2017 PROJECT CANOPY ASSISTANCE GRANTS

Project Canopy Assistance Grants are available to state, county, and municipal governments, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations for developing and implementing community forestry projects and programs. Project Canopy, delivered to you by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry’s Maine Forest Service, anticipates that $125,000 will be available to support community forestry projects in the following categories:

Planning and Education

$10,000 maximum award
Projects support sustainable community forestry management, and efforts to increase awareness of the benefits of trees and forests.
Specialized funding is available for inventory and planning for street and shade trees, with emphasis on planning and management in preparation for invasive pests such as the emerald ash borer.
Planting and Maintenance

$8,000 maximum award
Projects increase the health and livability of communities through sound tree planting and maintenance.
To be eligible to apply for 2017 Project Canopy Assistance grants, all applicants must attend a grant workshop prior to submitting an application (excluding previous workshop attendees).  Grant workshops will be scheduled for December 2016, will be held via internet webcast, and will cover topics including grant writing, project development, sustainable community forestry management, and grant administration.

Grant applications will be due to the Maine forest Service at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2017. All grants require a 50% match from the grant recipient in cash or in-kind services.

Project Canopy is funded by the USDA Forest Service Community Forestry Assistance Program. The USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program was authorized by the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (PL95-313) and revised by the 1990 Farm Bill (PL101-624) to promote natural resource management in populated areas and improve quality of life.

For complete grant application and workshop information, please visit the Project Canopy website at http://www.projectcanopy.me/grants. You can also learn more about the Project Canopy assistance program by contacting Jan Ames Santerre by phone at 207-287-4987 or by email at jan.santerre@maine.gov.