The Bass Lake Ranger District is set to begin the 2015 reforestation program. During the next two months, contract and Forest Service crews will be planting approximately 90 acres of recently piled portions of the Carsten Fire. Contract crews will plant the majority of the seedlings while Forest Service crews will plant small, isolated, openings. Approximately 300 to 400 seedlings per acre will be planted. As many as 20,000 to 23,000 trees will be planted on the district during this period. Openings will be planted with a mixture of ponderosa pine and sugar pine trees.
Seedlings are grown from seed picked a number of years in advance by the Forest Service and stored at Forest Service nurseries. In order to accomplish reforestation objectives, seedlings must be ordered one to two years in advance of planting. Many of the trees being planted were grown at the Placerville nursery as one-year old bare root stock. The blister rust resistant sugar pine being planted is grown as one-year old containerized stock.
The Bass Lake Ranger District office in North Fork, 57003 Road 225 North Fork, CA, is open Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 am and 4:30 pm. To minimize moisture and heat stress, seedlings should be transported in an ice chest with the roots covered with a moist towel and planted the same day, if possible. Instructions on how to plant the seedlings will be included during your pick up. These seedlings are meant to be planted on private property. If more information is needed, please contact the North Fork office at 877-2218. Go Green! Plant a seedling today!
