Tree Resource Enhancement and Engagement Grants

Tree Resource Enhancement and Engagement Grants, or TREE, are competitive cost-share grants administered by the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management through its Urban and Community Forestry Program in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service State and Private Forestry program. The program is designed to assist communities and campuses with the management, improvement, and conservation of community trees and urban forests. The source identifies the 2025 TREE application period as closed and describes the program as providing reimbursement awards ranging from $2,000 to $8,000 to currently recognized Tree City USA communities and Tree Campus USA campuses. TREE funding may support several types of urban and community forestry activities. Eligible projects include tree planting intended to help achieve canopy cover goals, tree inventories, removal or pruning of hazardous trees, tree ordinance review or development, and training for volunteers and city or county employees in practices for the care of community forests. The program is structured as a reimbursement and cost-share program. The provided source does not state the required cost-share percentage, ratio, or dollar amount, so the amount of the applicant contribution requires verification from the detailed grant guidelines. Eligibility is specifically described in terms of recognition under national community and campus tree programs. Applicants must be currently recognized Tree City USA communities or Tree Campus USA campuses. The source does not identify additional applicant classes as independently eligible outside these recognized communities and campuses. Applicants seeking funding for tree planting must also account for the continued care of the funded plantings by including a five-year maintenance plan as part of the application. Applicants must submit a completed application form describing project costs and funding sources. The application must also include a map or drawing of the proposed project site. When the project includes tree planting, a five-year maintenance plan is required. Applications are submitted through the eCivis online portal. The source directs applicants to review the TREE Grant Guidelines, the Urban and Community Forestry Grant Application Submission Guide, and the Urban and Community Forestry Grant FAQs for specific instructions before submitting an application. Projects are selected competitively by a panel of judges. Proposals are assessed for their value to the community, their thoroughness as a tree-management program, their ability to promote, improve, and develop the community's urban forest, and their economic feasibility. These criteria indicate that applicants should clearly demonstrate community benefit, present a complete and credible approach to tree management, connect the proposed activities to improvement of the urban forest, and provide a financially feasible project plan supported by clearly documented costs and funding sources. The provided source states that applications for the 2025 cycle were accepted through November 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm and now identifies that application period as closed. No separate pre-application, letter of intent, concept paper, or other gating deadline is stated in the supplied material. The source does not provide an application opening date, award notification date, project performance period, or explicit statement that the program recurs annually or on another regular schedule. Contact information is provided for the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management at 1110 West Washington St #500, Phoenix, AZ 85007, telephone (602) 771-1400. The source also identifies 2024 TREE grantees, including the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside, which received $4,000 for the Woodland Park Shade Tree Project, and the City of Chandler, which received $4,000 for Chandler Urban Forestry - Working the Plan.

Demonstrate clear value to the community; present a thorough tree-management program; show how the project will promote, improve, and develop the community's urban forest; demonstrate economic feasibility.