WINTER/SPRING 2021

BRINGING SONGBIRDS BACK TO HAWAII, ONE FOREST AT A TIME HOW RESTORING THE FORESTS OF MAUNA KEA IS ESSENTIAL TO THE CONTINUED SURVIVAL OF HAWAIIAN SONGBIRDS BE A GIANT JOIN THE SEQUOIA CIRCLE

Your annual leadership gift of $1,000 or more makes you a giant for American Forests.

Forests rely on keystone tree species — such as the giant sequoia — to stay healthy and resilient. In the same way, American Forests relies on our keystone supporters — Sequoia Circle members — to advance our mission with leadership-level gifts.

Become a Sequoia Circle member today at americanforests.org/sequoiacircle Questions? Contact Emily Russell, director of major gifts, at [email protected] or 202-370-4522.

AF_2019 House Ads_Full-Page_FINAL_2.indd 7 1/8/20 8:32 PM VOL. 127, NO. 1 CONTENTS WINTER/SPRING 2021

Departments

2 Offshoots A word from our President & CEO

4 Treelines INNOVATION: How City Forest Credits offers an innovative way to bring carbon markets to cities. PLACE-BASED PARTNERSHIPS: American Forests partners with Microsoft and Phoenix to plant and help trees thrive in a desert climate. 24 MOVEMENT BUILDING: Boise, Idaho is making an outsized commitment to reforestation. PROFILES: Learn about Tribute Store’s long- lasting, environmentally friendly way to honor loved ones and how one high school sophomore became an environmental ambassador. ACTION CENTER: Tips for taking beautiful photos in forests. WASHINGTON OUTLOOK: Learn about American Forests’ new recommendations for how the federal government can help create Tree Equity. 36 HISTORY: A look at the history of the American ReLeaf program, in celebration of its 30th anniversary. Features THE UNDERSTORY: What are urban 18 heat islands? MOTIVATIONAL MUSINGS: Inspiring words 18 from those fighting for our forests. Seeing the city for the trees FOREST FOOTNOTES: Exciting developments, outside of American Forests, By Morgan Heim in the field of forestry. The importance of engaging youth in urban forestry. 22 Earthkeepers 24 A BOND FORGED IN FIRE: BRITTANY AND GILBERT DYER The United States of fire How one couple’s passion for protecting and By Allison Guy restoring forests from wildfire initially ignited How “good” fire may be able to help save forests across America from being — and continues to fuel — their life together. devastated by “bad” fires. 48 Last Look A peak into the work of photographer and 36 poet Michelle Collison Meyer. Bringing songbirds back to Hawaii,

BACK COVER FOLD-OUT one forest at a time Champion Tree Showcase By Katherine Gustafson Monterey cypress Discover how restoring the forests of Mauna Kea is essential to the continued

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE; AMANDA RICH; VAGABOND54/SHUTTERSTOCK COVER PHOTO: LEAH MESSER/USFWS RICH; VAGABOND54/SHUTTERSTOCK AMANDA FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE; U.S. FROM TOP: CLOCKWISE survival of Hawaiian songbirds.

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 1 offshoots

Many of American Forests’ volunteer events encourage youth to get involved, as shown here at our annual Rio Reforestation event in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

dream of, and they are showing social skills and an inclusive spirit that puts to shame the coarse public discourse that has too often overtaken our politics. I am sharing this because American Forests is putting youth right up front in our work. In our earlier years, we were focused on educating and activating youth. But that had slipped away entirely by the time I joined the organization three years ago. While it has forced us to restore some lost skills and relationships, we have committed to creating a strong place for youth partners in our programs. One embodiment of this commitment can be seen in the U.S. Chapter of 1t.org, which we lead with the World Economic Forum. We secured the Girl Scouts of the USA and Jane Goodall Institute’s youth Young leaders stand tall organization, Roots and Shoots, to serve as inaugural members of the chapter’s for forests and climate stakeholder council. They are helping

