Tag Archives: DNR Urban and Community Forestry

Urgent Update – Help Needed Now to Save WA State’s Urban Forestry Program in the 2026 State Budget

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Action Alert

Update – Help needed Now! WA State’s 2026 Operating Budget bill would eliminate DNR’s Urban and Community Forestry program!

The  WA State Department of Natural Resources Urban and Community Forestry Program is on the verge of losing funding in the 2026 state operating budget and being shut down. We need your help to contact key Legislators to not  its funding for Urban and Community Forestry. Details are below on what is happening and how you can help. The Legislature’s deadline to pass the 2026 operating budget bill is midnight Thursday March 12, 2026 when the session ends.

The WA State House and  Senate have both passed supplemental operating budget bills. The Senate passed ESSB 5998 on Feb 27th and sent it to the House. The House relabeled and passed the Senate supplemental bill with their amendments on Feb 28th. The Senate on March 3rd refused to concur on the House amendments and voted to ask the House to agree to a Conference Committee to resolve the differences. The Senate then appointed Senators Robinson, Stanford, and Gildon to a Conference Committee to resolve the differences. On Monday, March 9, the House appointed   Representatives Ormsby, Gregerson, and Couture to the Conference Committee. Time is short to ensure cuts are stopped. The Legislature is set to adjourn on Thursday March 12th at midnight which is coming up quick.

The House amendments included cutting funding for the Department of Natural Resources Urban and Community Forestry Program. Here is the House version – 2025 -27 Omnibus Operating Budget – 2026 Supplemental Passed House (ESSB 5998 w/House AMD)

See pages 182 – 185 which details some 18 House proposed budget cuts in the Dept of Natural Resources. Besides Urban Forest Assistance (Urban and Community Forestry Program), some of the other areas the House proposes being cut include Climate Change Response Strategy, Climate Commitment Act Work, Environmental Justice, Forest Health Assessments, Forest Help Technical Assistance, Forest Practices Division, HEAL 2026 Act, and Recreation Land Maintenance.

The Senate version of ESSB 5998 does not include these cuts to the 2026 Supplemental Operating Budget.

We need you to quickly send the message below to your Legislators and the Conference Committee members and the Senate and House Leadership to adopt the Senate version and reject the amendments proposed by the House that defund the Department of Natural Resources Urban and Community Forest Program and other related programs that cut funding for protecting our environment and forests and climate.

Click here to find your District Legislators. Enter your address, then click on one of your legislators links. Go to their page and click contact to send an e-mail.

Step 1 Verify again your district and then click yes to send to the other 2 Legislators in your District.

Step 2 It asks you if you want to send to other legislators.Click yes and also click to add the following legislators. The names include the 6 conference committee names and members of the House and Senate Leadership.
Conway, Couture, Dhingra, Fitzgibbon, Gildon, Gregerson, Hasegawa, Jinkins, Lovett, Lovick, Nobles, Ormsby, Ortiz-Self, Pedersen, Ramel, Riccelli, Robinson, Simmons, Stanford, Stearns, and Stonier.

Step 3 Cut and paste the draft highlighted e-mail heading below in the e-mail template.
Please do not adopt the 2026 operating budget amendments proposed by the House to cut funding for urban and community forests, forest health and climate resilience!

Step 4 Cut and paste highlighted e-mail text: Please prioritize in ESSB 5998 fully funding the Urban and Community Forestry Program that is critical to helping cities, counties and tribes protect and grow our urban forests to create healthy neighborhoods and communities where people live.  Continued funding of urban and community forestry programs includes assistance in creating model urban forest protection ordinances, conducting canopy studies,  and creating urban forestry management plans.  DNR’s program also help funnel public and private grant money to  city, county, state and tribal programs to grow and protect our forests. In addition, also restore funds to programs to increase climate resilience and protect all of our forest resources across the state.

Thanks for your help in letting our elected Legislators know that we want them to protect our urban and community forests, our climate and our environment.
Thanks for your help.

Washington State House Appropriations Committee Proposes to Cut State Urban Forestry Program

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Help needed Now! WA State House budget bill would eliminate DNR’s Urban and Community Forestry program!

The proposed 2025-2027 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations budget passed last week by the Washington State House Appropriation Committee to House Rules will wipe out the Washington State Department of Natural Resources Urban and Community Forestry Program. We need your help now to save this program by contacting your legislators with e-mails and/or phone calls urging they not shut down this important state program.

The following DNR funding line item as shown is proposed to be deleted in SHB 2289  which is the WA State House version of the state’s Supplemental Operating budget for the next year.

“(1) $3,000,000 of the natural climate solutions account—state appropriation is provided solely for investment in urban forestry to support reduction of negative environmental conditions such as heat, flooding, and pollution and helping communities become greener, cleaner, healthier, and more resilient.)).”

DNR last week in a briefing memo stated that the proposed reduction “eliminates all state funding for DNR’s Urban and Community Forestry Program for Fiscal Year 2027, and ongoing.”

They add that “This reduction not only eliminates state funding for the program directly impacting both staff and delivery of services to communities, but would automatically endanger millions in potential federal grant funding as it makes Washington ineligible for several grant programs currently administered by the program.” All funding would end on July 1 of this year when the new state budget takes effect.

Please let your state legislators know you support continuation of the Urban and Community Forestry Program in the Department of Natural Resources.  Urban trees are important in reducing harmful heat island impacts, reducing stormwater runoff, and air pollution. They help create healthy communities for humans and our environment.

The Urban and Community Forest Program helps cities counties and tribes assess tree canopy and inventory urban forests, assist in developing tree ordinances, urban forestry management plans and assessing  the needs and health impacts for sustaining urban and community forests.

Below is the link to contact your state Legislators and tell them to continue funding DNR’s  urban and community forest program!

https://app.leg.wa.gov/districtfinder/
You can send them an e-mail or call them and leave a message.

Additional information:
“Existential Budget Cut Would Wipe Out State Urban Forestry Program”, Ryan Packer, The Urbanist, Feb. 27, 2026
“Urban Tree Funding axed in WA House budget proposal“, Aspen Ford, Washington State Standard and the Spokesman-Review, Feb 27, 2026.
“Uncertain Future for Washington’s state’s urban forests“, Bellamy Pailthorp, KNKX, Feb. 28, 2026

Thanks for your help.

Steve Zemke

Chair –TreePAC.org

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