The Sheboygan Press reports that Wisconsin city Sheboygan received nearly $200,000 in Inflation Reduction Act funding to increase and maintain tree coverage in disadvantaged areas.
The city joins other municipalities, counties, nonprofits and tribal nations that received federal funding for urban forestry. According to the article, poor air quality has been a persistent issue in the city, with wind pushing pollution from states south of Wisconsin upward along Wisconsin’s lakeshore communities.
Eligible recipients for the grant needed to be “disadvantaged communities,” and according to the Department of Natural Resources, the city has “higher economic, social or environmental burdens relative to the rest of the state,” which may include factors like significant health issues or a high poverty level. Trees can improve air quality by absorbing air pollutants.
Over a three-year period, the city will complete a street tree planting site inventory and grind and remove about 220 tree stumps to prepare for 660 new trees. One tree is about $100.
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