Loss of biodiversity grant led Arlington to question anti-discrimination code
The loss of a federal grant dedicated to fighting invasive plants near a “disadvantaged community” partially led to the city of Arlington scrutinizing its anti-discrimination code.
City leaders — Arlington Mayor Jim Ross, in particular — have said that the city began to examine its antidiscrimination code after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered recipients of federal funding to end DEI programs.
Ross has said that $65 million in federal funding that would be vulnerable if the city did not act, and that the city had already lost a $50,000 grant because words implying inclusion were used.
That grant was for $150,000 given to the city’s Parks, Recreation, and Culture department in December from the Arbor Day Foundation, which received $50 million from the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service through $1.5 billion in Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act funds.
The Arlington City Council voted 7-2 Feb. 10 to end its anti-discrimination code passed by the council in 2021. It adopted an amended version.
The code passed in 2021 included language protecting Arlington residents from discrimination on the basis of “race, color, national origin, age, religion, sex, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.”
The language in the amended ordinance approved at the February meeting defines discrimination on the basis of “any protected class” under federal or state law. In September, the City Council passed an ordinance suspending the anti-discrimination ordinance.
After two delayed attempts to amend the ordinance, the council upheld its suspension in December before voting on the amended ordinance.
Some residents have expressed dismay at the amended ordinance, which they say strips Arlington’s residents — particularly its LGBTQ+ community — of protections against unfair treatment.
The Forest Service grant that the city lost was dedicated to planting trees and improving urban forests.
Arlington’s funds were dedicated to tackling privet, an invasive plant species found in Arlington’s Crystal Canyon Natural Area, on the north side of the city.
One solution to thin out the plants was to let a herd of 400 goats to clear dense undergrowth. In 2024, several of the goats escaped their enclosure and were rounded up by police.
A grant agreement between the Arbor Day Foundation and the city of Arlington, reviewed by the Star-Telegram, says that the money must specifically benefit “disadvantaged communities,” and it does mention “environmental justice equity.” The grant was terminated in February 2025.
The grant agreement mentions the word “inclusion” once, in a sentence about putting information about the grant in promotional materials related to the project.
The word “diversity” is not included in that grant agreement — but the word “biodiversity” is.
A letter from the Arbor Day Foundation, sent to the Arlington parks department, said the funding from the Forest Service was cut because the grant “no longer effectuates agency priorities regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and activities” and said that the foundation would be disputing the decision.
Garland and Pflugerville were among dozens of cities across the United States that received those urban forestry grants.
Ross told the Star-Telegram a day after the council voted to change the ordinance that the city had been left with two difficult choices: completely remove the ordinance and all the protections it offered residents in the one of the most diverse city in Texas, or risk unwanted attention from the Trump administration.
“One of the most clear understandings that we get from the federal government nowadays is the fact that there is no clear direction for anything,” Ross said.
The Arlington city attorney’s office reviewed the Attorney General’s guidance, Ross said, and decided that the language in the ordinance left the city vulnerable.
”What happened then was exactly what we were doing, which was erring on the side of caution and trying to make sure that we are staying ahead of the curve and not doing anything to irritate the federal government and to put a target on us.”
The city of Arlington was reimbursed roughly $31,000 by the Arbor Day Foundation after the grant was canceled.
“Like numerous other cities, the City of Arlington spent time last year proactively evaluating its policies, practices and procedures for alignment with the new administration’s executive orders and changes to federal grant terms and conditions,” Arlington’s spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday. “Changes, including the original suspension of the Anti-Discrimination Ordinance, were done in an effort to mitigate the potential loss of federal grant funding.”
This story was originally published February 19, 2026 at 4:58 PM.
