Trump and DOGE take an axe to DEI trees and the Arbor Day Foundation

[essentialsaltes]

Is planting trees 'DEI'? Trump administration cuts nationwide tree-planting effort​

The urban forestry initiative, administered by the nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation, was supposed to distribute $75 million in grant funding to about 100 different cities, nonprofit organizations and tribes to plant shade trees in neighborhoods that need them the most.

In a letter terminating the contract, the U.S. Forest Service stated the program "no longer aligns with agency priorities regarding diversity, equity and inclusion." The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which houses the Forest Service, said in an emailed statement that the agency was complying with President Trump's executive orders.

 

[DaisyDay]

Monoculture it is then! Do we really want oaks in a pine forest? Doesn't the Bible prohibit mixing crops?

 

[Fantine]

Aren't "needy neighborhoods" color-blind? Although a higher percentage of African-Americans and Latinos may be "needy," in my city (and every other city) there are needy people in every demographic, ethnic, and cultural group--
often in the same neighborhood.
Besides providing shade, trees convert the carbon dioxide in the air to oxygen through photosynthesis, helping the air quality and our environment.
I am so tired of this. Colin Powell, former Secretary of State and Army general, is no longer listed in any government records.
The only "ethnic" holiday we can celebrate anymore (according to Jimmy Kimmel) is St. Patrick's Day, since the president is laboring under the false impression (at least among my Irish-American family and Irish-American friends) that many voted for him. Not!

 

[essentialsaltes]

Aren't "needy neighborhoods" color-blind?

One of the cities in the OP was Butte Montana:

Per the US Census' 2019 American Community Survey, the racial makeup of the city was 94.3% White

 

[Bradskii]

Is planting trees 'DEI'? Trump administration cuts nationwide tree-planting effort​

You should have quoted the article and then asked everyone to vote on whether it was from NPR or The Onion - without looking it up. The fact that it's not possible to differentiate statements from this administration from satire means that you are now in deep trouble.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Nothing new really, but worth saying again​

DOGE cuts an effort to plant thousands of trees in St. Louis, citing anti-DEI push​

Three St. Louis area organizations with forestry programming will no longer receive funding from the Arbor Day Foundation to help plant trees in underserved communities.

It comes after the Trump administration terminated diversity, equity and inclusion programs across all federal departments. That included the U.S. Forest Service, which recently ended a $4.7 million grant to the Arbor Day Foundation's Community Roots Program that was awarded last September as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Arbor Day Foundation’s Community Roots Program awarded money to 18 nationwide nonprofits, including some in Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, Massachusetts and California. According to the Associated Press, the U.S. Forest Service wrote in a Feb. 14 email to the Arbor Day Foundation that the award “no longer effectuates agency priorities regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and activities.”

 

[Pommer]

Nothing new really, but worth saying again​

DOGE cuts an effort to plant thousands of trees in St. Louis, citing anti-DEI push​

Three St. Louis area organizations with forestry programming will no longer receive funding from the Arbor Day Foundation to help plant trees in underserved communities.

It comes after the Trump administration terminated diversity, equity and inclusion programs across all federal departments. That included the U.S. Forest Service, which recently ended a $4.7 million grant to the Arbor Day Foundation's Community Roots Program that was awarded last September as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Arbor Day Foundation’s Community Roots Program awarded money to 18 nationwide nonprofits, including some in Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, Massachusetts and California. According to the Associated Press, the U.S. Forest Service wrote in a Feb. 14 email to the Arbor Day Foundation that the award “no longer effectuates agency priorities regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and activities.”

Oxygen, pfft, who needs it!?

 

[wing2000]

I have ten varieties of desert trees planted on my property. Some hail from Austrailia and Mexico. Shall I replace them all with Texas Mesquite?

 

[Fantine]

Let the Rose Garden renovation (replacing it with concrete) be your guide.
Let the First Lady be the horticultural trend setter in your neighborhood.