Over the past five years, American Forests has led and mobilized a nationwide movement of frontline advocates, national partners and allies to address the inequity around tree cover in American cities by income and race, and its life-or-death implications. Our own Tree Equity Score highlights this disparity: that communities of color tend to have 45% less tree cover than white communities, and lower income communities have 36% less than wealthier ones, leading to these neighborhoods being 6-9°F hotter as well. With extreme heat and flooding increasingly ravaging these communities, Tree Equity is a true climate justice issue. However, many cities and towns, and community-based organizations lack the needed funds, resources or bandwidth to achieve Tree Equity in their communities.

American Forests both unlocked $1.5 billion through our policy efforts in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) and secured $50m of this public funding to deploy to the highest-need communities. Over the next five years through the Catalyst Initiative, American Forests will work to remove barriers for organizations and municipalities who can move the needle for Tree Equity on the ground by providing critical learning opportunities, technical assistance and funding. The Catalyst Initiative will undertake the following: 

1. Identifying and engaging city, community frontline and faith-based actors facing the greatest barriers to entry into the Tree Equity movement. 

2. Provide no-cost technical assistance with American Forests’ Tree Equity tools and expertise. 

3. Through the Catalyst Fund, provide cash grants which, when paired with tailored technical assistance, can realize catalytic and sustained progress in Tree Equity for those actors facing barriers to entry. 

Working in close partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, American Forests will launch a first round of support through the Catalyst Fund for small and large cities beginning in early 2024.  

The Catalyst Initiative and Catalyst Fund are a key part of our promise to help at least 100 cities make meaningful progress on Tree Equity by 2030 through best-in-class tools, resources and equitable funding. If you want more information about future opportunities to partner or be involved, please email info@americanforests.org. 

Webinar Recordings

Communities of color and lower income communities have 36-45% less tree cover and are 6-9°F hotter than wealthier and whiter communities. Tree Equity is a climate justice issue. This series is geared toward recipients of the USDA-Forest Service 2023 Urban and Community Forestry grant awards, an unprecedented national $1.5B investment in urban and community forestry, but open to all involved in urban and community forestry. Watch our free online learning series to ensure your urban forestry investments make an impact on Tree Equity.

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In April 2023, American Forests and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) launched the Washington State Tree Equity Collaborative, the first statewide partnership focused on Tree Equity. The Collaborative aims to expand and fortify neighborhood tree canopy cover by engaging cities, community organizations and stakeholders to build more rigorous and inclusive urban forestry programs across the state.

DNR is using American Forests’ Tree Equity Score tool to prioritize expanding equitable tree cover in the neighborhoods that need it most, as 85% of urbanized neighborhoods in the Evergreen State have inadequate tree cover. Through the partnership, American Forests will expand Tree Equity Score to cover all Washington cities, and DNR will work with jurisdictions, Tribes, nonprofits and other partners to raise all urban census block groups to a score of 75 or higher.

Get Involved

Interested in learning more about the Washington State Tree Equity Collaborative? Contact DNR Project Manager Michael Liang or American Forests Senior Director or Urban Forestry Field Delivery Tanner Haid.

The Washington State Tree Equity Collaborative will be hosting gatherings focused on providing technical assistance, providing data to be used for prioritization of resources to support the goal of Tree Equity in every neighborhood, and to provide space for creative collaborations. Updates will be posted on this webpage – stay tuned for upcoming opportunities.

Resources

Visit DNR’s Urban Forestry webpage to learn more about the state’s programs and sign up for updates through the TreeLink newsletter. Explore national urban forestry resources through American Forests’ Research and Reports page and explore local urban and community forestry resources through Vibrant Cities Lab.

Washington Tree Equity Score Report

Analytics of state tree canopy and related ecosystem services

Learn More

Washington DNR UCF Grant Webinars

Resources and webinar archives for Washington entities interested in applying for DNR urban and community forestry grants

Learn More

Tree Equity Collaborative Steering Committee

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The future of the music industry is tied to finding a way to mitigate the harm from this detrimental insect. As the climate warms, such pests will spread more quickly. American Forests is working with researchers at the U.S. Forest Service and Holden Arboretum near Cleveland to improve the resiliency of forests in the eastern United States.

American Forests’ Roots of Rock initiative identifies trees that survived a pest or disease outbreak, extracts their strong genetics and grows more resilient trees with those genetics. New trees have been planted in tree nurseries in Detroit that American Forests and the Forest Service have helped develop on formerly vacant land.