us marry the interest of young people RENA SCHILD / SHUTTERSTOCK BY JAD DALEY in trees and forests with their concerns about slowing climate change and protecting biodiversity. WHEN I GRADUATED from college, that has mobilized millions of youth Our commitment is also present I faced a choice. Go to law school and and their supporters in the streets. in our development of a Tree Equity pursue environmental law or go into While I am impressed by their pas- movement in cities. Part of creating Tree environmental education. I chose sion, I am even more impressed by the Equity is encouraging young people, education because I believed skills and maturity of these particularly those in socioeconomically then, as I do now, that the young leaders. Frequently, disadvantaged communities, to embrace passion of young people can when I attend high-powered the power of trees as part of the larger be the engine to overcome our meetings of climate leaders, movements they are building to advance biggest challenges, such as the most confident and environmental and social equity, includ- climate change. eloquent voices in the room ing climate justice. Little did I know just are young people. They have We are also helping youth explore and how much young people worked hard to advance enter careers in urban forestry. We have would lead! And not just the their ideals, and you can a digital Career Pathways Action Guide, famous climate activist Greta Thun- see that they understand the craft of as well as a new initiative to increase par- berg. Youth are leading everywhere and communication. ticipation from youth of color in urban on all aspects of climate action, from The same is true with organizing. forestry education programs, which you indigenous youth leading forest conser- Youth activists are leveraging social can read more about in “Seeing the city

vation to the school strike movement media in ways we older folks can only for the trees” on page 18. Likewise, in / AMERICAN FORESTS RUTH HOYT LEFT: ABOVE

2 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS

EDITORIAL STAFF Publisher Jad Daley Editorial Director Michele Kurtz Managing Editor Ashlan Bonnell Contributing Editors rural areas, we partner with the Sierra in the federal Climate Stewardship Act. Allison Guy and Jill Schwartz Contributing Writers Nevada Conservancy to help early career We also played an important advisory Allison Guy, Michele Kurtz, young people get a start in the vital work role in California’s new establishment Shanita Rasheed and Jill Schwartz Art Direction and Design of restoring climate-resilient forest of a Climate Corps. Brad Latham landscapes in California. The bottom line is this: Youth are American Forests’ mission is to restore All of these activities connect not waiting for their turn in line to threatened forest ecosystems and inspire people to value and protect to American Forests’ proud history lead. They are stepping up right now urban and wildland forests. in helping to establish the Civilian to move our country forward. We (202) 737-1944 Conservation Corps (CCC), which have the opportunity and obligation www.americanforests.org

primarily engaged younger people. to empower this youth leadership AMERICAN FORESTS through trees and forests, BOARD OF DIRECTORS and to help channel this Richard Kabat, Chair Kabat Company, Washington, DC Youth are not waiting for their turn in line toward climate change and Jeff Elliott, Vice Chair and Treasurer to lead. They are stepping up right now other challenges. I hope Iridian Asset Management, Westport, CT that you share my excite- Bruce Lisman, Immediate Past Chair Private investor, Shelburne, VT to move our country forward. ment at the new power we Jad Daley, President & CEO (ex officio) can create for change by American Forests, Washington, DC William H. Bohnett drinking from this fountain President, Whitecap Investments LLC, With emphasis on generating new of youth leadership. Jupiter Island, FL economic activities that can help You will hear much more about this E. Zimmermann Boulos Office Environments & Services jump start our economy, and parallel from American Forests in the years Jacksonville, FL interest in stepping up investment in to come. Thanks for making stretch Jacques Cook JCook & Associates, LLC trees and forests, there is huge poten- moves like this possible! North Bethesda, MD tial for federal and state government Ara Erickson to re-establish CCC-like programs. Weyerhaeuser, Seattle, WA Tom Evslin American Forests’ policy team has been Vermont PBS, Stowe, VT helping to incubate proposals, such as a For more news and updates from Jad, William Hazelton Chubb Group, New York City, NY

RENA SCHILD / SHUTTERSTOCK follow him on Twitter @JadDaley Climate Stewardship Corps provision David Hunter, Ph.D. Electric Power Research Institute Washington, DC Jeffrey Prieto Los Angeles Community College District, Los Angeles, CA Elisa Rapaport Rapaport Family Charitable Trust, Rockville Centre, NY Candace Dodson-Reed University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Ellicot City, MD Mary Wagner U.S. Forest Service (Retired), Ogden, UT

