Photo: Ross Stone | Unsplash
The US Department of Agriculture aims to plant more than one billion trees over the next decade in order to revitalize woodlands damaged by fires, pests and extreme weather. With more federal resources and funding via the REPLANT Act and bipartisan Infrastructure law, the Forest Service aims to close the gap of about 4.1 million acres that need reforesting. Last year, staffers replanted roughly 60,000 acres. This number will increase to about 400,000 acres annually over the next few years. Spending will rise from $100 million this year to as much as $260 million, as the Forest Service gathers more people, sources and seeds to expands its nursery capacity to grow four times more seedlings. Forests filter and store water, sequester carbon, provide Indigenous communities with food and timber, and contribute more than $11 billion via outdoor recreation. As of the end of July, fires have already burned 5.6 million acres, twice as much as the same period in 2021 and three times as much as 2020.
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