2026 Protect Community Forests for Community Resiliency Grant

Are Applicants able to request both operational volunteering planting assistance through Tree Trust and educational assistance through the University of Minnesota’s Tree Steward program?

Yes! Both operational and educational assistance can be requested.

Another component of the University of Minnesota’ Tree Steward Training program is that volunteers are required to complete at least 10 hours of volunteerism or attend three pruning events each year to keep their tree steward certification current. Do volunteer Tree Stewards also need to submit this information to the DNR as part of the grant?

You will not need to provide this information both to the U of M and to us. It will be reported to the U of M as is standard practice, and they will then be able to forward that information on to us.

To my knowledge, there is a minimum number of residents that must be committed to receiving Tree Steward training before the University of Minnesota will agree to provide training to community members. I am assuming that this requirement is still true if we request to receive educational assistance through this program as part of the Protecting Community Forests Grant?

If you are selected to receive educational assistance, there will be no minimum number of residents required to participate. Ultimately, we want the U of M to use their funds wisely and if you only have one or two people signed up they would likely work with you to do some more recruitment, or combine regional trainings. If in the end you only get one or two individuals to participate, they will still provide the program to you.

Would receiving operational assistance through Tree Trust as described in the grant be different than hiring tree trust to provide services as contractor?

Yes, receiving assistance through Tree Trust is different than hiring Tree Trust to provide services as a contractor. The Landscape Services side of Tree Trust is their earned income division, which provides tree and lawn care services.

Would any work done by a contractor be considered technical assistance? The RFA states that cities “will not have to budget (pay) for technical assistance” if we want to receive operational assistance through Tree Trust in partnership with the conservation corps or education assistance from the University of Minnesota to train community members to become tree stewards. From my understanding, there are typically costs associated with receiving assistance through either of these organizations. Do recipients of the grant automatically get these costs waived due to a partnership with the DNR or would communities be reimbursed through the grant for any costs associated with assistance provided by either of these organizations?

While you could consider work done by a contractor to be assistance, per se, the separate ‘technical assistance’ component of this grant program is limited to Tree Trust and/or the University of Minnesota’s Tree Steward program. These organizations were included in our original application for funding for this overall program, and so we have budgeted separate amounts above and beyond what we will grant out to local units of government. These separate amounts of funding will allow Tree Trust and the Tree Steward program to do work with grantees who request their assistance, with funds going straight to Tree Trust and/or the University of Minnesota. As mentioned in the Request for Applications, if you are applying for assistance with tree planting, you will still need to budget for the purchase of trees. Costs for the assistance itself, however, will not need to be budgeted for by grantees.

Eligible activities

For this grant, are we required to include removals and replacements, or is it possible to use funds solely for new tree plantings for diversity?

It is possible to use funds solely for tree planting. You can select “Tree Planting for Diversity” as your sole proposed project component within the Qualtrics Survey.

As an SWCD, we want to partner with another local unit of government and/or organization, is this possible?

Yes, you can partner with other organizations for your proposed project. You must submit a letter of support from the organization you plan to partner with. A letter of support from any identified partner organization(s) should acknowledge and agree to the specific role(s) and activities attributed to the partner organization in the grant application.

The list of eligible activities explicitly mentions work on residential land for low-income residents only in bullet #1. Are any of the other activities in the list also possible for low-income residential residents to participate or have related work completed? (Specifically removing and replacing ash/high risk trees, planting trees for diversity, chemical treatment, and pruning)

Community forestry work on residential lands for low-income residents can include any combination of the other eligible activities listed on the website and in the Request for Applications. For example, tree planting, tree removals and replanting, and pruning. All activities on residential land must be conducted by companies or organizations with an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist on staff, Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) accreditation, or equivalent qualification.

Can the city apply to help residents with residential removals and replacements? After looking at the resources for small communities and the maps that were available, our town does not seem to show that we have a significant low-income population. Also we do have a significant amount of ash trees that are a problem but we are not technically in an area that has been affected.

Yes, the city can apply to provide residential tree care. The maps and resources provided in the underserved communities resource list are just optional tools to identify areas if you are unsure where to start but they are not the only means to determine low income capacity or work areas for the grant. All applicants can determine their own definition of low income as long as it is clear how you arrived at this definition and how you will uphold that low-income threshold during the grant period. For example, many communities chose to use a percentage (such as 50% or 80%) of their Area Median Income or AMI to determine low-income thresholds. Though you can define it differently, so long as there is a clear income-related threshold and it is justified in the application. Regardless of whether EAB is present in your community per the MDA map, you are eligible to apply for funding as long as you meet the minimum requirements outlined in the Request for applications.

Can we apply for a smaller grant, around $50,000 to hire a contractor to cut down some ash trees to help out our Parks Dept. Forestry crew keep up with poor condition or declining Ash trees?

Yes, you can apply for a smaller grant, as there is no minimum amount you can request. Additionally, all the activities listed (contractor costs, ash tree removal) are eligible under this grant. Tree removals from boulevards and parks, must be replaced at least one-for-one (i.e., at least one tree planted for every tree removed), and trees must be replanted at the same location of the removal whenever possible and feasible, or received approval from a DNR grant administrator in advance of planting.

