USDA i-Tree Funding Lapse

Updated December 5, 2025

What happened?

The cooperative agreement between the USDA Forest Service and the Davey Tree Expert Company, which typically funds the delivery of i-Tree, has been indefinitely halted. A new information technology policy at the agency means that traditional Forest Service funding streams for this partnership are no longer available. Without this funding, maintenance for i-Tree will be impacted and the tools could eventually cease to function.

The i-Tree team realizes this comes as sudden news, and the full impact of this policy change only recently became clear. While the tools themselves will not immediately disappear, we will be unable to update much of the data that drives the models, unable to conduct all the maintenance that keeps the tools and websites functioning properly, and unable to provide technical support at current levels.

The i-Tree team, Davey, and the Forest Service remain committed to developing and sharing the science of tree benefits. The partnership between the Forest Service and Davey has been a model of public-private collaboration and has consistently delivered Forest Service science to forestry professionals and engaged community members in pursuit of this goal. While we are working to explore all possible avenues for replacement funding to continue this work, realistically this funding loss will immediately begin to impact delivery of the i-Tree tools.

What can I do?

The success of i-Tree has always been driven by the success of our users. If you’ve come to depend on i-Tree for your work, and you believe in the value of these tools, please consider sharing how you rely on i-Tree with the Chief of the USDA Forest Service, your State Forester, and your congressional representative.

We thank you for all of your contributions to i-Tree and sincerely hope to continue developing and delivering these tools if funding becomes available. You can currently reach us at info@treetools.org.