There’s no doubt that extreme weather events are taking a toll on forests around
the globe. Most recently, the western United States has witnessed yet
another record-breaking year of wildfires. In early October, California
reached the threshold of 4 million acres burned — a number that Cal Fire
described
as “unfathomable.” Fires in other western states such as Oregon,
Washington and Colorado demonstrate that this year’s fire season is no
anomaly. It’s the new norm that we must prepare for.
Recent fires have burned longer and hotter than usual, yielding two dangerous
results. These historic fires often destroy tree seed source, preventing or
slowing healthy forest regeneration. What’s left behind is mostly brush and
grass — effectively, fuel for the next megafire.
As with any disaster, the immediate priority is to stop the spread of the fire;
and provide food, water and shelter to people displaced by a wildfire. But
following emergency response, we must work toward recovering and building
resilience
in the long term. Though they may seem removed from our daily lives, we rely on
well-functioning forest ecosystems to clean our air and critical water sources,
to provide a home for dwindling wildlife species, and to support local
economies. Restoration ensures our continued access to the very necessities of
life.
At the Arbor Day Foundation, we are working with some of
the world’s largest and most well-known companies to lead this important work.
With the launch of our Wildfire Restoration
Collaborative,
eight of our corporate partners — AT&T, Facebook, FedEx, HP,
Mary Kay,
PepsiCo,
Procter &
Gamble
and Target — committed to help
the Foundation drive awareness and action around wildfire recovery. With an
initial focus on California, these partners are replanting 8,000 acres in the
burn scars of the 2018 Carr and Camp Fires. Future projects are slated
for Australia and Canada, as well as other affected forests across the
US.
These corporate leaders offer more than just financial support. Wildfire
restoration is a long-term process — with damage assessment, seedling grow-outs,
and of course tree planting — requiring a commitment of several years. Even once
seedlings are in the ground, our local planting partners must continue to
monitor and manage the forests to promote healthy regeneration.
It would be easy to put such a long-term project on the back burner, but major
brands can help remind their peers, consumers and employees that restoration
work is important and deserves our attention. For example, Procter & Gamble’s
Family Care products — Bounty, Charmin and Puffs — were the first
brands to sign on to the Wildfire Restoration Collaborative with a commitment to
plant 300,000 trees in California. This initiative opened the door for other
leading companies to sign on, and demonstrated the urgency of wildfire recovery
to millions of consumers who purchase the brands’ goods each day.
Of course, trees are also an important part of our partners’ sustainability
strategies. In addition to acting as an effective and cost-efficient technology
to remove carbon from the atmosphere, healthy forests are an investment in
thriving communities. For example, the two million trees we are planting in
California will ensure safe sources of water for more than 900,000 people across
eight counties in the state; and they will absorb more than 100 tons of air
pollutants, helping to prevent chronic respiratory diseases so prevalent across
the United States.
And restoration work actually builds more resilient forests, helping to prevent
more of the uncontrolled fires that have become so common today. When we replant
more fire-resilient species of trees — spaced and nurtured appropriately — and
clear out brush and grass that act as fire-burning fuel, we can help prevent the
next round of megafires.
When it comes to wildfire recovery, cross-sector collaborations help ensure that
this high-impact work is carried out with urgency and awareness. To learn more
about wildfire restoration efforts driven by our key corporate partners, visit
www.arborday.org/wildfire.
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Dan Lambe is the president of the Arbor Day Foundation, an organization founded in 1972 that has grown to become the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees.
Published Oct 23, 2020 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST