Neighborhood Tree Act of 2023

To amend the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to provide States and communities with additional assistance to plant and maintain trees, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Neighborhood Tree Act of 2023 2. Findings Congress finds that— (1) the presence of a healthy and well-maintained urban forest can— (A) support— (i) the physical and mental health of community residents; (ii) the regulation of air quality; (iii) the mitigation of the urban heat island effect; (iv) the reduction of energy demand; and (v) stormwater management; and (B) provide other benefits; (2) according to research of the Forest Service, the estimated value of benefits described in paragraph (1) exceeds $18,000,000,000; (3) the maintenance and management of an urban forest offers additional opportunities relating to workforce development, job creation, and enhancement of property values; (4) urban forest canopy cover is inequitably distributed among racial groups and income levels, exacerbating disparities in exposure, for example, to the urban heat island effect and in related health risks or financial burdens relating to cooling; (5) the effects of historical discriminatory policies, such as redlining, continue to have effects on urban environments; (6) a recent analysis shows that— (A) urbanized neighborhoods with mostly people of color have 33 percent less tree canopy on average than majority white neighborhoods; and (B) low-income neighborhoods have 41 percent less tree cover than neighborhoods with low rates of poverty; (7) additional analyses of cities in the United States found that— (A) communities primarily inhabited by United States-born, white populations contain more than twice the urban forest canopy cover of communities primarily inhabited by racial and ethnic minorities; and (B) there were elevated land temperatures in formerly redlined areas compared to their nonredlined counterparts, by an average 2.6 degrees Celsius and up to 7 degrees Celsius; and (8) to reduce disparities in the enjoyment of the social, environmental, and economic benefits of healthy and well-maintained urban forests and manage risks relating to heat exposure and other urban stressors, the Federal Government should accelerate actions to enhance the health and resilience of urban forests, with investment in priority communities. 3. Neighborhood Tree Fund Section 9 of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 ( 16 U.S.C. 2105 (1) by redesignating subsections (h) and (i) as subsections (i) and (j), respectively; and (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the following: (h) Neighborhood Tree Fund (1) In general Consistent with the purposes described in subsection (b), the Secretary shall establish the Neighborhood Tree Fund (referred to in this subsection as the Fund (2) Assistance The Secretary shall use amounts from the Fund to provide assistance to eligible entities described in paragraph (3) to increase and improve the overall health of the tree canopy in a community. (3) Eligibility An entity that is eligible to receive assistance under paragraph (2) is— (A) a State; (B) an Indian Tribe; and (C) a local unit of government, approved organization, or local community tree volunteer group described in subsection (b)(4). (4) Requirements The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, shall establish requirements for the receipt of assistance under paragraph (2), including requirements with respect to— (A) engagement with communities and stakeholders; (B) the conduct of a tree canopy assessment; (C) the use of climate change science in the design of a project using the assistance; (D) the conduct of site preparation and tree species selection; and (E) the conduct of monitoring and maintenance to ensure the successful establishment of the tree canopy. (5) Priority The Secretary shall give priority to the provision of assistance under paragraph (2) to eligible entities that propose projects that— (A) include and prioritize tree planting and tree maintenance in— (i) a census tract with a poverty rate of not less than 20 percent, as measured by the 5-year data series available from the American Community Survey of the Bureau of the Census for the period of 2014 through 2018, including such a census tract that includes an area that was designated as hazardous definitely declining (ii) a community or neighborhood with lower tree canopy and higher maximum daytime summer temperatures compared to surrounding communities or neighborhoods, as determined by the Secretary, based on publicly available information; or (B) optimize outcomes for climate mitigation and resilience for the purpose of public health, as determined by the Secretary. (6) Limitations on use of amounts for community tree assessments Not more than 10 percent of the amount made available under paragraph (7) for a fiscal year may be used for the development of community tree assessments. (7) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated for deposit into the Fund, for use by the Secretary to carry out this subsection, not less than— (A) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; (B) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; (C) $400,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; (D) $600,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; and (E) $700,000,000 for fiscal year 2028. . 4. National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council composition Section 9(g)(2)(A) of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 ( 16 U.S.C. 2105(g)(2)(A) (1) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking 15 16 (2) in each of clauses (i) through (viii), by striking the comma at the end and inserting a period; (3) in clause (ix), by striking , and (4) by striking clause (x) and inserting the following: (x) 3 members who are not officers or employees of any governmental body and who have expertise and have been active in urban and community forestry, of whom— (I) 1 is a resident of a community with a population of less than 50,000 as of the most recent census; and (II) 1 is a resident of a low-income community, as determined by the Secretary. .

Summary: Neighborhood Tree Act of 2023 This bill provides for additional assistance to states, Indian tribes, units of local government, approved organizations, and local community tree volunteer groups to plant and maintain trees. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) shall establish a Neighborhood Tree Fund from which to provide assistance to such entities to increase and improve the overall health of the tree canopies in their communities. In providing the assistance, USDA must give priority to those entities with proposed projects that include and prioritize tree planting and tree maintenance in underserved communities and neighborhoods, including those that are low-income or have a lower tree canopy. The bill modifies the composition of the membership of the Forestry Advisory Council by (1) increasing the number of council members to 16, and (2) including as a member of the council one individual who is the resident of a low-income community.