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Dona Ana Soil & Water program to plant 2,100 trees in Las Cruces under $1M federal grant
Summary
Officials said the Neighborhoods/Neighbor Woods program has a five-year, $1 million federal grant to plant and give away 2,100 trees across Las Cruces and Dona Ana County; city councilors and volunteer groups pledged outreach and partnership support.
The Dona Ana Soil and Water Conservation District told the Las Cruces City Council on July 14 that a five-year, $1 million grant will fund planting and giveaways of 2,100 trees across the city and county.
Jennifer Klytze, representing the district, said the Neighbor Woods program was funded after the district and Tree New Mexico applied to a U.S. Forest Service urban and community forestry grant opportunity. “In September, we were notified that we were awarded a 5 year $1,000,000 grant for our project,” Klytze told the council. “The goal of the project is to plant 2,100 trees in the city of Las Cruces in Dona Ana County and give away 2,100 trees.”
Program status and schedule: Klytze said the program is in year two of five and has completed plantings of 50 trees in the South Solano area and 50 trees near University Hills Elementary School. Fall plantings planned include two 50-tree plantings in the Lynn neighborhood on Oct. 4, a 100-tree planting near Sierra Middle School in November, and a 50-tree planting in Sunland Park’s Tierra Madre subdivision.
How the program works: The district stages plantings at neighborhood schools or other community sites, identifies homeowners willing to water and care for trees, pre-digs holes and organizes volunteer crews and a team leader trained in tree stewardship. Klytze said the program uses GIS canopy mapping to target neighborhoods and that most of Dona Ana County qualifies under the grant’s eligibility rules. She said volunteers and residents can sign up via a neighborhoods-program website and QR code the district has prepared.
Partnerships and resources: Klytze credited coordination with the City of Las Cruces Parks and Recreation Department and the city Sustainability Office; she also said Parks and Recreation provided trees through an Apache Tree Grant and that the local nursery High Desert Native Plants is caring for trees until planting. The district said it draws volunteer crews from local groups — including Envirothon teams that have participated across counties.
Council response and volunteer outreach: Several councilors asked the district to share the QR sign-up and outreach materials with all council offices so elected members can amplify volunteer recruitment. Councilors highlighted additional benefits beyond shade, including neighborhood beautification and possible traffic-calming effects from street trees; Klytze and staff agreed to coordinate with the city’s traffic and public-works teams.
Costs and continuation: Klytze said the district is seeking additional funding options to continue plantings after the five-year grant ends. She asked for council support in promoting volunteer canvassing and community awareness. The district also said sheltering, staging and volunteer-training efforts aim to ensure trees are planted during the cooler months and receive follow-up care.
Sources: Presentation and remarks by Jennifer Klytze and neighborhood program coordinator Catherine (Kat) Buckman at the July 14 Las Cruces City Council work session. Councilor requests and comments are taken from the public discussion portion of the presentation.
Ending note: The program team asked councilors to help publicize fall canvassing and volunteer training; the city and nonprofit partners will continue to coordinate planting schedules and volunteer recruitment.
