Metroplan Announces $5.9 Million for Land Restoration and Tree Planting

Projects funded to-date will preserve 1,002 acres of land, restore 11,210 acres, and plant 180,000 trees

March 2, 2026

The Metroplan Board has awarded $5.9 million to 6 projects for restoring land and planting trees across Central Arkansas.

Metroplan is the lead agency for the Energy and Environment Innovation for the Natural State Implementation Grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) Program.

This grant includes $15,500,000 for subawards to Central Arkansas municipalities, counties, and nonprofit partners to implement Green Network projects to preserve land, restore land, and plant trees.

Round 1 projects were awarded in May 2025 in the amount of $8,176,000. With the addition of Round 2, the projects funded to-date will preserve 1,002 acres of land, restore 11,210 acres, and plant 180,000 trees, which exceeds the targets identified in the implementation grant.

Projects were evaluated in accordance with program guidelines and at the direction of the Metroplan Board. EPA did not select or endorse project selections. The Metroplan Board of Directors has allocated funding in the following amounts for Round 2 Green Network subawards.

Project Subrecipient	Description	Funding
Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission (ANHC)	Land Restoration at Four Central Arkansas Natural Areas	$256,900
Central Arkansas Water	Landscape-Scale Restoration for Climate and Ecosystem Resilience	$3,706,251
City of Little Rock	Native Restoration at Little Rock Zoo	$306,671
City of Maumelle	Growing Maumelle: Urban Tree Canopy Expansion Program	$39,616
Tree Streets, Inc.	Street Trees on MLK Boulevard in Little Rock	$10,000
UADA Cooperative Extension Service	Central Arkansas Tree Planting Grant	$1,599,977
TOTAL		$5,919,415

Contact: Sydney Dozier
Phone: 501.372.3300
E-mail: sdozier@metroplan.org

Featured image photo credit: Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission