Princeton awarded urban forestry funding grant

PRINCETON — Princeton has been awarded a $10,000 grant with a $10,000 matching contribution to complete tree inventories and develop a management plan for its urban forest. The funds were provided by the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Urban and Community Forestry Core Grant Program, and administered by The Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Region Trees Initiative. The grants provide communities with a better understanding of the urban forest areas they’re managing by revealing an estimated number of trees, their size, condition and species. The inventories will also identify opportunities to increase planting, and will inform the development of a comprehensive, long-term urban forest management plan. With the funds, the Princeton Tree Committee updated and adopted a new Municipal Tree Ordinance and successfully inventoried all city trees located in public spaces, including the historic cemeteries.
City Manager Theresa Wittenauer said, “The main goal of the tree inventory is to maximize public benefits while minimizing public costs in managing our city trees as a vital community resource.”