March, 2020. The City of Hutchinson was recently awarded a tree planting grant through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The grant is being funded by the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. Grants were awarded to several cities in Minnesota to help mitigate the impact of Emerald Ash Borer.
This funding will allow the City to plant about 275 trees over the next two planting seasons. Trees of other species purchased with grant money will be replacing ash trees that have already been removed or those selected for removal in the very near future.
City crews have accelerated efforts to remove low quality ash trees. Selected ash trees in areas with high numbers of ash trees have also been targeted for removal. Under this grant, City planting efforts will be focused in parks and other public areas. Some of the trees will also be planted as boulevard replacements.
