Tree-board hears $70,000 SFI grant update, KCD canopy analysis and tree-giveaway options

City staff updated the board on two external programs the city is pursuing to support a new community-forest management plan. The chair and Sam Cole said the city is in line for an SFI (Sustainable Forest Initiative) grant, roughly $70,000, aimed at providing an urban-forest health assessment that would supply data for an updated management plan. The grant would require formal acceptance by the city council before funds can be spent.

Separately, Sam explained the King Conservation District (KCD) has contracted a GIS firm to provide a more detailed canopy analysis the city can draw on; the board has a modest credit (about $4,000 worth of services) already paid to KCD and is waiting for KCD to schedule the work. Members asked Sam to nudge KCD for a timeline and scheduling details.

Board members also discussed community tree sources and logistics. The chair said the board registered for a program called '300 Trees' (a distribution program that can supply up to 2,500 seedlings to eligible organizations) and has been placed on a wait list; the board discussed taking a small allocation (five to twenty trees) to hold in members’ yards for fall planting. Members discussed options to keep seedlings healthy in pots until fall, and whether the board might use tree-fund dollars (the chair mentioned $300 as a possible draw) or partner with Stewardship Foundation and other local organizations for distribution and maintenance.

Sam said SFI funding would cover technical assessment work and that grant funds were still viable despite some federal funding contractions; the role of the grant is to provide data (not to write the management plan outright), which the city would still need to synthesize into policy recommendations.