Youth are leading everywhere on all aspects of climate action. ABOVE LEFT: RUTH HOYT / AMERICAN FORESTS RUTH HOYT LEFT: ABOVE treelines INFORMATION TO AMUSE, ENLIGHTEN AND INSPIRE

INNOVATION Innovative financing brings carbon markets to cities

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE in the store, as well as other benefits the trees For any given tree planting project, United States talking about the need to provide to cities — such as less energy CFC calculates the carbon seques- plant more trees in cities — especially needing to be produced at power plants, tered and dollar value of benefits trees in socioeconomically disadvantaged fewer floods and cleaner air. Could will provide. That value is translated neighborhoods and some neighbor- concrete numbers like these help get the into “Carbon+ Credits” that are then hoods of color, where trees often are attention of investors? sold, often to companies and govern- sparse — seems to increase every day. City Forest Credits (CFC), a national ments that are looking to reduce their Limited funding and high costs to nonprofit, has proven that the answer contribution to climate change and in- plant trees, though, can quash their is “yes” in over one dozen places, such vest in local communities. A company, enthusiasm. It can cost up to $2,000 as Houston, Cleveland and Providence, for example, that emits greenhouse to plant and take care of just one R.I. Thanks to support from the Doris emissions at its production facility. tree in a city. Duke Charitable Foundation, American The CFC program is an opportunity to What if the benefits of urban trees Forests works closely with CFC as a offset that impact by giving back to the could be quantified, like they are in rural national partner and has been repre- community, in the form of more trees. areas? A dollar figure could be assigned sented on its Board of Advisors since the The sellers often are local tree to how much carbon dioxide the trees organization was created in 2015. planting organizations or govern-

issues credits, monitors for compliance sells credits CITY LOCAL FOREST OPERATOR BUYER

CREDITS AMERICAN FORESTS plants or protects trees, buys credits follows protocols invests in trees offsets and community carbon emissions MATTHEW BRADFORD MATTHEW

4 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS TreeFolks’ reforestation staff members sort saplings at a planting event along the Blanco River in Austin, Texas.

ments. The money they get from The CFC program is an opportunity for companies and governments this transaction is put toward urban forestry programs that plant more to offset their contribution to climate change by giving back to the trees or take better care of the ones community, in the form of more trees. already in the ground. One of the first projects developed was in Austin, Texas. A local organiza- funds allocated for carbon offsets. to employ and teach young people in AMERICAN FORESTS tion called TreeFolks reforested many Although the urban credits are notably Des Moines, Iowa how to plant and sites throughout the city. One was a more expensive than a traditional rural care for trees in socioeconomically 5-acre area alongside a river. At 25 carbon credit, the city likes that it is disadvantaged neighborhoods. The years of maturity, the trees planted able to keep its investments localized project attracted Microsoft, which there will store around 530 tons of while addressing global climate change. chose to provide an award to support carbon dioxide, intercept around Another option offered by CFC it in part because of the ability to 500,000 liters of rainfall per year, help is for companies to invest in local quantify and report outcomes that improve air quality and more. The planting projects the organization has would be provided via CFC’s impact project will generate over 500 Carbon+ certified as being good for the environ- certification process, such as com- Credits. All proceeds from the sale of ment, human health and social equity. munity engagement in the design and the credits will be used by TreeFolks The certification provides a new implementation of the project. for program administration and future framework to measure and demon- Science-based matchmaking tree plantings in Central Texas. strate the benefits of planting projects. like this might be just what is needed The City of Austin has already Take, for example, a $70,000 project to ensure all city neighborhoods

MATTHEW BRADFORD MATTHEW purchased some of the credits, using led by a nonprofit called Trees Forever are green.

