Urban and Community Forestry (UCF) Program

Federal Agency

Sub-Department

United States Forest Service

Purpose

To provide technical, financial, research and educational services for communities to conserve, restore, and enhance urban forests.

Applicant and/or Project Eligibility Requirements

Eligible applicants include non-profits, educational institutions of higher learning, local governments, municipalities, tribal organizations, and state organizations representing multi-state or national proposals.

Decarbonization Considerations

Consider enhancing urban and suburban tree canopies, especially where heat islands and flooding are more common. Urban forestry needs to be strategically deployed and well managed to help reduce energy use, mitigate disasters and promote human health.

Equity Considerations

It is important to include and/or address underserved communities and their needs. The Council seeks to fund proposals that clearly broaden the base of participation through the involvement of such non-traditional partnerships and the inclusion of underserved communities with applicable local, state and/or national urban forestry contacts.

Helpful Tips

Applicants should consider multi-year projects and other sources of funds, which may include other Federal cooperative conservation sources. While other Federal dollars or technical support may contribute to the project, they may not be used to match these Federal grant program dollars. Each year, grant categories vary. All grant categories align with one or more of the goals in the National Ten Year Urban and Community Forestry Action Plan (2016-2026). See this resource here: https://urbanforestplan.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/FinalActionPlan_Complete_11_17_15.pdf

Other Notes

The grant review process takes about nine months to a year to review the proposals once they are received. In addition to research and tool development projects led by educational institutions of higher learning, selected grant proposals also include network development to achieve a broader impact across multiple cities with the intention to replicate the program in the future. Selected Grant Proposals of 2020 can be found here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/urban-forests/ucf/2020-nufrigp