American Forests will plant nearly 4 million trees in degraded sites across 20 states and four continents in 2008 with special attention given to wildfire-stricken California; 11 projects will plant a total of 426,000 trees there. Seven international projects also are planned.
Founded in 1875, American Forests is the nation’s oldest conservation group. Its Global ReLeaf Forests program, which restores native forestsfor $1 a tree, has planted 25 million trees in projects across the United States and around the world.
Individuals and businesses can contribute to Global ReLeaf through American Forests’ website, www.americanforests.org or by calling 800/368-5748.
Among this year’s projects:
In California, 38,000 trees in Mendocino National Forest will restore critical habitat for steelhead and Coho salmon; another 64,000 trees will be planted along a burned scenic byway in Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Fifteen thousand trees planted on the South Fork of the American River Canyon will increase habitat for the California spotted owl. And 51,000 trees planted in the San Bernardino Mountains will replace trees stressed by drought and bark beetle and killed by wildfire.
The more than 100,000 longleaf pine to be planted in Florida’s Hal Scott Regional Preserve and Park will benefit gopher tortoise, endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, bald eagle, wood storks, and 167 migratory birds.
A June 2006 tornado near Bear, Idaho, damaged more than 4,000 acres of Payette National Forest. Planting 218,000 conifers there will restore the watershed and lower the risk of bark beetle damage. Canada lynx, gray wolf, and elk are among the animals benefiting from this project; Council High School will grow the seedlings in its greenhouse.
Native conifers planted along Illinois Route 53 in Arlington Heights and along the right-of-way of I-290 in Addison will help lower noise andair pollution and improve the aesthetics of nearby communities.
In Kentucky, trees planted in the Sloughs Wildlife Management Area will boost wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation such as wildlife viewing, hunting, and fishing.
Minnesota’s Superior National Forest will plant more than 180,000 trees along the Gunflint Corridor, a state scenic byway that bisects the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. This will help restore damage from a double whammy: a 1999 windstorm that caused a 1,000-square-mile blowdown and a 2007 fire that burned the area.
The effects of Hurricane Katrina continue to be felt along the Gulf Coast and a project with the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain and the Sun Herald newspaper seeks to replace an estimated 300,000 trees lost in six coastal counties. The economic benefit of replacing the trees over 40 years: $1 billion.
Seedlings planted and nurtured by inmates at the William S. Key Correctional Center in Wheatland, Oklahoma, will be transplanted by towns, cities, and schools onto public properties, replacing trees lost to weather, invasive insects, and disease. The 15,000 trees will take the program statewide.
Seven international projects are planned. In Armenia, 100,000 trees will be planted on 24 acres of Sevan National Park. Cameroon’s Kitiwum watershed will receive 50,000 critically threatened and endangered plant species, a community asset to be sustainably used for bee farming, medicines, fuel wood, and building poles.
In the United Kingdom, 150,000 native seedlings will supplement the last stronghold of ancient lime woodlands. Plant Your Roots in Greece will restore 80,000 trees on Taygetos Mountain and Ancient Olympia. Mount Taygetos, one of the planet’s most significant ecosystems, was hit by fires in 2007.
Citizens in Honduras will help reforest uplands and mountain areas to restore and prevent damage to the environment and nearby cities. In Mexico, the La Cruz Habitat Protection project will plant 100,000 trees to improve monarch butterfly overwintering habitat.
And in Malaysia, 15,000 trees will help restore degraded forest within Supu Forest Reserve, one of the largest remaining natural forest habitats for endangered animals such as the orangutan, proboscis monkey and Borneo gibbon.
To contribute to Global ReLeaf and plant trees for $1/each, visit www.americanforests.org
American Forests’ American Forests’ mission is to grow a healthier world with trees by working with communities on local efforts that restore and maintain forest ecosystems. Our work encompasses planting trees, calculating the value of urban forests, fostering environmental education, and improving public policy for trees at the national level. We have a goal of 100 million trees planted by