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Treasure Valley Canopy Network launches Community Tree Care program in Nampa with Forest Service funding
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Summary
The Treasure Valley Canopy Network told council it will accept applications from lower‑income homeowners for a Community Tree Care program funded by the U.S. Forest Service to help pay for pruning, hazardous‑tree removal and complementary spring tree plantings in Nampa.
At the council’s request for a parks update, the Treasure Valley Canopy Network introduced a new Community Tree Care program that provides a limited pool of Forest Service funding to subsidize private‑property tree work for qualifying homeowners. Program director Emma Stammerer described eligibility as having a household income at or below roughly 60% of the area median, and said the initiative is targeted at homeowners who could not otherwise afford necessary pruning or removal for safety and health reasons.
The program’s implementation will use a mapped service area across the Treasure Valley with an application, homeowner verification and a review process to prioritize the most urgent work. Stammerer said tree work funded by this program will occur in late spring/early summer and will be complemented by a separate free‑tree planting initiative for residents in the spring.
City forester Adam Mancini and parks staff praised the program as a way to expand tree‑care access, complement city planting efforts, and address emergent maintenance needs without creating new city operating costs. Council and staff asked about interaction with existing city tree programs and whether the canopy program could be used to help meet city code mitigation requirements in some circumstances; staff said the program is not intended to substitute for required mitigation but could support residents who have lost trees.
No action was required; council accepted the presentation and encouraged outreach to eligible homeowners.