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Planting and caring for trees is a business that requires skilled workers — people who know how to properly plant and water trees, climb them so they can be pruned, care for their health and more. But there is a labor shortage in the tree industry. There is an annual need for approximately 8,300 tree-industry workers nationwide. There are jobs available for urban foresters, arborists, tree trimmers, pruners and pesticide applicators. On top of that, there are more than 158,900 annual job openings in the landscaping industry.

At the same time, communities with the fewest trees tend to be low-income communities of color with high rates of unemployment. Tree care employers face challenges training and retaining residents in these communities, who often face barriers to employment. Ideally, tree workers work where they live, but tree-related career job training and placement in these communities hasn’t kept pace with demand.

Tree Equity: Career Pathways Initiative Seeks to Close the Gap

The Tree Equity: Career Pathways Initiative supports the Tree Equity mission by working to fill the immense labor shortage in the tree care industry with people who need the jobs the most. The Career Pathways Initiative creates pipelines between low Tree Equity Score communities and tree care employers looking for qualified talent. Whether it be through bolstering the work of pre-employment training programs who train and support community members as they prepare to enter the workforce, or directly connecting individuals with employers while providing wraparound services and retention support, the initiative considers the full cycle of recruitment to retention. The Career Pathways Initiative also works with employers to create an inclusive and supportive workplace to foster growth and success for all new hires, ultimately, influencing the culture of the industry.

The initiative prepares a diverse, thriving workforce to build and sustain economic strength and vibrant, green communities. Entry-level tree trimmers and pruners in the U.S. can begin their careers at a good salary: an annual wage of $44,040 and a median hourly wage of $21.48, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Additionally, 25% of entry-level workers in the sector are self-employed, opening the door to entrepreneurship.

Tree Equity Workforce Network: Building Capacity for Urban Forestry Training Programs

The Tree Equity Workforce Network (TEWN), convened by American Forests, is a network of stakeholders whose goal is training and supporting individuals who are underrepresented in the tree care industry, particularly Black, Indigenous and people of color. Developed from feedback by stakeholders to convene a space where cross-sector partners can share ideas and build best practices, TEWN aims to support the development of pre-employment programs and other workforce development initiatives that work to solve the employment gap in the tree care industry. Although TEWN’s focus is on pre-employment programs, any partners engaged in this work, including nonprofit organizations, employers, educators, and local and state agencies are welcome to join the network. Rather than working in silos in individual cities, TEWN provides a space of collaboration for programs to be innovative and creative, as well as learn from one another. The Tree Equity Workforce Network leans on the expertise of network members to improve the design and management of programs in the network, consequently elevating urban forestry pre-employment training across the country.

The foundation of the network is the Arboriculture Pre-Employment Curriculum, which outlines best practices for developing programs that train and support individuals who are underrepresented in the tree care industry, particularly Black, Indigenous and people of color. The curriculum is designed to serve those who face barriers to traditional employment, have little-to-no knowledge or experience in arboriculture, and live in low-income areas. TEWN hosts monthly online convenings, including webinars and networking sessions, facilitates peer-to-peer technical assistance, and provides funding opportunities.

Anyone involved in this work can become a member of TEWN. To join the network, fill out a profile here.

Explore Career Pathways Partners

The map below shows members of the Tree Equity Workforce Network and organizations implementing the WorkForest model.

WorkForest Model: Connecting Diverse Talent with Tree Care Employers

American Forests pioneered a new way to build a diverse urban forestry workforce. Even with an acute labor shortage, women and people of color are still severely underrepresented in tree care. WorkForest is a direct placement model that creates a pipeline between grassroots organizations serving low Tree Equity score communities and urban forestry employers. Grassroots organizations identify potential Black, Indigenous and people of color applicants facing barriers to employment and connect them with urban forestry employers who train and hire these individuals for entry-level, full-time, permanent positions. Grassroots organizations also provide critical wraparound services for six months that bolster retention, which include case management, financial literacy, career coaching and financial support to help navigate cost-prohibitive barriers like transportation and childcare. To promote enduring change, American Forests works with the employer partners to create a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility commitment and training plan for their staff to create an inclusive workplace for new and existing employees.

American Forests launched the WorkForest model in 2021 through a partnership with TAZO Tea (known through this project as the TAZO Tree Corps). The company sought to address climate change and environmental injustice by helping employ low-income, underrepresented individuals to plant and maintain trees in communities that need them the most. TAZO and American Forests worked with The Davey Tree Expert Company and local organizations to hire five people in five cities: Detroit, San Jose, Calif., Minneapolis, Richmond, Va., and Pittsburgh.  

Thanks to interest from other funders, WorkForest is now being rolled out in additional cities, including Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin and Phoenix. The need for qualified tree professionals is expected to grow by 10% by 2028, and this model seeks to fill this gap through direct placement, community-level partnership and career pipeline creation. Hiring people to care for trees in their own communities not only provides economic opportunities, but also boosts the chances that trees will thrive as they mature. 

