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Board discusses multi-year irrigation grant to expand street-tree planting
Summary
Members reviewed a multi-year grant administered via the State Forest Service (originally $200,000; about $50,000 used so far) that pays for irrigation installs on private property to enable new street-tree plantings, and discussed targeting criteria and equity safeguards.
The Grand Junction Forestry Board spent part of its May 7 meeting updating members on a multi-year grant administered through the State Forest Service (referred to in the meeting as an IRA grant) intended to lower barriers to street-tree planting by funding irrigation infrastructure.
The chair briefed the board that the grant was originally budgeted at $200,000 and that about $50,000 was used last year; the program is structured as a five-year award. The grant pays for irrigation installs in the public right-of-way on private-property requests, with the city requiring recipients to cover ongoing maintenance costs after the initial infrastructure is installed.
Board members said the program prioritizes areas with limited canopy or corner lots that can yield multiple new trees per installation. Several members stressed the need to document selection criteria carefully—so decisions can be justified if residents view awards as uneven. The board noted the grant’s tactical approach: targeting blocks with the highest canopy deficit and sites where a single installation creates multiple planting opportunities.
The chair said staff will coordinate with the grants team to identify properties and manage grant paperwork and cautioned that federal program changes in prior years made timing uncertain; for now the board plans to move forward with small, targeted installations this year.
