extreme heat. Most importantly, these grants allow urban and community forests to flourish amongst areas that often times are the hardest to reach.
“This is a major accomplishment not only for the Department of Forestry and Fire Management’s Urban and Community Forestry program, but also for the state of Arizona. This funding allows us to meaningfully improve urban forest conditions in our most vulnerable communities and ensure healthy tree benefits and green space allotments,” says Cori Dolan, DFFM Urban and Community Forestry Program’s Administrator.
"Every Arizonan knows the value of a great shade tree on a hot Arizona summer day, but too many of our underserved communities are left defenseless from the summer heat. With this award of $6 million from the USDA, the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management will invest in the health of our urban forests. Expanding tree canopy to provide much needed shade, clean our air, and enhance the beauty of our public right-of-ways is one way we are building a more resilient Arizona, and this is just the start,” says Governor Katie Hobbs.
DFFM’s Urban and Community Forestry program intends to open the grant process as soon as possible. For more information on all of DFFM’s grant opportunities, visit dffm.az.gov.
