39° and Clear
MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | North Metro Communities Receive More Than $1.18 Million in ReLeaf Awards as Minnesota Rebuilds Urban Tree Canopies
ANOKA COUNTY, MN (October 19, 2026). Six North Metro cities and the Anoka Conservation District have been awarded a combined $1,183,410 through Minnesota’s ReLeaf community forestry program, bringing new resources to tree management and replacement efforts across the region.
The awards are part of $7 million announced October 15 by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for 50 recipients statewide.
Brooklyn Park received $381,875, Fridley $247,869, Blaine $160,935, Mounds View $149,624, Anoka $114,057 and New Brighton $110,000. The Anoka Conservation District received $19,050.
Elsewhere in the metropolitan area, Saint Paul received $275,000 and Ramsey County $320,731.
Funding Covers More Than Planting
The legislatively funded program supports tree inventories, planting, maintenance, pruning, management plans, outreach and wood utilization.
Eligible work can take place on public land or low-income residential properties. Statewide projects include replacing ash trees lost to emerald ash borer, removing hazardous trees and using recovered wood in outdoor learning or play spaces.
The DNR’s announcement lists award amounts but does not assign a detailed work plan to every recipient. The figures therefore should not be interpreted as a specific number of replacement trees or a uniform planting schedule.
Across Minnesota, recipients include cities, county organizations, schools, nonprofits and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.
Replacing Ash Also Means Changing What Communities Plant
Emerald ash borer has forced Minnesota communities to address both the immediate expense of removing dangerous trees and the longer process of restoring shade and tree cover.
The insect’s larvae feed beneath the bark, damaging tissues that carry water and nutrients through an ash tree. Minnesota’s green, white and black ash are vulnerable.
A 2026 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer report described how communities are responding with a combination of removal, treatment and more varied replacement plantings. The report noted that Minneapolis completed removal of dead and dying street ash in 2022 and Saint Paul in 2024, while hazardous ash on private property remained an issue for homeowners.
Planting a broader range of species reduces reliance on a single kind of tree. A future pest targeting one species would then affect a smaller share of a neighborhood’s canopy.
For North Metro residents, the awards concern the management of trees along public spaces and, where an approved project provides for it, qualifying residential properties. They are awards to the listed organizations, rather than an announcement of unrestricted grants available directly to every homeowner.
Local project schedules and participation opportunities will depend on each recipient’s approved work.
STAY CONNECTED TO MINNEAPOLIMEDIA
Local stories matter. Subscribe free to MinneapoliMedia and receive independent news, community reporting and important updates from Minneapolis, the North Metro and communities across Minnesota.
SUBSCRIBE FREE: https://minneapolimedia.town.news/subscribe
MinneapoliMedia | Community. Culture. Civic Life
