Stimulus grant to help Kalispell combat elm disease; Kalispell, MT

Grant to help Kalispell combat elm disease:
Kalispell's urban forestry battle against Dutch elm disease is getting a boost from federal stimulus money.
The city is known for its lush canopy of deciduous trees lining its public streets.
But with an inventory of 369 American elm trees on the public right-of-way - 38 that already have been cut down and 40 more identified as dead and hazardous because they are infected with Dutch elm disease - there's a real risk of losing a substantial portion of that canopy. The disease is a fungus that can spread quickly if unchecked.
So when the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation offered $325,000 to cities to conduct innovative community tree projects, the city of Kalispell applied for and won a big chunk of it: $93,500.