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Lake Forest Park tree board adopts 2025 priorities, backs $75,000 SFI grant to update community forest plan
Summary
The Lake Forest Park Tree Board approved its 2025 work plan and agreed to pursue acceptance of a $75,000 Sustainable Forestry Initiative grant to audit and update the city's Community Forest Management Plan, with staff to seek city council approval and manage quarterly reporting.
The Lake Forest Park Tree Board on Thursday approved its 2025 work plan and adopted priorities that include pursuing a $75,000 grant from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) to audit the city's community forest program and support an update to the Community Forest Management Plan.
Board members framed the grant as an opportunity to pay for a consultant or consultants to evaluate the city's urban-forest policies, identify gaps, and provide a recommended pathway for updating the management plan and for potential SFI urban-forest certification. Board members and staff said the grant would fund an audit and provide technical assistance; it would not obligate the city to pursue certification.
Why it matters: The SFI grant funds an outside evaluation the board says is needed to bring the city's planning and management of trees into alignment with current urban forestry standards and to identify concrete steps the city could take to improve canopy, native-species protection and stormwater benefits. The grant also provides funding that could be used to produce deliverables that inform council decisions if the city accepts the award.
Most important facts: The board's draft work plan highlights four priorities to present to council and to guide board work: (1) a comprehensive review and update of the Community Forest Management Plan; (2) assessment of results from the city tree inventory and recommendations on exceptional-tree criteria; (3) invasive plant removal in 5 Acre Woods; and (4) public outreach and education tied to Arbor Day and the Green Fair. The SFI grant that prompted much of the discussion is for roughly $75,000 and includes a one-year performance window and quarterly reporting to the sponsor. Board members said the grant will require council acceptance before funds can be spent and that staff will bring the work plan and grant acceptance to council as a first touch in spring; staff materials are due to the city clerk by Feb. 13 for the packet going to council in late February.
Board discussion and next steps: City staff member Drew (identified in the meeting as the city planner/urban-forest staff contact) described the grant and said SFI's program offers an urban-and-community-forestry sustainability standard and a pre-certification audit. He said the grant can be used to benchmark the city across SFI objectives (protection, Indigenous participation, communication, science) and to procure consultant support to prepare the community forest plan update. The board agreed to highlight the community forest review as a top priority in the work plan so council can see how the grant would plug into planned work. The board also directed staff to: (1) present the updated work plan and introduce the grant to council this spring; (2) prepare the required materials for the council packet by the Feb. 13 staff deadline; and (3) return to the board with a scope of work that the board can review before a contract is executed.
Other work-plan items discussed: Board members flagged outreach and event work (Green Fair, Arbor Day and tree walks), web-content review, and an invasive-plant effort at 5 Acre Woods as actions to prioritize during 2025. The board agreed that outreach language in the work plan should be broadened to "participate in community outreach opportunities and events, including Green Fair," to allow flexibility for other events during the year. Members discussed using some grant funds to support an update to public-facing materials and to link community-forest planning outcomes to the city website.
Budget, schedule and reporting: If the city accepts the SFI grant, staff said the grant period begins when the city signs the award; the sponsor allows one year to use the funds and requires quarterly check-ins. Because the award was for a larger amount than an earlier $25,000 application, staff said the higher award made the project more feasible for the city, given finance and reporting obligations. Acceptance requires council action; staff will bring the item forward in spring as part of the work-plan presentation.
Votes at a glance: The board took three routine, unanimous voice votes during the meeting: approval of the meeting agenda, approval of the December 2024 minutes and approval of the board's amended 2025 work plan. Each voice vote was recorded as "Aye" with no opposition reported.
What comes next: Staff will finalize a draft scope of work for the SFI-funded audit and return to the board for review; staff will also prepare the council materials (work plan and grant acceptance) for the Feb. 13 packet deadline. The board scheduled follow-up on the invasive-plant remediation plan for 5 Acre Woods, an update to the exceptional-tree work and planning for Arbor Day and related outreach.
Ending: The board asked Elizabeth (city staff) to produce the revised two-page work-plan summary with the board's prioritized items in bold for council materials and agreed to continue discussion of code changes and exceptional-tree criteria at the next meeting.