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City Forest Credits

Seattle-based nonprofit City Forest Credits issues third-party verified carbon+ credits derived from tree planting and preservation projects in urban areas.

Companies are able to buy credits from high-value urban planting projects that uniquely quantify carbon, rainfall interception, air pollution and energy savings, and which are certified to align with corporate social and environmental responsibility goals.

Those selling the credits are typically urban forestry organizations or local governments, which use the proceeds to advance urban forestry programs.

Forest Management Tax Credits for Private Landowners

Managing a forest well takes money for activities such as collecting seedlings, growing climate-resilient trees and buying equipment for environmentally-friendly maintenance. Most private forestland owners do not have funding for this, which translates to subpar management and reduced carbon sequestration abilities.

One way to generate funding for forest management is to offer landowners a tax credit for conserving forests on their lands. Just such a solution is part of the agriculture and forestry strategy being created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and is included in the Growing Climate Solutions Act that is currently being considered by the U.S. Congress.

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In Arlington, Virginia, American Forests is creating an integrated urban forestry and natural resources management plan update that works for all city residents. This project includes an analysis of impacts and opportunities related to Arlington’s tree canopy, natural lands, urban development, wildlife, recreation, public education and stewardship. Benchmarking, focus groups and community engagement inform many components of this plan.

In Boston, American Forests is helping the city launch its first Boston Urban Forest Plan, which is designed to create a thriving, sustainable urban forest that will benefit all Bostonians.

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Through a project called Urban ForeSTEAM, American Forests is educating high school students about how people and the planet benefit from trees, the diverse range of career opportunities in urban forestry and how to enter this career path. Boosting the number of skilled people who are working in urban forestry is key to creating Tree Equity in cities across America.

Students learn about and explore urban forestry as an interdisciplinary field to determine areas that best fit their needs. They perform inquiry-based learning while gaining work-readiness skills.

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The bond between Girl Scouts and American Forests started over 100 years ago, when First Lady Florence Harding simultaneously served as honorary president of Girl Scouts of the USA and vice president of American Forests. Today, American Forests serves as the proud partner for the Girl Scout Tree Promise to empower Girl Scouts to plant, protect, and honor trees in support of their pledge to take five million actions to address climate change. 

Planting Seeds for a Better Climate 

Trees are nature’s powerhouse. They provide clean, pure air for our families to breathe; help keep our neighborhoods cool; pull carbon out of the atmosphere to help address climate change; and provide homes for wildlife. Yet climate change is limiting the ability of trees to grow back on their own. And not everyone has equal access to the lifesaving benefits of trees. The lowest income neighborhoods in America have 36% less tree cover and those with highest concentrations of people of color have 45% less tree cover.  

Girl Scouts across America are leading for climate and justice in their communities through the Girl Scout Tree Promise. American Forests brings over 100 years of expertise growing trees to equip Girl Scouts with resources, teach them how to take action through tree planting events in their communities and provide resources to explore careers in science and urban forestry.  

Help Girl Scouts Keep Their Promise 

Girl Scouts have planted tens of thousands of trees in 50 states. This is great work!  

Yet more needs to be done for the Girl Scouts to keep their promise. Every donation to American Forests will be counted as a supporting action toward the Girl Scout Tree Promise and help restore damaged wildland and urban forests – for people, for wildlife, and our planet.  Support for American Forests is support for the Girl Scouts as they work to combat climate change.  Your donation will help create a brighter future for the next generation of environmental leaders. 

With your charitable contribution you affirm you are 18+ years of age.

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White oaks are the most abundant tree in eastern forests, and they’re also the most ecologically important. Wildlife from blue jays to black bears feast on their acorns, while their leaves and bark offer food and shelter for hundreds of species of butterfly and moth. White oak is also one of the most valuable woods around, prized for whiskey barrels, furniture and flooring.

Essential as white oaks are, their future is at risk. There are almost no young white oaks to take the place of older trees. Since 2016, American Forests has planted 2 million white oaks across 5,000 acres in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and other states. We also support forestry management tactics to enhance white oak habitat, such as controlled burns and selective thinning of less-desirable tree species.

Restoring white oak is particularly important as the climate crisis triggers extreme heat, drought and rainfall in the eastern United States. White oaks can tolerate wildfires and droughts that would kill or damage less-hardy trees. Their size and longevity mean that they can capture and store carbon for centuries. These traits make white oaks a vital tool in the fight to keep our forests healthy.

Why Are White Oaks in Trouble?

