Isabelle Sheperd is the executive director of the Alliance for Cape Fear Trees (AFCT). She said she first learned about the fund cancellation from a New York Times update on her phone.
“It was during that time where no one really quite understood what was happening, so we called the Arbor Day Foundation, and quite frankly, they didn't fully know what was happening. They told us first that it was frozen, that it was paused. We were, of course, concerned for the worst,” she said. “As I was getting that news, I was headed to interview a candidate for [that] position, and I sat through that interview knowing we probably can't hire this person.”
About $100,000 came from the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, and an additional $250,000 from the federal government, was given to the Arbor Day Foundation to plant trees in underserved areas identified by census tracts. Shepherd added that the Trump administration took down an interactive site called the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, which identified the prioritized tracts.
This means these tracts, mainly downtown Wilmington neighborhoods, where some families live in poverty and are predominately people of color, will no longer have access to this additional tree-planting effort and service.
In a letter to AFCT, Arbor Day Foundation CEO Dan Lambe wrote that the Trump administration tied this funding to diversity, equity, and inclusion, efforts the federal government no longer supports. He added that they were planning “to take steps to dispute the USDA Forest Service’s decision to terminate the [agreement]. If our efforts are successful, and we have proper authority, we will work toward reinstating the affected Subaward Agreements.”
According to Shepherd, the funds are likely not coming back — and this cancellation will likely further exacerbate issues with stormwater management, cooling urban heat islands, and air quality. She also wants the public to remember that trees help soak up excessive rain and block damaging winds when hurricanes strike the area.
Shepherd said they could recoup funds through a combination of grants, corporate sponsorships, or local government, but she understands that “not a lot of grantors fund the administrative costs. Many of them don't fund salary or wages, and that's what we need to get this program again.”
AFCT has received funding from past sponsors such as Verizon Wireless, International Paper, ncino, and Audi Cape Fear, as well as from foundations like Landfall and the Women’s Impact Network. In 2022, it received a $16,000 grant from The Endowment.
Shepherd reiterated that they currently have no choice but to pause the hiring process, but “if we receive support from our local community, corporate sponsors, or private donors, then maybe that's something that we can look to, and I'm hoping that we'll be able to do that sooner rather than later.”
Shepherd said AFCT will continue advocating for tree preservation and planning planting events despite the setback. They recently had one on March 15, during which 40 volunteers planted 50 trees along right-of-ways throughout Wilmington.
Over a decade, AFCT has planted over 3,000 trees and distributed over 15,000 to the community.
Ultimately, for Shepherd, it’s about the trees — and the people who live in these neighborhoods where disinvestment, i.e., less tree planting and maintenance, has occurred over time.
“We [will] continue to work to increase tree equity in our city so that the benefits of trees are felt by all,” she said.