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 5 treelines

PLACE-BASED PARTNERSHIPS culating Tree Equity Scores for all urban neighborhoods in Maricopa County. Coming together to plant trees and A Tree Equity Score uses a science- based approach to determine the tree help them thrive in desert cities canopy cover needed in a neighborhood to ensure the people living in urban areas benefit from trees. CLIMATE CHANGE-induced extreme In cities, trees help cool down People can use the scores to heat is a serious and growing problem neighborhoods and mitigate the health prioritize planting and conserving for cities nationwide. For desert cities, impacts of extreme heat, making them trees, as well as allocating resources such as Phoenix, figuring out the best way critical life and death infrastructure. The for trees in neighborhoods that lack to plant and care for trees is critical to city of Phoenix is committed to planting them. For example, city governments addressing this problem. And saving lives. trees to help double its vegetative land and urban foresters might use the That’s because extreme heat puts cover to 25% over the next decade. scores to make the case for planting many people — especially low-income American Forests is working to trees in neighborhoods where families families, the homeless and people with help achieve that goal. One way is can’t afford to run their air condition- respiratory illnesses — at risk of heat- co-leading the Phoenix Metro Urban ing units 169 days out of the year — related illnesses and death. In 2019, Forestry Roundtable, a coalition of the average number of days Phoenix 187 people died from heat-related more than 40 local partners, including experiences temperatures of 90 causes in Maricopa County, Ariz., members from academia and local degrees or higher per year. which includes the city of Phoenix, nonprofit organizations, as well as Roundtable participants also are one of the nation’s hottest cities. city, county and state government. assessing which tree species can toler- That’s an increase of 232% from 2006, Together, a plan for planting trees in ate the area’s high temperatures and according to data from the Maricopa an equitable way is being created. The developing best practices for keeping County Department of Public Health. first step is identifying which neigh- trees alive in desert climates. This is borhoods need trees the most. important because planting trees in With the help of an award from the the desert presents a number of chal- In 2019, 187 people died from heat-related Microsoft Datacenter Community lenges, including drought and protect- causes in Maricopa County, Ariz., which includes the city of Phoenix, one of the Environmental Sustainability initiative, ing trees during monsoon events. The

nation’s hottest cities. American Forests has done this by cal- purpose of American Forests’ work / ADOBE STOCK MARK SKALNY AMERICAN FORESTS

6 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS MARK SKALNY / ADOBE STOCK

AMERICAN FORESTS them themost.” trees inplaceswhere peopleneed use ourcollective knowledge to plant And withTree Equity Score, we can trees can grow longer andstronger. our collaborative efforts, Phoenix Urban Forestry Roundtable. “With a member ofthePhoenixMetro executive director ofTrees Matter, they provide,” says AimeeEsposito, health andenvironmental benefits care they receive longterm. number oftrees butalso thelevel of in Phoenixisto increase notonlythe The cityofPhoenixiscommitted to plantingtrees to helpdoubleitsvegetative landcover to 25%over thenext decade. “We know astrees grow, so dothe and social equity. That’s called creating air quality andadvancing environmental reducing temperatures,most, improving especially inplacesthat needthemthe ners inPhoenixwillensure trees thrive, American Forests istakingwithitspart- — AIMEEESPOSITO, EXECUTIVEDIRECTOR OFTREESMATTER knowledge to plant trees inplaces where peopleneedthemthemost.” stronger. AndwithTree Equity Score, we canuseourcollective “With ourcollaborative efforts, Phoenixtrees cangrow longerand The comprehensive approach The comprehensive approach AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 similar challenges. with othercitiesnationwide that face to share andreplicate what worked there Phoenix, American Forests willbeable Tree Equity. Andwhentrees thrive in |7 The city of Boise has pledged to plant 100,000 trees (one for every household) and 235,000 tree seedlings (one for every city resident) in surrounding Idaho forests by 2030.

MOVEMENT BUILDING Idaho’s Community Forestry Program brought together a few dozen people to discuss the rapid development hap- City of Boise makes admirable pening in the Treasure Valley, where commitment to plant trees Boise is located. People in the valley jumped into action. Over the next few years, they compiled data about the WITH JUST 235,000 RESIDENTS, trees by 2030. The city pledged to plant impact the region’s trees have on air Boise, Idaho, is not the biggest city in 335,000 trees. quality, created forest management the United States. But it has made an Other cities to make pledges then to tools to help determine where to plant outsized commitment to reforestation. the chapter, which is led by American trees, and founded the Treasure Valley Boise is in the first cohort of cities that Forests and the World Economic Forum, Canopy Network, which is the catalyst made a pledge in August to the U.S. are Tucson, Ariz., Detroit and Dallas. for collaboration and investment in Chapter of 1t.org, a global movement The momentum for this started the valley’s trees. to conserve, restore and grow 1 trillion building more than a decade ago, when A phone call last spring to Lance Da- visson, who leads the network, took all of this good work to the next level. The call was from Boise City Council President Elaine Clegg, who had the vision to plant 100,000 trees (one for every household) in Boise and 235,000 tree seedlings (one for every city resident) in surrounding Idaho forests by 2030. The City of Trees Challenge was born a month later. “People love trees,” Clegg says. “Trees clean the air and water. Planting a tree for every household is an easy idea for our residents to embrace so they can step up in helping combat climate change.” Treasure Valley is well on its way to being an even greater treasure.

