Major federal boost to Spokane’s tree planting effort could be on chopping block

As much as $48 million in federal grants slated to come to Spokane for various projects remains held up amid confusion over President Donald Trump’s funding freeze put into place last week by executive order, including $6 million the city had started to spend planting trees, Mayor Lisa Brown confirmed Monday.

The efforts of Spokane’s Urban Forestry and Spokane County Conservation District to plant trees throughout the area had been turbocharged with $12 million in grants from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act. This was a major boost to efforts that typically only had around $200,000 in investments from the city annually, city urban forester Katie Kosanke noted when the grant was announced in September.

But that funding is on hold pending more direction from the White House, city officials learned last week from Stephen Baker, an urban and community forestry manager for the U.S. Forest Service. Baker did not respond to a request for comment.

City officials worry that the funding might not come back to the city amid the Trump administration’s moves against “diversity, equity and inclusiveness” programs, as the “tree equity” grant required planting in areas where trees were fewest and farthest between, with a focus on neighborhoods that had previously seen underinvestment.

It remains to be seen whether this program might be in the White House’s crosshairs, as the city and federal agencies seem to be receiving little direction on the pause, city spokeswoman Erin Hut wrote.

Spokane’s trees provide nearly $6 million in annual economic benefits, not just from boosting the aesthetics of the surrounding area, but also from storm water interception, air quality improvements and energy improvements, according to a 2021 study by the city, in partnership with the Spokane Lands Council and Gonzaga University.

A more recent study by Gonzaga found that areas with significant tree canopy coverage can be dramatically cooler on hot summer days, which reduces energy usage from cooling systems and prolongs the life of pavement.

But those benefits aren’t distributed evenly in the city, with some neighborhoods having dramatically larger coverage from tree canopy than others, ranging from 44% of the surface area in the Grandview/Thorpe Neighborhood to 8% of the city’s downtown.

In order to ensure every neighborhood benefits, the city’s Urban Forestry division wants to see 30% of the city’s surface area covered by tree canopy by 2030.

The city had only barely started to spend down the grant funds when the pause was announced. About $257,000 has been spent thus far on planting 168 trees and identifying 400 dead or dying trees that require removal and replacement.

Other major federal grants haven’t officially been put on pause but could be at risk, Brown added. This includes a $19.9 million “climate resiliency” grant awarded to the city and Gonzaga University in July to retrofit hundreds of homes with heat pumps and air filtration systems, improve community centers and other climate projects. This grant, also from the Inflation Reduction Act, was also targeted to “disadvantaged communities,” and was part of a $40 billion program that constituted the “single largest investment in environmental and climate justice in history,” according to the EPA.

“That’s another one that might fall into an ‘at-risk’ category,” Brown told the City Council Monday.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated the $19.9 million EPA grant is on pause. It is at-risk, according to the mayor’s office, but not officially paused.