BY MECHELE COOPER

Staff Writer

GARDINER -- The city recently received another grant from the Maine Forest Service to plant trees.

The $8,000 will be used for tree planting at the waterfront park.

The city received a $5,000 grant last year and purchased 14 flowering Cleveland select pear trees of caliber size -- trunks up to 3 inches in width -- to replace dead or dying trees along Water Street.

"We chose sugar maples for the waterfront, which will be about the same size (as the pear trees)," said Jason Simcock, director of planning and development. "The trees downtown were a different type than the types for the waterfront. We wanted to make sure we got the right kind of tree for that environment. For the waterfront, you have to factor in being next to the water in a floodplain. And we also were looking to create some shade."

He said the trees will be planted in the "green space" between the parking lot and boardwalk.

The city will apply to the Maine Forest Service for additional grants in the future, he said, to plant trees in the city's parks.

Jan Ames Santerre, who manages the forest service's Project Canopy program, said funding for the program comes from the USDA Forest Service.

She said the state received $250,000 for this year's round of grants, for which 64 communities applied.

"We were able to award 44 grants," Ames Santerre said Wednesday. "Some received partial and some received no award at all."

She said the amount the state receives each year range from $60,000 to $250,000.

Other towns in the area that received Project Canopy grants include:

* $2,605 to Readfield for invasive species control on public property called the Town Farm.

* $1,000 to Litchfield for a management plan for the Smithfield Plantation.

* $780 to Monmouth for a forest management plan at the Lake Cobbossee boat launch area.

Ames Santerre said the grant program allows communities to do projects that are aesthetically appealing and mitigate environmental concerns such as storm- water runoff and buffer planting.

"The vast majority of our projects are tree plantings and maintenance for communities, the other side is that we support sustainable management for public forest resources. Those benefits include providing recreational opportunities, wildlife habitat improvements as well as managing forest timber resources."

She said this week is Maine Arbor Week. On Wednesday, an Arbor Day ceremony was held at the State Capitol Hall of Flags to demonstrate the economic and ecological benefits of urban and community forestry, she said.

Tree seedlings were distributed during the ceremony, donated by Irving Woodlands LLC, of Ashland, she said.

Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811, Ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com