May 8, 2025 - This year, the Bass Lake Ranger District (BLRD) is planning to plant approximately 550 acres, for up to 108,000 seedlings. They will be focusing on areas impacted by the 2014 French Fire and the 2020 Creek Fire bark beetle outbreaks. A mixture of ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine, red fir, white fir, and sugar pine seedlings will be used. They were grown from seed picked several years in advance by the Forest Service and eventually grown at the Placerville Nursery.

Foothill residents in the North Fork, Oakhurst and Mariposa areas are welcome to participate by planting ponderosa pine seedlings on their property. Those wishing to adopt one-year-old ponderosa pine seedlings may obtain 5 to 20 per person from the Sierra National Forest’s BLRD office in North Fork, California. 

The High Sierra Ranger District (HSRD) is planning to plant 650 acres in the Creek fire footprint, including Jose Basin, Big Creek and Huntington Lake. Planting will start in April and conclude at the end of May. HSRD will also be providing seedlings to help those who want to make a difference by planting conifer seedlings on their lands. Conifer seedlings will be available for pickup on Thursday afternoons between 3-4 pm at the Mountain Rest Fire Station until June 26th, or while supplies last. Katherine Burton from the HSRD silviculture department will be on hand to give out seedlings and instructions. Please note, limited quantities will only be available while supplies last. For questions regarding conifer seedlings, please contact olivia.roe@usda.gov.

Instructions on how to plant the seedlings will be included at pickup. To minimize moisture and heat stress, seedlings should be kept cool and transported in an ice chest with the roots covered with a moist towel and planted the same day when possible. These seedlings are meant to be planted on private property.

The Bass Lake Ranger District office at 57003 Road 225 North Fork, Calif., is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. For more information on ponderosa pine seedling adoption, please contact the North Fork office at 559- 877-2218. 

Mountain Rest Fire Station is located at 34911 Tollhouse Rd. Auberry, CA 93602. For more information on available conifer seedlings, please email Olivia.Roe@usda.gov.

Boxed cedars prepared for transport with covered roots.
Source: Sierra National Forest