Planting Trees in British Columbia

Plateau Fire Restoration – Nazko, BC

The Plateau wildfire in 2017 burned 545,151 hectares, with approximately 30-40% of this area experiencing a stand-destroying fire. Some areas will regenerate naturally from seed sources that survived the fire. Lodgepole pine cones are specifically adapted to release their seeds following a wildfire. Areas that had few lodgepole pine before the fire, burned with a very high fire intensity, or have difficult conditions for seed germination, will take many decades to recover without tree planting.

Planting ensures that all the benefits forests provide will return to the landscape much faster than if left to natural processes. These benefits include the provisions of food sources, fuel, and medicinal plants; atmospheric carbon sequestration; regulation of the hydrological cycle; and wildlife habitat. Wildlife species that will benefit from this project include black and grizzly bears, moose, mule deer, cougars, grey wolves, snowshoe hares, sandhill cranes, bald eagles, and many more small mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians