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Burien staff say urban-forest work slowed after federal pass‑through funding was frozen
Summary
Burien City Council on March 24 heard an annual update on the Green Burien Partnership and how a recent federal pass‑through funding freeze is likely to curb planned work in 2025.
Burien City Council on March 24 heard an annual update on the Green Burien Partnership and how a recent federal pass‑through funding freeze is likely to curb planned work in 2025.
The presentation from city staff summarized 2024 accomplishments and warned the council the program will look different in 2025 because some federal funds are not currently available.
“The Green Burien partnership was able to provide… in 2024,” said Josh Petter, the city’s urban forest planner, listing 2024 outputs. “We planted roughly 1,900 plants,” Petter said, and staff described a 2024 program budget made up of grants, partner-donated time and materials and city staff time that “all of these parts together equaled almost $1,000,000.”
Why it matters: Burien’s urban-forest work underpins the city’s stated goal of increasing tree canopy coverage to 40 percent by 2038. Staff said that, without the now-frozen federal pass‑through funding, the city will have fewer resources for internships, restoration and outreach planned for 2025.
At the meeting, staff said the freeze affected two categories of funding. Gabby (last name…
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