Tumwater has secured a grant via the nonprofit River Network to hire an urban forester and fund other urban forestry programs.
The Tumwater Public Works Committee endorsed a sub-award agreement with the Oregon-based nonprofit to its city council on Thursday, July 18. The agreement allows the city to benefit from the non-profit's funding from the Forest Service of the US Department of Agriculture.
The funds will cover most of the costs of hiring and paying an urban forester, which the city aims to acquire as part of its urban forestry management plan, adopted in 2021.
Sustainability Coordinator Alyssa Jones Wood told the Public Works Committee that the grant funding will cover three years of pay for the urban forester position. The annual salary is budgeted at $44,664, and the annual benefits are $16,839.
Wood added that they would need to request an additional budget of $61,503 from the council every year starting in 2025 to cover the rest of the funding needed for the position. According to documents prepared for the meeting, the extra funds could be sourced from the stormwater utility fund and general fund.
An urban forester will review tree or forestry-related permit and development applications and maintain city-owned urban and community forests.
Work to be done by the urban forester that will be reimbursed through the grant agreement shall occur within disadvantaged communities identified by the federal government through the Inflation Reduction Act. The urban forester may work outside these areas if the work is to be paid for using the city’s funds.
Residents of the designated communities may also request that the urban forester conduct free tree assessments to help homeowners properly assess their trees' health. This program would incentivize homeowners against removing trees they would otherwise perceive as dangerous.
City staff aims to make the free service available by 2026 and to complete at least 50 assessments by 2028. Staff also aim to hire an urban forester by March 30, 2025.
The grant will also fully fund other urban forest programs, such as a free service in which homeowners can request the city to trim street trees. Woods explained that the need for the program arose from public comments on a proposed change to the city’s tree code, under which homeowners would be responsible for maintaining street trees adjacent to their property.
The grant budget outlined $80,000, which the city will use to contract outside arborists to trim the trees free of charge to the homeowner. Priority will be given to low—or moderate-income households.
The city plans to make the service available by 2027 and complete 40 tree trimmings by 2028.
The grant will also be used for a canopy equity program to expand urban forest cover in disadvantaged communities. The city will reach out to these communities and encourage them to attend workshops where members can learn about tree care and receive planting materials.
The grant agreement budget allocated $52,407 for these planting materials. City staff will launch the program by 2026 and aim to distribute planting material for 250 trees.
The city will also use the grant to purchase at least six data loggers to track air temperature in disadvantaged communities. Staff aim to purchase the data loggers by the end of this year.
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griffithga
In light of the recent controversy over the Meeker-Davis oak, I find this grant as a welcome but somewhat ironic step in contrast to the Mayor's and City Administrator's apparent approach that trees should be cut down because they pose a liability.
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