...
By Natalie Venegas
Weekend Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has terminated the U.S. Forest Service's $75 million grant awarded to a foundation that helps low-income communities plant trees.
Newsweek has reached out to U.S. Forest Service and the Arbor Day Foundation via email for comment.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump created DOGE, a task force led by billionaire Elon Musk, to reduce government costs and the federal workforce. In its first month of operation, it has restructured multiple federal agencies and recommended mass layoffs, sparking backlash and concern from Trump critics, as well as from some Republicans.
Read More on Better Planet
Musk has called for sweeping cuts to federal government spending, claiming it should be reduced by up to $2 trillion annually. Supporters say this will boost efficiency and help tackle the national debt, while critics argue it will reduce access to government services.
In addition, Trump's administration has sought to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives since he returned to office in January. On his first day back in office, he signed executive orders seeking to end government support for programs promoting DEI.
What To Know
The U.S. Forest Service has terminated a $75 million grant to the Arbor Day Foundation, pulling the funding from 105 environmental projects aimed at reforesting disadvantaged communities across the country.
The grant, part of former President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act's $1.5 billion allocation for urban and community forestry, was intended to boost green spaces from New Orleans to Oregon, offering shade, cleaner air, and climate resilience to some of America's most vulnerable neighborhoods.
However, the foundation was told the nature of the work doesn't align with the agency's new policies. The termination email from the Forest Service, sent on February 14, said the project "no longer effectuates agency priorities regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and activities."
According to The Associated Press, Dan Lambe, CEO of the Arbor Day Foundation, argued the grants were designed to benefit entire communities, not just specific groups.
"This was an opportunity to make a really meaningful impact on people's lives, so it's been disappointing," Lambe told the AP.
From Alaska to Florida, the 105 grant recipients included nonprofits, municipalities, and Indigenous organizations. In addition, projects ranged from removing hazardous trees in wildfire-affected communities to planting new trees in urban heat islands.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Forest Service, defended the decision, saying it was following directives under Trump's administration to comply with executive orders.
"Protecting the people and communities we serve, as well as the infrastructure, businesses, and resources they depend on to grow and thrive, remains a top priority for the USDA and the Forest Service," the agency said in a statement, per the AP.
...
The funding cut has left local nonprofits and municipalities scrambling. In New Orleans, the group Sustaining Our Urban Landscape (SOUL), which has already planted more than 1,600 trees in the city's Lower 9th Ward, is now unable to move forward with plans to add 900 more. According to the AP, the organization is unsure if it can even keep its doors open.
Arthur Johnson, a longtime resident of the Lower 9th Ward, told the AP the cuts threaten the sustainability of a community still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed 200,000 trees across New Orleans two decades ago.
The loss of the grant also impacts initiatives in other states. In Jackson County, Oregon, a $600,000 grant was earmarked to replace thousands of trees lost to wildfires in 2020. Now, the nonprofit Oregon Urban Rural and Community Forestry is facing a "tremendous burden," its founder Mike Oxendine told the AP.
What People Are Saying
Arthur Johnson, a longtime resident of New Orleans Lower 9th Ward, told the AP: "You're not just cutting out the tree, the environment," if those trees aren't replaced and more aren't continually added, "it really takes a toll on the sustainability of the Lower 9th Ward and its community."
Susannah Burley, founder and executive director of SOUL in New Orleans, told the AP: "We kind of are lost because we don't know if we should be planning to close our doors or if we should be planning for next season."
Mike Oxendine, founder of Oregon Urban Rural and Community Forestry, told the AP: "This is a rural red area that needs it badly. We hit temperatures that exceed 110 degrees every summer now. We go through massive droughts and we're always prone to wildfire here."
A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spokesperson previously told Newsweek via email last month: "EPA is working to diligently implement President Trump's executive orders, including the 'Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing. President Trump was elected with a mandate from the American people to do just this."
What Happens Next
It is unclear if the Forest Service will terminate other grant recipients of the $1.5 billion forestry investment.
Meanwhile, cuts to federal government spending are expected to continue and will need to expand substantially if Musk is to reduce expenditure by anything close to $2 trillion annually.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines