Urban and Community Forestry Program

Urban trees and forests offer many benefits to our communities, from mental health and recreation, to economic benefits such as reducing cooling costs and creating jobs, to environmental services, such as capturing air pollution, reducing stormwater runoff and sound pollution, and providing habitat for wildlife, among many more.

The Urban and Community Forestry Program recognizes the importance of urban trees and urban forests for the health of our cities and our well-being. Our program aims to help ALL communities create urban and community forests that are diverse, healthy, and accessible for ALL citizens.

In the US Caribbean Region, our program works through our local government partners: the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. [External Site: Opens in New Window] and the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture [External Site: Opens in New Window]

Urban forestry involves all of us. The Urban and Community Forestry Program is designed to work in collaboration with partners and communities to deliver projects and disseminate information that improve the health, condition and size of our urban forests and trees to maximize their benefits and thus improve all our lives

Learn about our Cost Share Program Grants to finance urban forestry projects, and how you can get involved through your local Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council.

Also make sure to check out our tools and resources to learn more about urban forestry in the US Caribbean, assess your neighborhood [External Site: Opens in New Window] and create tree inventories [External Site: Opens in New Window], start planning [External Site: Opens in New Window] where to plant new trees, learn which species to plant in our urban spaces, and more!

Through our local government partners, the Urban and Community Forestry Program provides competitive matching (1:1) grants for urban forestry projects, such as:

• tree planting events in public land (non-federal) or private land as long as there is a clear public benefit. All planting projects require an endorsement letter from the landowner(s) to ensure continuity of the investment.
• tree inventories,
• tree maintenance projects in open spaces, greenbelts, roadside screens, parks, woodlands, shelterbelts, food forests and urban agriculture areas,
• conservation education activities or training with a focus on urban trees and urban forests,
• demonstration projects for public education about the benefit of urban trees,
• publications and outreach materials that help educate the public about the benefits of urban trees and forests, care and maintenance of urban trees, urban tree health, among others.

The Cost Share Program Grants are available for local units of government, schools, universities and non-profit organizations. Communities that are not registered as non-profit organizations are encouraged to partner with non-profit organizations, municipal government, or educational institutions to submit proposals for their neighborhoods.

Please contact your local program coordinator for additional information and to learn about the next call for proposals.

All states and territories of the United States have a local Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council. The Advisory councils advise and assist the State Forester in the development of program emphasis, priorities and implementation, and periodic review and revision of the state or territory State Forest Action Plan. The councils also help expand delivery of the state program, leverage external resources, grow public-private partnerships, and build a vibrant statewide constituency empowered to promote urban forestry statewide.

Please contact your local program coordinator for more information about your Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council and how you can get involved.

Puerto Rico, Department of Natural and Environmental Resources: Astrid Green agreen@drna.pr.gov.

U.S. Virgin Islands, Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture: Akil Andrews Akil.Andrews@doa.vi.gov.

Other States: National Directory [External Site: Opens in New Window]

• Additional Urban and Community Forest Program Resources
• i-Tree Tools [External Site: Opens in New Window]
• Manual de Forestación Urbana para Puerto Rico e Islas Vírgenes Americanas
• State, Private and Tribal Forestry Factcheets
• State, Private and Tribal Forestry Webinars
• State, Private and Tribal Forestry Videos
• Urban tree monitoring: a field guide [External Site: Opens in New Window]
• Urban tree monitoring: a resource guide [External Site: Opens in New Window]
• Vibrant Cities Lab [External Site: Opens in New Window]

• American Forests [External Site: Opens in New Window]
• Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry [External Site: Opens in New Window]
• Puerto Rico DNER [External Site: Opens in New Window]
• Puerto Rico Forest Action Plan [External Site: Opens in New Window]
• The National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council [External Site: Opens in New Window]
• United States Ten-year Urban Forestry Action Plan 2016-2026 [External Site: Opens in New Window]
• U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture [External Site: Opens in New Window]
• U.S. Virgin Islands Forest Action Plan. [External Site: Opens in New Window]

For more information about the Urban and Community Forest Program please contact:

U.S. Caribbean Region Urban and Community Forestry Federal Program Manager: Maya Quiñones

Puerto Rico Urban and Community Forestry Program Coordinator: Astrid Green

U.S. Virgin Islands Urban and Community Forestry Program Coordinator: Akil Andrews

State, Private and Tribal Forestry U.S. Caribbean Program Manager: Magaly Figueroa