Since 1926, John Lucas Tree Expert Co. has worked with investor-owned utilities, electric cooperatives, municipalities, railroads, and pipeline customers throughout the United States and Canada. Innovation has always been a core value, and Lucas remains committed to innovation that makes the industry safer, greener, and more efficient. The Lucas Tree Experts Integrated Vegetation Management Endowed Research Fund is a new endowment fund of Tree Research and Education Endowment (TREE) Fund created to support research in Integrated Vegetation Management in the United States and Canada.
This fund program was created in 2026 to help celebrate Lucas Tree’s 100th anniversary. Lucas Tree’s anniversary marks a century of innovation, safety, and stewardship in utility vegetation management.
APPLICATION PROCESS
| Grant Cycle Open: | August 1, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Last Day to Request Letter of Intent : | September 15, 2026 |
| Grant Application Due: | October 1, 2026 |
| Announcement of Grant Recipient: | Late December, 2026 |
TREE Fund will accept completed applications only between August 1 and October 1, 2026. To apply, fill out an application on our online portal – by clicking here.
Letters of Intent (LOI) need to be completed before September 15, 2026. Your LOI must clearly identify the Principal Investigator and Institution who will be contracted for the work should your application be approved.
TREE Fund will evaluate whether your LOI concept meets all of our application criteria and is deemed to have a reasonable possibility of success given the year’s research priorities. If and only if your LOI is approved, TREE Fund will send you a notification and open the application to you. TREE Fund determinations on whether an LOI meets the application criteria are final and not negotiable.
An instructional video on our Grants is available on our YouTube Page.
PROJECT REQUIREMENTS
Application Requirements can be found here.
Projects are expected to be completed within one to three years with a maximum grant award of $25,000. No project may receive more than one award from this program.
The Lucas Tree Experts Integrated Vegetation Management Endowed Research Fund Grant Program focuses on projects focusing on integrated vegetation management. TREE Fund welcomes research proposals and applications from a wide range of academic and technical disciplines, of both a qualitative and a quantitative nature.
TREE Fund does not fund the following types of projects, and will not accept applications for such work:
- Grants to individuals;
- Projects that are primarily municipal tree surveys or assessments;
- Tree planting programs;
- Studies focused on traditional forestry and timber production, agroforestry, and ecology and conservation of forested and other natural areas,
- Product testing primarily for the benefit of the company that manufactures the product.