The Trump administration appears to have frozen at least $40 million in federal payments for Oregon-based urban tree canopy programs, as part of a broader push by the president to cut support for programs related to climate change.

The cuts, first reported by Inside Climate News, come out of $58 million in grants awarded to nonprofits and governments across the state through the Inflation Reduction Act.

A planned urban forestry program, which was allocated $1.5 billion nationwide, has sought to echo an initiative of a century ago, when large scale investments in tree canopies brought parks and green spaces to cities across the country, Vivek Shandas, a professor of geography at Portland State University and member of the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council, told OPB’s Think Out Loud.

But while tree planting in the early 1900s mostly benefited wealthier neighborhoods, this new round of funding would have focused on poorer communities, which often have less tree canopy – and fewer of the health benefits that can come with living among trees. Those benefits include cleaner air quality, more shade and cool air on hot days, and a broad improvement to human health and well-being, Shandas said.

As with many other federal funding freezes, it’s not clear if the Trump administration will ultimately resume paying the $40 million still promised to Oregon programs.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesperson shared this statement with Inside Climate News: “The Trump administration rightfully asked for a comprehensive review of all contracts, work and personnel across all federal agencies. The Forest Service is following direction provided by USDA with regards to the President’s Executive Orders to ensure full compliance.”

Meanwhile, federal urban forestry databases have been taken offline, and many government officials have been hesitant or unwilling to discuss the situation, Shandas said. “There’s an enormous amount of uncertainty.”

That’s left him worried, not just about the Inflation Reduction Act-funded tree canopy program, but also the future of other federal programs supporting urban forestry.

“One of the biggest concerns I have is that the entire urban community forestry division of the U.S. Forest Service, which is under the United States Department of Agriculture, is going to go away,” Shandas said.

“If that happens, it’s going to be an enormous loss to the health and well-being of a nation that has been relying on things like managing pests and disease,” he continued. “Emerald ash borer is now here in Oregon, and we have seen what devastation this little insect causes all through the Midwest, all through Colorado, many other parts of the West, and so we have urban community foresters actively looking for this particular pest.”

Emerald ash borer beetle has invaded 3 more Oregon counties

But Shandas also sees cause for hope. Over the past two years, the promise of urban tree canopy funding has brought people and communities together in Oregon – and they are continuing to discuss opportunities to work together as that funding has become less certain.

“The conversations that people are having now are — How do we pivot to other sources of resources? How do we try to think about what it means to reshape housing and design around trees, for example? How do we start thinking about building resilience at the neighborhood level, with folks planting trees in their yards?” he said. “And so there’s now a palpable pivot that’s happened, in terms of what it is that we can actually do on our own.”

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/03/26/trump-administration-funding-freeze-creates-uncertainty-for-oregon-urban-tree-canopy-programs/