Wilmington has been awarded a $1.5 million no-required-match federal grant to support its urban forest program.
The grant, which was funded through the Federal Inflation Reduction Act and administered by the North Carolina Forest Service, will be used to help the city inventory its street trees, and identify maintenance needs and future planting opportunities.
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“The work will focus on federally designated project areas, covering approximately 36% of Wilmington, helping us invest where expanded tree canopy can provide some of the greatest environmental and community benefits,” according to city officials. “This proactive investment will help us prioritize higher-risk trees, improve public safety, reduce costly emergency repairs, and support more strategic, equitable tree planting throughout our community.”
Wilmington’s urban forest includes a variety of species that range from newly planted to more than 100 years old. There are more than 30,000 street trees on more than 450 miles of city-owned streets and about 2,500 trees on 40 miles of N.C. Department of Transportation-owned roads.
Wilmington’s Landscape Maintenance Division staff maintain the urban forest through pruning, removing trees that have declined due to disease, storm damage or are structurally unstable, and, when feasible, plant new trees to replace those that have been removed.
Funding from the grant is also being provided to the city’s nonprofit partners at Alliance for Cape Fear Trees, which aims to preserve, protect and plant trees to enhance the quality of life for residents in the Lower Cape Fear region.
