DNR announces 2012-13 Community Forestry grant recipients

Contact: Kevin Sayers, 517-241-4632 or Ed Golder, 517-335-3014

Agency: Natural Resources

Dec. 6, 2012

The Department of Natural Resources today announced that grants totaling $92,039 for urban forestry projects statewide will be awarded to 18 recipients in Alger, Antrim, Barry, Clinton, Genesee, Grand Traverse, Ingham, Kent, Lapeer, Muskegon, Oakland, Saginaw, Shiawassee, St. Clair and Wayne counties.

The competitive grant program - a cooperative effort between the DNR and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service - funds projects that help create and sustain local urban forestry programs. Grants are awarded for tree planting, community tree inventories, management plans, and education and training projects which enhance and promote urban forestry in Michigan.

"Research shows that trees have positive social and health effects on a community," said Kevin Sayers, DNR Urban and Community Forestry Program coordinator. "These grants will not only improve the landscape, but they'll also enhance the livability of these urban communities."

The grants are federally funded through the USDA Forest Service's State and Private Forestry Program. Cost-share funds are available to local units of government, schools, tribal governments and nonprofit entities. The grants require 1-to-1 matching funds toward projects performed on non-federal, public lands or lands open to the public. Grant awards will be distributed in December for projects to be completed by Sept. 1, 2013.

For more information on the grants, contact Kevin Sayers at 517-241-4632, or visit www.michigan.gov/ucf.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state's natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.