FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 31, 2024
City of Kingston Awarded Nearly $500,000 for Urban Forestry
KINGSTON, NY – Mayor Steven T. Noble is pleased to announce that the City of Kingston has received $491,550 for Community Forest Management Plan Implementation from the U.S. Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Grants.
“We are so pleased to receive this grant funding for our ongoing tree efforts,” said Mayor Noble. “This funding builds upon our grant to hire an Urban Forester, who will be starting in September, and will now have funding to support the planting of 175 park trees, 100 street trees and to assist with unhealthy tree removal. We are grateful to the Governor and our Federal government for their commitment to investing in trees and reducing some of the more harmful effects of the climate crisis.”
“President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is delivering for New Yorkers by providing equitable access to trees, improving air quality, reducing extreme heat, and providing many other benefits for New Yorkers,” Governor Hochul said. “New York State is grateful to partner on these projects as part of $87 million in total federal grants that will help grow state and local efforts to plant and care for public trees, foster healthier environments, and enhance quality of life.”
The grants are administered through DEC’s Urban and Community Forestry Program, which works to increase public awareness of the importance of trees and helps communities to create healthy forests while enriching quality of life for residents.
Funding for this grant is made available through the state allocation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The USDA Forest Service is allocating this funding to support projects in disadvantaged communities to increase and maintain a healthy urban canopy and equitable access to trees and the benefits they provide. The Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program authorizes funding for a broad range of activities, such as urban wood utilization, urban food forests, extreme heat mitigation, and workforce development.
Read the Governor’s full announcement here: https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-more-71-million-urban-and-community-forestry-grants-23-projects
Mayor Noble has set a goal of planting 1,000 trees by 2030 as outlined in the City’s Open Space Plan, and has created a tree counter to record the number of new street and park trees planted in the City of Kingston.