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From the Director, Parks, Recreation and Culture, requesting authorization to submit a proposal for, and accept, if granted, funding through the U.S. Forest Service State & Private Forestry Redesign Competitive Allocation RFP FY 2011 for the naturalization of selected DPRC parkland.
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Policy
The Milwaukee County Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture (DPRC) is requesting authorization to submit a proposal for, and accept if granted, a U.S. Forest Service grant which would enable DPRC to expand its reforestation efforts at various parks throughout the County.
Background
In the Milwaukee County 2011 Capital Budget, DPRC has been allocated $61,000 to convert approximately 20 acres of parkland from mowed grass to native trees and shrubs (#WP 186 - Parks Naturalization). The primary goal of this budget item is to restore portions of DPRC property to native habitat in order to reduce the costs associated with maintaining 15,000 acres of parkland.
DPRC Staff has been informed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) that the project may be implemented in such a way that it can be used to take advantage of a 1:1 matching U.S. Forest Service grant. Under the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service State & Private Forestry Redesign Competitive Allocation RFP FY 2011, WDNR is eligible to submit or authorize others to submit proposals for projects that address high-priority issues or landscapes as identified in Wisconsin’s “2010 Statewide Forest Assessment and Strategy”. Two of those issues or landscapes, Forest Fragmentation and Forest Composition and Structure, will be addressed as part of the implementation of the Parks Naturalization Project. Therefore, DPRC is proposing to use $60,000 of the amount allocated in WP 186 - Parks Naturalization to capture an additional $60,000 from a U.S. Forest Service grant, enabling the department to double the amount of land initially proposed for naturalization.
In addition to reducing the am...
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