Cayenne Engel, Nevada Division of Forestry programs director, speaks during a news conference at Craig Ranch Regional Park Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, in North Las Vegas. Speakers discussed $15 million in federal grants to state and community groups to expand access to green spaces and trees in Las Vegas.
Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Environmental nonprofits, tree experts and planting volunteers gathered Friday to celebrate $18 million in federal funding for urban forestry initiatives aimed at protecting neighborhoods hit hardest by climate change.
The USDA Forest Service will provide Nevada with $15.7 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding for urban forestry, meaning anything from tree planting to education and longterm planning and management.
“We now have the chance to plant thousands of trees in the Las Vegas Valley and throughout Nevada, build a tree care workforce, develop programs and support the establishment of community food forests,” said Cayenne Engel, urban and community forestry program coordinator for the Nevada Division of Forestry, in a news conference at Craig Ranch Regional Park in North Las Vegas.
The urban heat island effect occurs in heavily developed areas with little to no greenery where temperatures rise above surrounding areas. Poorer areas and minority-majority neighborhoods tend to suffer the effects the most.
Nevada Plants Executive Director Lisa Ortega said the funding represents “the beginning of relief.”
“Nobody knows how many mature trees we may lose as we work to address a dwindling water supply and increased temperatures coupled with extreme weather events,” Ortega said. “I want to applaud this late and now imperative action.”
The city of Las Vegas will receive $5 million, and the city of North Las Vegas will receive $1 million. ImpactNV, an environmental nonprofit, will receive $3 million.
UNLV will receive $5 million for a new initiative, the Las Vegas Urban Forest Center, which will focus planting trees, educating Clark County residents on tree maintenance and their importance to the environment.
Zion United Methodist Church will use $247,136 to start an urban food forest as well as plant trees throughout areas that need them most.
“This project will increase community access to greenscapes and natural environments, as well as the availability of healthy food choices in an underserved area surrounded by some of the most food insecure neighborhoods in Southern Nevada,” said Amber Bosket, director of Urban Agriculture Technical Assistance for Zion Methodist Church's community garden.
Engel said the Nevada Division of Forestry will also release an additional $2 million grant opportunity for the expansion, maintenance and public engagement with urban forests statewide. Those funds must be used in census tracts deemed disadvantaged by the federal Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.
State Sen. Edgar Flores, D-North Las Vegas said efforts like these are especially important for outdoor workers, who have no shelter from poor air quality and heat. He described watching his father clean pools as a kid, often in extremely hot conditions and poor air quality.
“By promoting these green spaces, we’re not only making it a better place for kids, which is why we’re all here, but we’re also saying thank you to those parents who are out there taking care of us,” Flores said.