There are several reasons why the next generation of oaks is failing to grow. Lack of sufficient wildfire is one of the biggest. White oaks evolved to cope with frequent fire, and can re-sprout from their roots even if flames kill the entire trunk. Fires — both those sparked naturally by lightning, and those set intentionally by American Indian tribes — were a common feature of eastern forests for thousands of years. But as development encroached across the region, wildfire suppression became the norm.

Fast-growing, short-lived tree species such as beech, maple and birch now outcompete oaks for sunlight, space and resources. At the same time, skyrocketing whitetail deer populations are mowing down oak seedlings — a favorite food — while existing and introduced diseases are hammering oaks young and old.

How American Forests Is Restoring White Oaks

Each year, American Forests supports restoration projects to plant white oaks and help boost the survival of naturally regenerating white oaks. Our work involves four different forestry techniques:

• Planting white oak seedlings
• Setting controlled burns to clear away underbrush and less-desirable trees from white oak habitat
• Selectively removing less-desirable trees to open up space and sunlight for young white oaks
• Cutting down dying or unhealthy white oak trunks so healthy shoots can grow from the stump

In Indiana’s Hoosier National Forest, for example, we’ve partnered with the United States Forest Service to set controlled burns across hundreds of acres of white oak habitat. In Ohio’s Wayne National Forest, we support work to clear open patches in the forest so young white oaks get the sunlight they need to thrive. And in Kentucky and West Virginia, we’ve planted tens of thousands of white oaks and other trees to restore native forests to former surface mines.

Our White Oak Partners

American Forests works with local, state and national partners to identify and reforest areas that will benefit from white oak restoration. We are part of the White Oak Initiative, a coalition of nonprofits, universities, land agencies and business interests that works to ensure white oak sustainability across the trees’ range.  The White Oak Initiative recently released an assessment and conservation plan that American Forests helped develop and will help implement. It features science-backed data and 10 specific forest management practices designed to provide long-term sustainability benefits for oak forests. The report predicts a significant decline in white oak populations over the next 10-15 years without sustained intervention. The goal is to urge industries, policymakers, conservation organizations and landowners to work together to support white oak sustainability.  We have also partnered with whiskey-maker Bulleit — which depends on white oak to construct its whiskey and bourbon barrels — to plant 1 million white oak seedlings.

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Hi-5s are trees that only grow at high elevations and have needles attached to branches in groups of five. There are six Hi-5 species in the western United States: whitebark pine, limber pine, southwestern white pine, foxtail pine, Great Basin bristlecone pine and Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine. All are in decline, some of them seriously. Whitebark pine is the most threatened among them.

Whitebark pine forests create critical plant and wildlife habitat and are instrumental to regional water supplies and recreational opportunities such as skiing. Unfortunately, whitebarks are rapidly vanishing, largely due to an introduced fungal disease, white pine blister rust, that has wiped out 90% of the pines in many northern forests.

American Forests has made saving the whitebark pine and all Hi-5s a priority. We are advocating for whitebark pine to be listed on the Endangered Species Act and working with partners such as the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation to develop a national restoration plan for the species and build support for an Endangered Species Act listing. The national restoration plan will serve as the basis for the recovery plan for the species upon listing.

Rebirth of Montana’s Flathead National Forest

In Montana’s 2.4-million-acre Flathead National Forest, 90% of all whitebark pines have died from blister rust fungus, insect outbreaks and wildfires — a rate of loss that matches the broader Crown of the Continent region, in which the Flathead sits. This massive loss means that the valuable habitat that whitebarks provide has all but vanished. With so few trees left, whitebark pine forests cannot regrow on their own.

American Forests has worked in Flathead since 2012 to replant blister rust-resistant whitebark pines in areas deforested by wildfires. This planting, along with collecting blister rust resistant pine seed, is the top restoration action needed and will anchor the recovery plan. Our efforts restore “founder stands” of whitebarks that will eventually reseed the landscape.

Reforesting the Whitebark Pines of Wyoming After Two Devastating Fires

Climate change and decades of misguided fire policy are combining to ignite severe wildfires in Wyoming’s Custer-Gallatin National Forest. The 2006 Derby Fire burned 207,000 acres in the forest and nearby private lands, while the 2012 Millie Fire burned 10,000 acres.

American Forests works in the Custer-Gallatin to reforest areas that aren’t naturally regrowing after these fires. American Forests’ planting projects use several native tree species, including whitebark pines that have been screened for resistance to blister rust fungus, as well as limber pines, which are also being decimated by blister rust. Since 2011, American Forests has reforested 3,394 acres with 1.86 million seedlings in Custer-Gallatin.

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