(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service recently awarded Seattle $12.9 million to plant and maintain trees over the next five years.
The funding will be distributed to the Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment, Seattle Parks and Recreation Department and the Seattle Department of Transportation. The three city departments will utilize the money to improve tree planting and park maintenance.
The USDA announced more than $1 billion in funding for nearly 400 projects to expand access to trees and green spaces. The department’s Forest Service selected 385 grant proposals from entities working to increase access to trees and nature, which in turn improve air quality and cool city streets.
Seattle’s share of the awarded federal funds will see $900,000 go to the Delridge Native Forest Garden. The city said the garden project will remove invasive species and plant native conifers.
The remaining $12 million is intended to leverage longstanding partnerships with organizations like Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust and Environmental Coalition of South Seattle. The partnerships will work to plant trees, train youth and provide them with jobs, and restore forested spaces in city parks near public housing and schools.
“Thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and President [Joe] Biden, we will be able to boost dollars the city has already invested to grow the canopy in historically marginalized neighborhoods,” Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss said in a statement.
The Seattle City Council recently passed a tree protection ordinance after finding out that the region had a relative decline in canopy cover of 1.7%, or 255 acres, to what is now 28% total canopy coverage of the city from 2016 through 2021. The new law is meant to protect more than 157,000 trees.
In March, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced a goal of 30% tree canopy coverage across the city by 2037.
The city’s new tree protection ordinance went into effect on July 30.
