13,800 Trees Planted Fall 2022!

Most of our seedlings that went into the ground this fall were planted in recent burns – namely the Caldor, Tamarack and Loyalton Fire scars.

Everyone remembers last year’s infamous Caldor Fire, but the Tamarack Fire was also burning just south of Lake Tahoe the month before. It scorched 68,637 acres and almost wiped out neighboring Markleeville and Grover Hot Springs State Park.

Ranchers who lost vast acres to the Tamarack Fire are deeply motivated to replant their lands and hired crews to plant seedlings that we provided. In this way, almost 10,000 trees – a mix of mostly Jeffrey pine and some sugar pine and incense cedar – were planted in the Tamarack Fire burn scar.

Closer to home, thanks to cooperation from the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) of the US Forest Service, we hosted two plantings in the Caldor Fire burn scar. The entire 6th grade class from South Tahoe Middle School enjoyed a field trip to Echo Lake Snow Park where they not only got to plant trees, but learned about watershed and soil health in relation to fire. A public planting attended by Cottonwood Homeschool students, Liberty Utilities employees and dedicated members of the community also helped plant at Echo Summit on a sunny Wednesday morning in October. All told, about 700 western white and Jeffrey pines were planted in the Caldor Fire burn scar this fall.

Our first planting of the season took place in a burned section of the Loyalton Fire, which raged north and west of Reno in 2020. Friends, family and Summit Racing Equipment coworkers of Joe Bertrand came together to plant Jeffrey pines along Dog Valley Road – an area that he has a special connection to and wanted to help restore. 

It is this deep connection to and concern for the land that drives all of the people who come together to help us carry out our mission at the Sugar Pine Foundation. We are grateful to all of our partners and volunteers who care about the health of our forests and who helped get trees in the ground this fall! We are proud to work alongside each and every one of you in restoring fire scars, sugar pines and ecosystem vitality!

From left to right: Volunteers planting in the Loytalton Fire scar, Caldor Fire at Echo Summit, and students planting in the Caldor Fire scar at Echo Lakes Sno-Park.