A group of volunteers at the city’s October Free Tree Giveaway Saturdays, including Mayor Lauren McLean (in green) and

Council President Elaine Clegg (in white). CITY OF BOISE THIS PAGE:

8 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS treelines

PARTNER PROFILE Tribute Store provides opportunity to honor loved ones while positively impacting the environment

IN SCATTERED SWATHS of Michigan Customers can purchase a memorial purchaser of the approximate location of woodlands, more than 264,000 jack pine tree through the Tribute Store located the tree. The trees do not have memorial seedlings are helping bring back the on the funeral home’s website and then plaques or identifying markers because nesting habitat of a treasured songbird. post about the gift on the loved one’s they are planted in one of our priority But these young trees are more online obituary tribute wall. threatened forest ecosystems on public than a promise to the Kirtland’s Every six months, FrontRunner lands that American Forests wants to warbler. They represent thousands of selects which American Forests plant- restore to as natural a state as possible. people whose loved ones chose to plant ing projects to support. After plantings What they do have is the potential to trees in their memory. occur, the company notifies each offer essential benefits to both humans The trees were funded and wildlife. And a place where a rare by Tribute Store, a Madi- bird can keep belting out its songs for son, Wis.-based company years to come. that provides thousands of funeral homes nationwide with the online tools Last year alone, Tribute Store supported needed so people can the planting of 666,276 trees by purchase gifts that express American Forests. their condolences. One gift option is a “memorial” tree. Last year alone, Tribute Store supported the planting of 666,276 trees by American Forests. Planting a tree has become an increasingly popular way to honor someone who has died, and even more so during COVID-19, when attending funerals can be difficult, says Jason Truesdell, president of FrontRunner Professional, a partnered company of Tribute Store. Some customers choose trees because they prefer a long-lasting gift that positively impacts the environment. Traditionally, condolence gifts have been flowers. But over the years, Tribute Store noticed that their cus- tomers wanted a meaningful, longer- lasting and environmentally friendly option. Memorial trees made sense, and the company chose American Forests as its partner. “There’s a lot in our business about trust and reputation and longevity,” Truesdell says. “There’s a lot of credibil-

THIS PAGE: CITY OF BOISE THIS PAGE: WWW.TRIBUTEARCHIVE.COM/MEMORIAL-TREES RIGHT: TOP IMAGE; STOCK RIGHT: BOTTOM ity behind the American Forests brand.”

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 9 treelines

YOUTH PROFILE Childhood experience in India inspires high school student to become environmental ambassador MORGAN HEIM

AS A NATIVE OF WASHINGTON, “There were no trees in my in partnership with a Black-owned Santoshi Pisupati was used to a tem- neighborhood,” recalls Pisupati, now solar installation company that offers perate climate and vast forests of lush 15. “It was always hot, always smoky, discounts to participants. evergreens. So, moving to South India you could never go out without a mask. Pisupati and other area ambassa- when she was 6 was a bit of a shock. It struck a nerve.” dors are also mobilizing to call on the She wasn’t prepared for the outdoors That juxtaposition drove Pisupati Lake Washington School District and she encountered. to share what she knew about the envi- its families to switch their search en- ronment, hoping that would gines to Ecosia, a Berlin-based search inspire Indian youth to help engine that uses a portion of its profits build a more sustainable to plant trees. So far, the company world. After her three-year claims to have planted 110 million experience in India, she trees worldwide. That international was excited to continue focus resonates with Pisupati. pursuing her interest in the “When I was in India, it was very environment when she got rare to see a forest. To find one, you back to Seattle. had to go on vacation,” she says. “If you Now a high school search for anything on Ecosia, you’re sophomore, Pisupati is helping the environment.” co-leader of her school In addition to her love for travel district’s Sustainability and the environment, Pisupati has Ambassadors chapter. The developed a passion for space. nonprofit organization And that makes a lot of sense to empowers youth to lead her mother, who imagines all three campaigns that encourage of those interests melding into a peers, parents and policy- fascinating future. makers to advance sustain- “The next level would be outer able practices. Among their space,” says Sirisha Pisupati. “Some- projects, these students are day, maybe we’ll even make our leading a county-wide, solar journey to another planet. There will neighborhood challenge be sustainability needs there, too.”

