DEC Announces $15 Million in New Grant Funding for Community Reforestation

Funding Supports New York State's 25 Million Trees by 2033 Initiative and Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act Reforestation Targets

Grants to Public Entities for Reforestation in Urban Areas Complement Recently Released Opportunities for Planting Projects on Private Lands

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced $15 million is now available through the new Community Reforestation (CoRe) Grant Program to expand, restore, and create urban forested natural areas. The funding helps fulfill the 2024 State of the State "25 Million Trees Initiative" launched by Governor Hochul to recognize the importance of trees and forests for climate resiliency and community health. The State of the State commitment included a $15 million appropriation for competitive grants supporting resilient reforestation.

"Trees are invaluable tools for mitigating extreme heat vulnerability in urban areas by lowering temperatures, reducing air pollution exposure, improving public health, and bolstering community resilience," DEC Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said. "Every tree planted gets us one step closer to our state's goals to plant 25 million trees by 2033 and become carbon-neutral by 2050. DEC applauds Governor Hochul's significant and ongoing commitments to forestry, and we are excited to launch this first-of-its-kind grant opportunity as a catalyst for resilient urban reforestation statewide."

More than 85 percent of the state's population lives in or near an urban community. The competitive CoRe Grant Program will support planting new trees and restoring tree cover in natural areas in urban communities. Urban neighborhoods typically have lower tree canopy and heightened environmental challenges compared to more rural areas. The majority of the grant funding--$12 million-is available for municipalities, Indian Tribes and Nations, and not-for-profit organizations to reimburse costs for projects to create new forests or restore forests impacted by invasive species or other environmental challenges. The maximum grant amount is $3 million and the minimum grant amount is $150,000. An additional $3 million is available for State agencies, State authorities, and State educational entities to expand and restore forests on State lands in eligible areas.

Eligible CoRe projects include planting trees, preparing sites and removing competing or invasive vegetation interfering with tree seedling growth, and/or protecting new plantings from deer browse. Additional consideration will be given to projects that benefit disadvantaged communities or communities with low Tree Equity scores, which measure the intersection of urban tree canopy and a population's social vulnerability. Funds cannot be used for real property (land) acquisition or for planting and maintenance of individual street or park trees.

DEC will host a webinar on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., to provide information and answer questions about this new Community Reforestation funding opportunity. Visit DEC's website for more information. Registration is required to attend the webinar.

Grant applications will be accepted until 2 p.m. on March 12, 2025. Applications must be submitted through the SFS Grants Management System (SFS). Those wishing to apply need to establish an account in SFS. Once registered, search SFS for "CoRe." For more details about the grant opportunity, including application and scoring criteria, visit DEC's website or email [email protected].

In addition to the CoRe Grant Program, $4.5 million was previously announced and currently available through the Establishing Large Forests (ELF) Grant Program for private landowners to establish new forests. ELF builds on New York State's popular Regenerate NY Forestry Cost Share Grant Program and is designed to support the creation of new forests crucial for mitigating climate change, providing wildlife habitat, protecting air and water quality, and supplying timber, an important renewable resource.

Governor Hochul's 2024 State of the State Address and Enacted Budget included $47 million to support a new goal of planting 25 million trees statewide by 2033. The initiative will invigorate the State's tree planting efforts, sends an unmistakable market signal to private nurseries, advances efforts to meet the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act's net-zero goal, and grow the state's vital forest products industry. Capital investments through the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act and other State sources, and multi-year annual grants awarded by DEC to municipalities to plant trees in support of resilient reforestation and urban forests, are key components of this initiative.