Official Site of The State of New Jersey

(23/P053) TRENTON –As trees become increasingly important in mitigating the effects of climate change, especially in urban areas, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette is congratulating New Jersey communities and partner organizations for obtaining U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service grant funds for urban and community forestry initiatives.

The 10 New Jersey grants range from $548,280 to Kearny, Hudson County, to increase shade and green spaces, to $8 million to The Nature Conservancy for development of a long-term tree maintenance program in Newark to optimize tree health. Funding was made possible through the federal Inflation Reduction Act. For a USDA news release, click here.  For a USDA video and state-by-state list of grant recipients visit, including New Jersey’s recipients, click here.

“I thank the USDA’s Forest Service for providing these funds to New Jersey communities and organizations for the important work of planting trees to mitigate the impacts of climate change, which include increasing temperatures and other disproportionate impacts in our urban and overburdened communities,” Commissioner LaTourette said. “Trees are important not only for the beauty they bring to our neighborhoods, but for the often-underappreciated role they have in improving air quality and reducing temperatures, filtering water pollutants and mitigating stormwater runoff, and providing shelter and habitat for wildlife.”

Commissioner LaTourette offered his congratulations to cap Climate Week, which provides an opportunity for the public to learn about the impacts of climate change and actions that can be taken to mitigate its effects and become more resilient.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Forest Service oversees its own Urban and Community Forestry Program, which for many years has worked to make communities more livable by providing local governments with educational, technical, and financial assistance for the planting, care, and management of trees and forests. Proper management of the urban and community forestry resource yields environmental, economic, and social benefits vital to the well-being of the most densely populated and urbanized state in the nation. 

The DEP’s newly updated climate change website includes a more user-friendly homepage and a collection of interactive story maps titled Climate Change in New Jersey: Impacts and Effects, which provide up-to-date climate change research, build upon the findings of New Jersey’s Scientific Report on Climate Change, and use a direct, easy-to-understand format that includes maps, photos, graphs, animations and more.

Follow Commissioner LaTourette on Twitter and Instagram @shawnlatur and follow the DEP on Twitter @NewJerseyDEP, Facebook @newjerseydep, Instagram @nj.dep and LinkedIn @newjerseydep

Visit Climate Change Website