WIDNR Urban Forestry Inflation Reduction Act Grants

WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES URBAN FORESTRY INFLATION REDUCTION ACT GRANTS

The Urban Forestry Inflation Reduction Act (UF IRA) Grant program uses federal funds to support projects that positively impact trees and people within disadvantaged communities in Wisconsin. Cities, villages, towns, counties, tribes and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations conducting their projects in Wisconsin may apply for an UF IRA grant. A total of $4 million of IRA funds will be awarded to eligible applicants.

GRANT DETAILS

• Grants range from $1,000 to $500,000 and require no match.

• All activities must be in or benefit disadvantaged communities. Disadvantaged communities include factors such as income, natural hazard risk, health factors, housing, pollution, education, and transportation.

DEVELOP A COMPETITIVE URBAN FORESTRY PROJECT FOR THE GRANT PROGRAM Project would include:

• INVENTORY: Implement a Geographic Information System (GIS) to collect, organize, and plan urban forest maintenance. The GIS can later be expanded to include other assets such as utility lines, pavement, and hydrants.

• MAPPING & ANALYSIS: The GIS can be used to map factors such as heat islands, flood risk, susceptibility to erosion, air pollution concentration, tree canopy cover, tree species diversity, and green space, etc.

• PLAN DEVELOPMENT: The analysis will provide data which can be used to develop an urban forestry management plan.

• IMPLEMENT: The mapping provides necessary information to target implementation activities such as tree removal, pruning, and plantings to benefit disadvantaged communities, making your application competitive.

DELIVERING TREE INVENTORY SOLUTIONS

MSA Professional Services and Bluestem Forestry Consulting have partnered for over 15 years to deliver tree inventory solutions. Our current focus is to develop a comprehensive forest management program built by professional foresters, GIS experts, and funding professionals to serve the complex needs of communities now and into the future. In addition to project development, our team also assists with grant applications.

MSA specializes in the sustainable development of communities. MSA’s GIS team provides GIS solutions that support forest management and operations to local governments throughout Wisconsin. Those solutions help communities visualize tree conditions, plan and track maintenance and understand the value urban forests bring to their infrastructure.

Bluestem provides tree management services to local governments throughout Wisconsin. Services include tree inventory data collection, urban forest management planning, budgeting, tree ordinance development, forestry-related staff training, development of planting plans to increase species diversity, forestry-related publication development, and tree health management.

WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

URBAN FORESTRY INFLATION REDUCTION ACT GRANTS

CONTACT OUR TEAM TO START YOUR GRANT APPLICATION AND PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.

Diane Wessel

AICP, ICMA-CM Senior Community Development Administrator

P: (920) 306-5285

E: dwessel@msa-ps.com

Diane has 25 years of experience in Wisconsin local government. As both a planner and public administration professional, Diane has successfully managed multiple planning projects and led communities in intergovernmental relations, policy analysis, finance and budget, human resources, capital improvement planning, disaster response and recovery, grant writing and administration, and is a trained facilitator. Diane has her Masters in Public Administration and a Bachelors in Forest Management. As a Community Development Specialist with MSA, Diane provides interim municipal administration, planning, and zoning; grant resourcing, application, and administration; and capital improvement planning services. She has extensive experience working with state agencies, including the Department of Natural Resources.

P: (608) 242-6620

E: skiley@msa-ps.com

Scott is a certified GIS professional who specializes in ways to create, disseminate and analyze data. He loves to see data used to make informed decisions, especially when it involves spatial aspects. Scott has a natural resources degree, focusing on technology to support the environment. He helps communities use GIS to better understand how important trees are to infrastructure. As one of the most valuable and dynamic assets in a community’s infrastructure, it’s vital that urban forests are properly manged. Scott provides tools that help residents, staff and decision makers. From visualizing the condition of a community’s trees, to planning and tracking tree maintenance, to reporting all tree information in easy-to-understand ways, Scott builds systems that meets the complex requirements of urban forests.

TESTIMONIALS

“The GIS system makes it incredibly easy to find and utilize data while in the office. Additionally, I no longer have to write things down in the field and make the updates to the system while in the office. This ability saves me dozens of man hours each year while performing inventory updates. It also allows me to see information at a broader scale in order to make better decisions on the ground.”

CITY FORESTER – Stoughton, WI (about MSA)

P: (715) 499-5538

E: bluestemforest@ cheqnet.net

Kelli has been providing urban forestry consulting services throughout Wisconsin since 1998. Her experience includes all aspects of municipal and community forestry. Her consulting services include tree inventories, management plans, EAB planning, ordinance/policy preparation, public relations, and staff training. Bluestem Forestry Consulting Inc. has also established ongoing relationships with communities that contract for her work to be completed annually, including tree removal and pruning management, tree planting plans and planting supervision and hosting Arbor Day Celebrations. Kelli holds a B.S. in Forestry (field of study: urban forestry). She has been an ISA Certified Arborist (MN-0215) since 1997 and is an instructor at the WI DNR CTMI (Community Tree Management Institute) where she leads courses on tree inventories and management plan development.

“Kelli Tuttle and Bluestem Forestry Consulting, Inc. has been a huge asset to the Village of Poynette. She has worked with the Village for 3 years and has inventoried our Village trees and their condition and mapped them on our Village GIS. She has trained our Public Works staff in proper tree trimming and training on Emerald Ash Borer. Our Village has been the recipient of grant monies for Village forestry expenses and she helped champion wonderful interactive Arbor Day celebrations at our elementary school. She is a great partner for the Village of Poynette.”

VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR - Poynette, WI (about Bluestem)

Kelli Tuttle President of Bluestem Forestry Consulting Inc.

Scott Kiley GIS Solutions Administrator