Sacramento nonprofits respond to loss of federal tree grant funds
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- Sacramento joined a federal lawsuit after a $1M urban tree grant was revoked.
- Nonprofits and schools face halted projects and delayed canopy goals by a decade.
- City plans to invest $8M locally despite loss to maintain Urban Forest expansion.
In Sacramento neighborhoods like Meadowview, efforts to expand tree cover were just beginning to take root when a $1 million federal climate grant was suddenly cut.
Consequently, the city of Sacramento announced in June it joined a lawsuit against the federal government over the termination of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental and Climate Justice Grant program. The city joins Earthjustice, the Southern Environmental Law Center, Public Rights Projects and Lawyers for Good Government.
The grants provided $1 million to the city and were intended to further the city’s Urban Forest Plan, adopted in June. Ninety percent of Sacramento’s tree canopy resides on private property, according to Rachel Patten, climate action lead for the city. The plan would expand the number of public tree canopies from 19-35% by 2045, improve air quality, reduce the heat island effect and provide shade for Sacramentans to engage in physical activity.
Despite the setback, the city plans to remain committed to the Urban Forest Plan and invest more than $8 million to support urban canopies, according to a city spokesperson.
Nonprofits, schools affected by loss
The grants focused on improving the quality of life, in particular, in the Meadowview neighborhood and areas surrounding Stockton and Del Paso boulevards. Nonprofit Sacramento Tree Foundation, the Sacramento City Unified School District and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento were also affected by the loss of funds.
“The big part is that we were already in contract, already beginning the implementation with this, and we had partners involved,” explained Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, whose District 8 includes Meadowview. “We’ll do everything we can to hold the line at the local level, but we know that the rollback of these critical funds is going to deepen the inequities that exist in our communities.”
Vang explained that the standstill may delay the prospect of reaching the city’s canopy goal by 10 years and its benefit to the community even longer.
Brian Heap, chief communications officer for the Sacramento City Unified School District, said that the district received about $310,000 from the city through the grant program. The money was supposed to extend canopy coverage into south Sacramento by adding trees at school sites at Rosa Parks and John Still TK-8 in the front of the schools and near playground areas to provide shading around play structures and blacktops.
“SCUSD is proceeding with this greening project at our school sites, and if the city of Sacramento’s lawsuit to restore these grant funds is successful, we will be reimbursed,” Heap explained.
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento has been a longtime partner with the city, collaboratively leveraging funding to serve households in underinvested areas, according to Leah Miller, president and chief executive officer.
Additionally, the nonprofit helps create new homeownership opportunities and repair homes. Through the grant program, Habitat for Humanity received $420,000 to pursue 40 drought-tolerant landscaping projects.
“I think that it’s unfortunate that we find ourselves in this place where the city has to take action to try to bring these funds back to our region and to be able to make an impact with taxpayer dollars to help benefit taxpayers,” Miller said.
The organization will no longer be able to focus on executing those specific projects. It’s important to support underinvested communities so that everyone can live, grow and thrive, and an investment like that would’ve been an important step forward in being able to do so, Miller explained.
This story was originally published August 7, 2025 at 2:24 PM.