January / February 2024 Insights

Planting to Address the Greatest Need

Arbor Day Foundation Projects & Global Priority Regions

Trees are part of the solution to some of the biggest challenges facing our planet. But to ensure that our planting efforts today can make the most difference for our future, it is imperative to focus on getting the right trees in the right places to maximize their impact.

While the Arbor Day Foundation restores forests all around the world, we are using science, tools, and data like never before to identify where tree planting can do the most good for people and the planet. We followed the data and arrived at five priority planting regions to focus our efforts: the American Pacific West, the American Southeast, the Atlantic Rain Forest, the Amazon River Basin, and Central America and the Caribbean.

American Pacific West

The challenges of unprecedented fires and drought are being met by reforestation work all along the West Coast.

American Southeast

Endangered species and migratory birds are relying on reforestation efforts to restore critical habitat.

Atlantic Rainforest

Planting efforts will safeguard endangered wildlife, the climate, Indigenous communities, and an important source of drinking water.

Amazon River Basin

Restoration of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystem will protect the rare and wonderful plants and animals only found here.

Central America and the Caribbean

In the wake of intense drought and tropical storms fueled by climate change, new trees will revitalize the landscape — and the people.

As reforestation efforts ramp up, the impact will be tremendous. Forests in these and other regions aren’t just “nice to have.” They are critical support systems for all life on our planet. Learn more about these priority planting regions and the tree planting efforts already underway at arborday.org/regions.

Facing California’s Monster Fires

One firefighter shares his experience with extreme wildfires

Gus Boston is one of those people who plans for the worst. When he enters a movie theater, he locates the exits. He sits in the emergency row on airplanes. He bought his northern California home in a location away from the high risk of wildfire. This mentality is part of what makes him so good at his job, and it has most likely saved his life a time or two.

Working for CalFire, Gus has been called to the front lines of some of the biggest, most out-of-control fires California has seen. Two of those fires are the Carr Fire and the Camp Fire.

The fire he thought would define his career

It all started with a flat tire on July 23, 2018. The rim met the pavement, creating a spark that ignited a 37day blaze known as the Carr Fire. Gus got the call. He knew the landscape. He had fought fires here before.

This area had multiple large fire scars. Rather than well-developed forest cover, most of the landscape had regrowth that was more uniform — all the same height and density. “It was primarily a brush field with fallen dead trees from previous fire scars,” Gus said. Adding

to that was extreme drought and insect damage. The land was stressed, and the fire took advantage.

Shifting winds added their own layer of complication as well. In the end, keeping his crew and equipment safe as they fought this fire was a challenge. “The rates of spread were pretty extreme. That first operational period, I think we had to bring our resources into safety zones three times,” Gus recalled.

As he reflected on battling the fire, everything came down to awareness. “The only thing that’s going to get you out is your boots. You’re far away from everybody and everything. You have to be really in tune with your fire environment. Your decision making has to be right on the money. You make a wrong move out there, and you could be in a serious situation,” Gus explained.

Once the flames were extinguished on August 30, the devastation felt unprecedented. Nearly 230,000 acres were burned, eight lives were lost, and thousands of homes were destroyed.

“In the Carr Fire, I thought I had seen everything. I thought that was a career event,” Gus said. “And then I saw the Camp Fire.”

A fiery reminder that nature’s in charge

On November 8, just four months after the Carr Fire was finally extinguished, the Camp Fire raged to life. High winds brought down a powerline, and the wildfire spread quickly from there. It was heading directly for the communities of Paradise, Magalia, and Concow.

Right away, Gus knew this fire was different. “It was Mother Nature telling us that she is in control.”

He had fought previous fires in this watershed area as well. He knew the old fire scars had exposed the land, creating a clear path of least resistance for the wind. “As the wind comes down the canyon, it compresses and increases the intensity and speed. And there’s nothing holding it back,” he described. With these factors, the land was ripe for a catastrophic blaze.

