City of Muskegon Urban Tree Management will be conducted thanks to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Urban and Community Forestry Inflation Reduction Act (UCF IRA) Grant Program made possible through IRA funding provided by the USDA Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program.

In 2023, WMSRDC engaged a subset of Muskegon neighborhoods for their input on tree planting locations. During these meetings it quickly became apparent that the true need from these underserved communities is the removal of trees threatening public safety. With this knowledge, WMSRDC partnered with the City of Muskegon to provide a phased approach to urban forestry. A forestry consultant will be competitively selected to conduct an unbiased and detailed tree inventory. A corresponding tree management plan will categorize the most dangerous trees in need of removal. Then, with consideration to input provided by underserved community members, the City of Muskegon will implement tree removals, tree maintenance, and new tree plantings to restore tree canopy resilience with healthy and biodiverse trees.

To engage the youth within the community, Muskegon Community College Forestry Program students will be given the opportunity to job shadow the forestry consultant, the city’s staff, and WMSRDC staff during all phases of the project. Additionally, Muskegon Public Schools high schoolers will assist in new tree planting on the schools property.