Milwaukee Might Get Thousands of New Trees

New trees planted in Gordon Park. Photo by Milwaukee County Parks.

Milwaukee County Parks is going after federal funding to finance the reforestation of several acres of Milwaukee County land.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has set up an urban forestry grant program using approximately $4 million in federal funding allocated to the state through the Inflation Reduction Act — signed into law in 2022.

The DNR is making the funding available to local and tribal governments for projects that will have a positive impact on tree canopies and people living in disadvantaged communities. Local governments can apply for as much as $500,000 in grants, and there are no matching funds required.

Parks is planning to apply for approximately $370,000, according to Sarah Long, Parks’ reforestation coordinator. The department plans to use the funding to plant 260 landscape trees, convert six acres to natural areas with nearly 1,000 native trees and shrubs and reforest two acres of degraded forest at the Milwaukee County Zoo with 950 new trees. The department is also planning two community outreach and tree-planting events.

The department went to the board’s Committee on Parks and Culture Tuesday seeking approval of its project application. Once submitted, the DNR will review and make a decision on the grants by early July. If awarded, planting will begin in September this year.

“I do want to say that throughout this whole process I have been in touch with the regional DNR urban forestry team, and they have been very impressed with all components of this project,” Long said. “And I am pretty confident that we are going to get this funding.”

Parks has been fighting a losing battle against canopy loss in Milwaukee County. The department is responsible for approximately 1.5 million trees spread across 15 ,000 acres, and lately, it has been losing trees faster than it can plant.

In 2023, the department planted 1,400 trees and lost more than 2,500. Partly this reflects the limit on available funding for reforestation activities, but also that replanting young trees that will take years to grow is a naturally slower process than removing dying trees.

One of the prime culprits for the canopy loss is the emerald ash borer. The beetle, which burrows into ash trees cutting off the channels that carry nutrients up from the roots, has killed more than 25,000 trees.

Update: A previous version of this story said parks managed 15 million acres, it manages 15,000 acres.