From: internetado@bbs.alt119.net   
      
   _The Forest Service plans to tackle a reforestation backlog of 4.1   
   million acres_   
      
   To help revitalize millions of acres of burned and damaged forests   
   across the American West, the U.S. Department of Agriculture aims to   
   plant more than one billion trees over the next decade.   
      
   Wildfires and other issues have devastated U.S. woodlands in recent   
   years, and Forest Service arborists can’t keep up with replanting lost   
   trees. They’ve reforested just six percent of land damaged by fires,   
   pests and extreme weather events, which has created a backlog of about   
   4.1 million acres.   
      
   Now, with more federal resources and funding via the REPLANT Act and   
   the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the USDA's Forest Service plans to   
   close the gap. To do so, the federal agency will need to hire more   
   people, source and collect more seeds and expand its nursery capacity   
   to grow four times more seedlings.   
      
   “Forests are a powerful tool in the fight against climate change,” says   
   Tom Vilsack, the U.S. agriculture secretary, in a statement announcing   
   the initiative this week. “Nurturing their natural regeneration and   
   planting in areas with the most need is critical to mitigating the   
   worst effects of climate change while also making those forests more   
   resilient to the threats they face.”   
      
   The federal government is focused on replanting trees on public lands   
   because forests filter and store water, sequester carbon, provide   
   Indigenous communities with food and timber, and contribute more than   
   $11 billion to the economy via outdoor recreation, to name a few   
   benefits. Left bare, areas once charred by wildfires are also more   
   susceptible to other potentially disastrous problems, such as   
   mudslides, flooding and landslides.   
      
   The Forest Service will scale up its reforestation efforts gradually.   
   Last year, staffers replanted roughly 60,000 acres of trees. Over the   
   next few years, that number will increase to about 400,000 acres per   
   year. Spending will also rise, from about $100 million spent on   
   reforestation this year to as much as $260 million.   
      
   “Achieving this vision of growing and nurturing resilient forests for   
   tomorrow requires action today,” according to the Forest Service’s   
   reforestation strategy plan.   
   (continue)...   
      
   https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/us-will-plant-1-billio   
   -trees-to-combat-climate-change-180980485/   
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