USDA awards $1 billion across country to plant trees in hopes of reducing extreme heat
Hundreds of communities across the country will share more than $1 billion in federal money to help them plant and care for trees under a federal program intended to reduce extreme heat, improve health and to improve access to nature.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will announce $1.13 billion in funding for 385 projects at an event Thursday morning in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Tree planting efforts will be focused on marginalized areas in all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and some tribal nations.
“We believe we can create more resilient communities in the face of climate impacts,” Vilsack told reporters ahead of his announcement. “We believe we can mitigate extreme heat incidents and events in many cities.”
CALIFORNIA SENATE APPROVES MEASURE THAT COULD ORDER SCHOOLS TO PLANT TREES TO COOL OUTDOOR AREAS
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack speaks during a news conference June 29, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa. Vilsack will announce $1.13 billion in funding for hundreds of tree planting projects at an event on September 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, file)
In announcing the grants in Cedar Rapids, Vilsack will highlight the eastern Iowa city of 135,000 that lost thousands of trees during an extreme wind storm during the summer of 2020. Cedar Rapids has made restoring its canopy a priority since that storm, called a derecho, and will receive $6 million in funding from the new grants.
Other grant recipients include some of the nation’s largest cities, such as New York, Houston and Los Angeles, and much smaller communities, such as Tarpon Springs, Florida, and Hutchinson, Kansas.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, planned to join Vilsack at the event in Iowa. She earlier told reporters that many communities lack access to nature and that any tree grants would benefit marginalized and underrepresented communities.
“Everyone should have access to nature,” Mallory said. “Urban forests can really play a key role in both ensuring this access but also increasing the climate resilience of communities, helping to reduce extreme heat and making communities more livable.”
The federal money comes from the Inflation Reduction Act.
foxnews
