Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Thursday that Auburn will receive $945,000 from a broader $11 million central New York fund to replant trees.
The grant, originating from the U.S. Forest Service’s urban and community forestry program, is intended to assist Auburn in replacing the more than 1,200 ash trees lost to the invasive emerald ash borer over the past ten years.
This program is part of the larger federal Inflation Reduction Act, which has allocated over $1 billion to support such initiatives.
Auburn’s west end and select neighborhoods within the Auburn Enlarged City School District are earmarked for the tree replanting effort. Auburn’s struggle with the emerald ash borer, which wiped out a significant number of ash trees across upstate New York, left the city with only 41 of its original ash trees standing.
Other cities and communities across the Finger Lakes and Central New York will see funding for this effort, too.
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