Above: Pisupati is a part of the Pacific Northwest’s premier Model United Nations conference, where she hopes to educate students about the nation’s most pressing issues. Right: Pisupati, at age 8, gives a presentation about natural resource conservation to more than 300 students at a middle and high school in South India. PISUPATI OF SANTOSHI COURTESY THIS PAGE:

10 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS  If you want a wider shot, place your subject in either full shade or full sun.  Photographer Jenny Nichols in action capturing the beauty of the forest around her. Use a flash or reflector to even out

MORGAN HEIM light on your subject.  Embrace the dappled light and get ACTION CENTER Jenny Nichols offers her tips on creative with mood and story. What documenting nature and capturing does it say if half of your subject’s How to capture the beauty of forests: face is in a shadow?  One of the main challenges while  Something that is very cool about Forests in Focus photographing in a forest is the dappled photographing in a forest is the endless light. The shadows and highlights layers. Have fun with depth of field! make for a tricky exposure. But there  Even in a peaceful forest, there is NEXT TIME YOU VENTURE into the are ways to work around that problem. much happening that eludes our sight woods, be sure to take your camera: Here are a few tips: and hearing. The trees, plants and American Forests’ annual Forests in  Keep a shallow depth of field. This animals that make up the ecosystem Focus photo contest is back! Open to allows you to have a smaller section are very busy. Bring a macro lens to get amateurs and seasoned professionals of the forest in focus, thus increasing up close to some of those tiny features alike, the contest celebrates the won- your chances of bringing the entire and creatures. der of trees, from those in large forest subject into focus. The soft back- landscapes to city parks and streets. ground or circles of confusion that For more information about the But before you head out, Colorado- occur around the sharp part of the Forests in Focus contest, see based professional photographer image can be beautiful. americanforests.org/Forests-in-Focus. LET FORESTS BE YOUR LEGACY WITH A GIFT THAT COSTS YOU NOTHING NOW

We all want to be remembered as someone who made a difference in our world. YOU CAN! — by leaving a gift to American Forests in your will, trust or by beneficiary designation. It’s easy to do, and your gift costs you nothing today.

We can help you decide on a gift that’s right for you. To discuss the best gift option for you or to notify us of a gift you have made, please contact Jennifer Broome, vice president of philanthropy, at 202.370.4513 or [email protected].

Use our new FreeWill tool at www.americanforests.org/evergreensociety THIS PAGE: COURTESY OF SANTOSHI PISUPATI OF SANTOSHI COURTESY THIS PAGE:

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WASHINGTON OUTLOOK Tree Equity is about ensuring every urban neighborhood has enough trees so that every person benefits from them. New American Forests policy platform advocates government’s assistance and to plant trees at the local level. role in creating Tree Equity  Legislation, called the TREE Act, that would result in 300,000 more THE UNITED STATES government’s federal government can do to help trees being planted every year in cities support for planting trees in urban reach those goals — everything from and towns across the country. The $50 areas dates back to the 1930s. Its big- making sure there are enough and the million annual program, run by the U.S. gest contributions are funding research right kind of trees grown in nurseries Department of Energy, would allocate and running a program that awards to training people how to take care of grants to local governments, utility urban forestry grants to states. trees after they are planted. companies and nonprofit organizations. But far more is needed to create Tree The platform includes opportuni-  A new program to support and Equity in urban areas, defined as cities ties in the next two years to weave catalyze the growing number of busi- and small towns that have at least 50,000 Tree Equity into appropriations and nesses, schools and local governments people. Simply put, Tree Equity is about legislation. For example, American that are turning wood waste — such as ensuring every urban neighborhood has Forests will advocate for: wood from demolished homes and trees enough trees so that every person ben-  An annual allocation of at least removed to widen roads — into furniture, efits from them. Based on our analysis, $200 million for the U.S. Forest building materials and other products. 100 million trees are needed by 2030 to Service Urban and Community America is awakening to the create Tree Equity across America. And Forestry Program, nearly seven importance of trees in healing our en- another 300 million are needed by 2050. times more than the current level of vironment and economy. The federal American Forests’ new Tree Equity support for the program. The funding government is a key player in making

