US virgin islands urban and community forestry program fiscal year 25 - this grant supports the US virgin islands urban and community forestry program (UCF), as federally mandated and authorized by…

The Executive Office of the Government of the US Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture received a $300,000 Project Grant award on September 9, 2025, from the International Institute of Tropical Forestry under the Urban and Community Forestry Program (CFDA 10.675). This grant supports the US Virgin Islands Urban and Community Forestry Program through Fiscal Year 2029, with a completion date of December 31, 2029. The funding will finance cost-share subgrants to organizations for tree planting and maintenance in public spaces and schools, increase riparian vegetation to mitigate soil erosion, and develop educational programming in partnership with local schools focused on tree species identification, benefits, and urban forest management.

Beyond direct tree-planting activities, the program will utilize grant funds to support the salaries of the UCF State Program Coordinator and Partnership Coordinator, develop urban forest management plans, address disaster mitigation related to tree management and replacement, and identify opportunities for utilization of wood from urban trees. These activities align with the federal Urban and Community Forestry Program's mandate to enhance environmental quality and community well-being through the expansion and effective management of urban and community forests across the territory.

US virgin islands urban and community forestry program fiscal year 25 - this grant supports the US virgin islands urban and community forestry program (UCF), as federally mandated and authorized by the cooperative forestry assistance act of 1978, section 9 16 U.S.C. 2105. The US virgin islands UCF program's main objectives are to provide cost-share subgrants to organizations to plant and maintain trees in public spaces and schools, increase the number of trees planted around river and stream beds to prevent soil erosion, and to educate the public and coordinate educational activities with schools about what trees are, how they work and the benefits trees provide to the public, and identify the best tree species for urban and community landscapes. The program also works to create urban forest management plans, disaster mitigation related to tree management and replacement, and identify opportunities to utilize the wood from urban trees. For this fiscal year's funding, the US virgin islands UCF allocation will be used to finance projects under the UCF cost-share program and to pay the salaries of the UCF state program coordinator and partnership coordinator.