Trump administration freezes $12 million meant to help Philly plant thousands of trees

Philadelphia had been relying on a $12 million federal grant to kick-start its ambitious Philly Tree Plan, a decadelong initiative aimed at expanding the city’s tree canopy.

However, the Trump administration has frozen the funds, Philly Tree Plan officials said Wednesday during a City Council committee hearing. It remains uncertain whether the money will ever be released or how the lack of funding will ultimately affect the program, which also receives support from the city and nonprofits.

The plan’s objective goes beyond beautifying the city. It prioritizes planting and maintaining trees in neighborhoods devoid of shade-providing canopies — areas that can be up to 20 degrees hotter than leafier sections during summer months.

The issue surfaced when Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, chair of the Committee on the Environment, questioned officials about the status of the funding. Gauthier held the hearing on the plan to evaluate its progress.

“This work was supported by a $12 million grant from the prior federal administration,” Gauthier said. “To your knowledge, do we have access to that funding?”

“We do not,” replied Susan Slawson, the city’s parks and recreation commissioner.

“Even more reason for the city to step up,” Gauthier said.

A representative from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) could not be reached for comment.

Last year, the USDA awarded the Philly Tree Plan a $12 million grant to launch the Philly Tree Coalition, a new organization set to employ two full-time staff members. The coalition will drive the plan’s implementation, lead fundraising efforts, and collaborate with local, state, and federal governments to oversee the planting of thousands of trees on public land, sidewalks, and residential properties. The organization will also ensure the long-term care of the newly planted trees.

» READ MORE: How a $12M federal grant has jump-started Philly’s plan to grow its tree canopy

Erica Smith Fichman, Philadelphia’s forester, a city position, said the grant money was to come from a USDA Forest Service grant funded by the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. The Trump administration has been canceling or freezing funds that would go toward projects perceived to be part of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or environmental justice programs.

Smith Fichman said she recently learned from the USDA that the funds had been put on hold. “We had put in a request for reimbursements and that was the response,” she said.

“It is tough for our momentum,” Smith Fichman said. “A lot of that money was funding to move specific recommendations of the plan forward, including the coordinator, the hazardous tree removal program, and some new initiatives. People have already been hired with that money at our partner organizations, not at the city.”

Smith Fichman said the city would still proceed with the plan and will hire a director for the Philly Tree Coalition.

The coalition is set to be housed at the Center City headquarters of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

The initial goal is to expand tree canopy in seven priority neighborhoods and improve “the overall well-being of residents,” according to officials.

The plan is meant to address environmental justice issues, such as the urban heat island effect, which is most pronounced in neighborhoods with more pavement, houses, and businesses and the fewest amount of trees. Heat islands see higher temperatures than outlying areas because buildings, roads, and other infrastructure absorb and reemit the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes, such as forests. Daytime and nighttime temperatures can be much higher than in leafier neighborhoods as a result.

More tree canopy — all the leaves and branches that form an umbrella — will help lessen heat exposure, according to the plan.

Wealthier neighborhoods can have as much as 50% of the area covered by tree canopy. Some lower-income neighborhoods have almost none.

A 2020 research paper by the USDA Forest Service estimated that tree canopy in Philly ranges from 2% to 88%, depending on the neighborhood. Overall, the city averages about 20% tree canopy.

The researchers found that increased tree canopy could prevent between 271 and 400 premature deaths a year in Philadelphia through cleaner air, less heat, and encouragement of people to get outside and walk or move, especially in lower-income areas where tree canopy is often lowest.

A separate study by Philadelphia and the University of Vermont’s Spatial Analysis Lab found that the city’s tree canopy declined by 6%, or about the equivalent of 1,000 football fields, between 2008 and 2018. The loss was due to development, lack of maintenance, removal of yard trees, invasive pests and diseases, and climate change. The biggest amount of tree canopy was lost on residential properties, but there were also significant amounts along streets.

The goal is to bring the tree canopy up to approximately 30% across neighborhoods.

Original estimates said the tree plan would cost $25.5 million per year to achieve that, so more grants and fundraising are needed.

But it’s unclear how the uncertainty in Washington over budget and grant cuts could affect that hope to grow canopy, protect existing trees, build workforce skills around tree care and maintenance, develop community trust, and ensure ongoing community engagement in the Philly Tree Plan.

At Wednesday’s hearing, a number of experts and panelists spoke in favor of the plan.

Dominique London, executive director of UC Green, a nonprofit group that advocates for greener neighborhoods, lauded the Philly Tree Plan. She has spoken to residents as an ambassador for the plan.

“We found that if given the right resources and education, people absolutely want to work, live, and play where there’s dense tree canopy,” London said. “There’s a Chinese proverb that says the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is today. The tree plan was overdue. It is a very thoughtful plan. Philadelphia is the largest urban park system in the United States of America, with an unequal distribution of tree canopy.”

» READ MORE: Despite pitched opposition, city begins cutting down heritage trees at FDR Park

A number of residents generally in favor of the Philly Tree Plan, however, were angered over the felling of trees at FDR Park in South Philadelphia as part of a $250 million plan to renovate the park, adapt it for climate change, and install 12 multipurpose fields, six baseball fields, 10 tennis courts, and eight basketball courts over the 348 acres. The residents said the cutting down of trees for the park plan was incongruous with the city’s goal to grow the tree canopy.

Efforts by residents to protect the trees failed and their protests were ignored, said Hal Rosner, calling the park “South Philly’s only significant green space south of Market Street.”

“FDR must never happen again,” Rosner said, adding that stopping any future tree removal there “would be an extraordinary gesture to honor the Philly Tree Plan.”