The first 24 hours were beyond anything he had experienced in the past, but unexpected crisis situations are what firefighters prepare for. “It was overwhelming. It really was,” Gus said. But he knew this moment called for leadership. “I came in, developed a plan early on, started breaking divisions out, assigning resources, and working in conjunction with the incident commander. That’s what keeps people in focus given the situation that we were in.”

And focus was key. The fire was moving rapidly. People’s lives were at stake.

Training and instinct were what kept Gus and the other firefighters going. They prioritized saving lives, evacuating communities, and protecting homes. They faced falling powerlines and flames cutting off escape routes. They fought with everything they had. And after 17 days, the fire was finally contained.

In the days following the Camp Fire, devastating statistics began to stack up: more than 150,000 acres burned, 52,000 people evacuated, and 9,000 homes destroyed. Sadly, 85 people lost their lives, making the Camp Fire America’s deadliest fire in the past 100 years. Boston walks through the barren landscape left behind after the Camp Fire.

The important insight he shares

Still with CalFire, Gus now spends his days planning and executing projects that can help avoid such severe fires. But his time on the front line will stay with him always.

“I was so scarred by what happened during the Camp Fire that I didn’t really speak my mind. I just shut down post-fire. Now I’m actually starting to open up,” he said. “I hope that people are able to take the lessons that we learned from these big events and utilize them within their communities and their forests.”

What are those lessons? Fuels (grass, shrubs, downed trees, leaves, and needles that burn in a wildfire) need to be reduced within forest cover, making a forest resilient in the face of wildfire. Communities need to be ready for not only the flames but also challenges like being without power or cell service. And nature needs a boost from forest restoration efforts.

“I know what it is to watch my community be destroyed,” Gus said. “But the fire environment is also destroying so much habitat in so many watersheds at just an extreme rate that it’s changing our environment. It’s changing our perspective on what we thought was the Western United States.”

Thanks for Your Insights

E ach year, the Arbor Day Foundation sends a survey to a sampling of residents, asking them to share their thoughts. As these completed surveys continue to roll in, we can’t help but be grateful to all of our Oak Society members who took the time to return them.

This year’s response has been wonderful. Nearly 58,000 members and supporters completed the survey, with more than 900 being Oak Society members.

As we continue to focus on planting trees where they can have the greatest impact, your insights will help to guide us. If you haven’t yet taken the survey, please take a moment to share your thoughts at arborday.org/donorsurvey Thank you for your input and support.

Rewriting the Future of Whitebark

Pine

The whitebark pine is a magnificent tree. Found at higher elevations, it fosters forest biodiversity in some of the toughest conditions. This keystone species is the first in its native range to regenerate after a fire and can function as a nurse tree, providing cover and protection for other trees and plants that are less tolerant of windy, harsh conditions as they return to the rugged landscape. It also shelters and feeds a wide range of birds and other wildlife.

Which of the following do you think should be the Foundation’s priority for the coming year?

n Replenishing America’s forests

n Helping to plant and care for trees in communities

n Planting trees to help improve living conditions

n Saving the Earth’s tropical rain forests

n Providing enriching nature connections for children

Beyond what it does for the forest, whitebark pine also provides general ecosystem services — helping to manage water runoff, slow the progression of snowmelt, and minimize soil erosion.

What are Keystone Species?

Keystone species are essentially nature’s MVPs. They are plants, animals, or other organisms that play a key role in their environment. Without these species, entire ecosystems could collapse.

As important as this evergreen is, it is also in peril. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the whitebark pine as a threatened species in 2022. These forest stands are facing pine bark beetles, threat of intense wildfire, white pine blister rust, and other fungal diseases. They are also struggling to reproduce due to the very wildlife they nurture, as the high-energy seeds are sought-after by many birds, particularly the Clark’s nutcracker.

To help this threatened tree thrive once again, restoration work is underway at Flathead National Forest in Montana. Whitebark pine are being planted there to help manage runoff and flooding while providing food and habitat for more than 100 wildlife species in the region.

Support from members and donors like you has helped to make this whitebark pine revitalization possible, and it will also ensure this critical work can continue. Thank you for your enduring passion for our natural world.

National Park Service

Clark’s nutcracker on top of a whitebark pine