Bowie hopes to increase tree canopy with $35K grant - Bowie, MD

Bowie hopes to increase tree canopy with $35K grant:
The City of Bowie is using a $35,000 grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust to pursue a plan to allow city landowners could receive some money to plant trees and add to the value of their properties.

The $35,000 is being used by Bowie to hire a consultant to pull together available data so that the city can apply for tree-planting grants for use by property owners.

'The point is to have the data so we can get the grant money,' city Watershed Manager Tiffany Wright said. 'It's the first step forward in getting additional grant dollars.'

Based on the 2007 photos, about 46 percent of the city's land area is covered with trees, according to a canopy report done by the University of Vermont and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.