Can we apply for grant money to help individual homeowners defer the cost of removing their private trees? For example, Homeowner applies to city for $1,000 to help pay for cost to remove a $2,400 Ash tree in their back yard. Helping them reduce the expense, if they qualify for a low-income property based on tax statements, etc.

This is technically an eligible expense; however, we do not encourage reimbursement to homeowners directly as the reimbursement is considered taxable income and can create an additional barrier to participation in removal/replanting programs. Grantees typically identify low-income private property removals/planting sites and have a contractor conduct the work. The city would then pay the contractor and be reimbursed by DNR.

I understand “chemical treatment with injectable non-neonicotinoid insecticide” to be an eligible project under this grant program, while “experimental practices not approved by DNR” is an ineligible project. Where would a biological treatment of EAB fall along the scale of eligible projects? Either way, we would like to establish some kind of EAB management plan, potentially using these grant dollars if we were awarded any funding, but I’m curious if the application of this biological solution could end up being the primary maintenance activity within an EAB management plan, for example, or if this is too experimental where the DNR might deem it ineligible.

Unfortunately, at this point biocontrol methods are still categorized as experimental and ineligible due to the lack of field testing and research available. A management plan is an eligible expense and we would still allow the cost for the management plan if you incorporate biocontrol as a management tactic into the plan. We would not allow any expenses directly associated with biocontrol efforts like purchase of products, contracting, etc. to actually apply biocontrol.

Eligible applicants

Are SWCDs (Soil and Water Conservation Districts) eligible to apply for this grant opportunity?

Yes, SWCDs are considered local units of government and are eligible to apply for funding under this grant. A full list of eligible applicants can be found further up on this webpage and in the Request for Applications (RFA).

I own five acres and am interested in the community grant for tree planting. We are working with a local nonprofit with the community garden program on site. I'd like to apply for this grant, but would like to know if we qualify.

Eligible applicants for this grant include nonprofit organizations with a 501(c) status. Applications from individual residents will not be considered. Community forestry work must be conducted on non-State public land, or on residential land for low-income residents. A full list of eligible applicants and activities can be found further up on this webpage and in the Request for Applications (RFA).

Are HOAs eligible for funding?

Eligible applicants for this grant include nonprofit organizations with 501(c) status. If your HOA has 501(c) status, then you would be eligible to apply.

If we currently have an open grant with your program (e.g., ReLeaf, Community Tree Planting, etc.), do we still qualify for this one?

Yes! Any eligible applicants may apply for this funding opportunity. This includes communities and organizations that have an open grant with our program.

We have some dead ash on our property, are we eligible to apply?

We do not provide funding directly to individual residents for tree removal or care, but residents should reach out to their community leaders to apply for funding, as communities can create programs that assist residents with the removal and replanting of trees.

How is “low-income” defined and what should be the basis used (AQI and household income, enrollment in assistance programs, other?) for determining status eligibility? To confirm, this means that any residential activities must meet this income criteria and cannot be a general program available to any household regardless of income in the community?

The definition of low-income is determined and defined by the applicant in the grant application. Many applicants use Annual Median Income (AMI) as their threshold. Though you can define it differently, so long as there is a clear income-related threshold and it is justified in the application.

Events, such as a tree planting event on public land or EAB related outreach can be open to all residents. However, work happening on residential lands such as providing residents a tree to plant on their property or having a contractor plant trees on residential properties must be limited to low-income residents only. Examples of work on low-income residential land can be found here: Minnesota Residential Tree Removal and Care Assistance.

Application

Where can the Residential Tree Care Requirements be viewed?

The Residential Tree Care Requirements are detailed in the 2026 Protect Request for Applications, which will be available on August 3rd.

I have not applied to a MN DNR Urban & Community Forestry Grant before, what will the application look like.

The application and application details will be available on this webpage on August 3rd. The required information will look similar to, but not exactly the same as, our previous grants.

Does my local unit of government need to have an EAB management plan in order to apply for this grant?

Local units of government must already have an Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan in place OR they can budget the creation of a management plan into their grant proposal. We strongly recommend that all plans start with some sort of inventory (e.g., inventory of ash in parks). The most common way applicants do this is to hire a qualified arborist or consultant to do an inventory and write the plan and include the quote from that into their budget proposal.

I'm looking through the requirements for the 2026 Protect Community Forests for Community Resiliency Grant, and don't see any information on how to develop the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Management Plan, or who to contact about contracting that out. Any help would be great.

We do not have specific guidance on how to develop and Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan, though many communities post them publicly on their websites. You can also find an example plan through the Minnesota Shade Tree Advisory Committee (MNSTAC) website.

At minimum we recommend that the management plan is informed by a tree inventory (e.g., survey of ash trees in city parks). As you mentioned, many communities contract out this work. As a state agency, we cannot recommend any specific organizations or companies. You may be able to find some resources on treesaregood.org, in addition to the MNSTAC resource page, linked above.