A two-acre farm just off Interstate 5 near Salem had plans to plant trees in the city's lowest-canopy neighborhoods. Then the federal government froze its grants, and four staff members lost their jobs in a single day.
Elderberry Wisdom Farm, a Native-run agricultural nonprofit founded by Rose High Bear, an 81-year-old Alaska Native of Deg Hit'an and Iñupiat descent, held a $749,000 USDA grant earmarked for planting trees near Title I schools and in low-income Salem neighborhoods where tree cover is sparse.
On Feb. 28, 2025, the Trump administration froze those funds as part of broader cuts to environmental and DEI programs, KLCC reported.
"Planting trees in the city of Salem in the, you could call it the Title I school neighborhoods, low-income neighborhoods, where there is low tree canopies," High Bear told KLCC. "We were really excited, and then Friday, February 28, 2025, I lost four staff all in the same day after we got notified of the freeze, so I had to build all over again."
U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Oregon, intervened and unfroze the $749,000 grant roughly two months later. But a separate $350,000 federal grant intended to fund youth of color doing urban forestry work was never restored.
The farm's remaining funding runs out in 2028, according to OPB. Without new grants, programs could wind down before that deadline.
What the farm does in Salem
High Bear purchased the property in 2017 and launched the nonprofit in 2018.
The operation combines a Native plant nursery, urban forestry training and micro-enterprise work, including making and selling elderberry syrup and spritzers at Salem and Corvallis farmers markets. The farm eschews pesticides and uses chicken wire to protect young elderberry plants from wildlife.
Its nursery is growing ponderosa pine saplings destined for planting near schools and in lower-income Salem neighborhoods.
David Mora-Flores, the farm's urban forest coordinator, graduated from the University of Oregon with an environmental studies degree before joining the nonprofit as an intern. Joaquin Ocana, an intern and native plant nursery coordinator, co-hosts the farm's Elderberry Wisdom TV and radio show, carried by Capital Community Media and KMUZ in Salem.
As of a 2023 profile, the farm had partnered with Chemeketa Community College on a traditional ecological knowledge workforce development program funded by a $500,000 grant.
What comes next
High Bear is pursuing funding from Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industry to support an urban forestry apprenticeship program, with a pilot planned for 2027. The farm also sells elderberry products at local markets to generate revenue independent of federal grants.
The city's role in the tree-planting effort, if any, is unclear from available reporting.
