Modesto awarded $327,000 for its urban forest

Modesto’s urban forest is about to get a lot greener.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has awarded the city nearly $327,000 to plant 5,000 trees over the next couple of years and to help the city’s nursery, which reopened this year after closing in 2008 because of budget cuts.

And Patterson will receive about $150,000 from Cal Fire to plant 1,000 trees and to create an urban forestry management plan.

Cal Fire awarded nearly $20 million in grants this week to 34 nonprofit organizations, special districts, counties and cities – including Modesto and Patterson – to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon, according to a Cal Fire news release. The grants are for planting trees in urban environments and to protect more than 2,400 acres of forest from development.

Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said Modesto and Patterson should receive their grants in the near future.

“We are absolutely thrilled,” said Modesto Solid Waste Manager Jocelyn Reed, whose duties include oversight of forestry. She added that the grants were competitive and the 34 that were funded were chosen from among 169 applicants.

Reed said Modesto lost 22,000 trees over 15 years because budget cuts and staffing reductions to the forestry division limited the city’s ability to care for its trees. The drought and disease also played a role. She said the city now has about 80,000 trees along city streets and in city parks.

But Modesto has increased funding and staffing for forestry over the past year in an effort to regrow its urban forest, though it has a way to go. Claims for fallen trees and tree limbs damaging cars, homes and other property are among the most frequent claims filed against the city.

Patterson Public Works Director Mike Willett said the 1,000 trees his city will plant will increase the number of city trees to 13,800. He said the management plan will help Patterson identify the best ways to care for its trees.

“This is going to do something good for the city,” Patterson Mayor Luis Molina said. “These grants are competitive, and staff did a great job.”

The grants awarded this week are among the first for Cal Fire using proceeds from California’s cap-and-trade program to combat climate change, according to the news release. The release stated that through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, Cal Fire and other state agencies are investing in projects that reduce greenhouse gases while providing additional benefits in California communities.

This story was originally published July 9, 2015 at 9:32 PM with the headline "Modesto awarded $327,000 for its urban forest."