Casper officials announced on March 12, 2025 that the federal grant funding Branch Across Casper has been terminated as part of the federal governmental efficiency work. All project work has ceased. Casper urban forestry professionals developed Branch Across Casper to address the health of the city’s urban forest in neighborhoods where work qualified under the grant. “A healthy tree canopy contributes to improved water and air quality, mitigates urban heat islands, increases property values, and beautifies communities. We were incredibly excited for how this program could aid us in our work to improve the health of trees in Casper,” stated Parks Supervisor Katy Hallock.
According to Hallock, the urban forest in Casper covers only 3.64% of the city, and private property trees are critical to Casper’s 83,000 tree canopy. Funding for this initiative was provided through a grant from the Arbor Day Foundation as a pass-through partner of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service from the Inflation Reduction Act Urban & Community Forestry Program. On February 20, 2025, the City received notice from the Arbor Day Foundation: “the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service has sent the Arbor Day Foundation a Termination Notice for Agreement No. 24-CA-11132544-015 for the project titled, National Pass-through Partnership for Strategic Urban Forestry Investment in Disadvantaged Communities – Inflation Reduction Act.” The termination notice was said to be effective immediately and included a directive to cease all activity on grant-funded initiatives and to begin the grant closeout process.
In January, the City of Casper received over 200 applications for tree pruning, planting, and removal on private properties within the designated grant area. “Regrettably, due to the defunding of this federal program, we are unable to provide these services to any of our applicants at this time,” said Hallock. “We are discontinuing current work on the Branch Across Casper as directed, and we share in the deep disappointment felt by our community regarding this news.” The City of Casper is actively seeking alternative funding sources to support the necessary efforts to address Casper’s tree canopy.