policy platform lays out what the would be used primarily for technical that happen. P / SHUTTERSTOCK RUNGTIWA / SHUTTERSTOCK AGENCY PHOTO AGAMI TOP: / SHUTTERSTOCK; JHVEPHOTO BOTTOM:

12 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS HISTORY “We’re extremely proud of our accom- American ReLeaf celebrates plishments over the last 30 years,” says Eric its 30th anniversary Sprague, American Forests’ vice president of forest restoration. EVERY YEAR, millions of monarchs which became part of a “We’re also looking overwinter in the high-elevation forests decades-long effort to to the future. Going of Michoacán, Mexico, where they cluster restore habitat for the forward, we want to in oyamel firs for warmth and protec- rare Kirtland’s warbler. make sure that our tion. Here, a Goldilocks combination Since then, American projects are resilient to of temperature and humidity keeps the ReLeaf has partnered climate change, so that butterflies healthy until spring. to plant 8.6 million jack the trees we plant are But for decades, legal and illegal pines in Michigan, Wis- able to adapt.” loggers have been felling the monarchs’ consin and Ontario — so Monarchs, which winter home. In 2006, American many, in fact, that the Kirtland’s warbler can migrate 3,000 miles without any Forests teamed up with local partners to was removed from the U.S. endangered help, are tougher than they look. But restore Michoacán’s forests. Since then, species list in late 2019. even the toughest of butterflies need American Forests has planted 1 million In the last three decades, American a forest to call home. As the climate trees for the monarchs, including, in ReLeaf has worked with partners to crisis intensifies, a safe haven is more 2020, 72,000 more oyamel firs at higher plant 65 million trees in landscapes important than ever. elevation to help the region adapt to a ranging from tropical forests on changing climate. Hawaii’s Big Island to New Jersey’s Above: The American ReLeaf program This is just one of the big suc- pinelands and the glacier-capped planted its very first tree in 1990: a jack pine in Au Sable, Mich., which became part cesses from American ReLeaf, American mountains of the West. The program of a decades-long effort to restore habitat Forests’ program to restore large forested has helped to advance forest conserva- for the rare Kirtland’s warbler. landscapes. Initially called Global ReLeaf, tion policy and develop cutting-edge Below: Millions of monarchs overwinter in the high-elevation forests of Michoacán, the program planted its very first tree forestry methods to prepare forests for Mexico, where they cluster in oyamel firs in 1990: a jack pine in Au Sable, Mich., an uncertain future. for warmth and protection. RUNGTIWA P / SHUTTERSTOCK RUNGTIWA / SHUTTERSTOCK AGENCY PHOTO AGAMI TOP: / SHUTTERSTOCK; JHVEPHOTO BOTTOM:

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 13 treelines

THE UNDERSTORY

What is an Urban heat islands urban heat island? are, on average, 5 to 7 degrees warmer +5-7 during the day, Why is one neighborhood hotter than another? and can increase Chances are it is because it has fewer trees. Trees help temperatures by as much as 22 degrees +22 cool neighborhoods down and reduce what’s called at night. the “urban heat island effect,” the creation of islands of heat that result in a dangerous rise in temperature.

Higher temperatures can increase the risk of heat- related illnesses, such as heat stroke or even death, and can intensify the effects of air pollution in cities. Planting and conserving trees is one equitable way to reduce urban heat islands and save lives.

Heat islands disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, In urban areas, hard socioeconomically dis- surfaces — such as advantaged communities rooftops, asphalt and and people of color. If sidewalks — absorb actions aren’t taken to and retain heat from slow climate change, the sun, warming the heat-related deaths from surrounding air. 2031 to 2050 could be 57% higher than they were from 1971 to 2000.

In contrast to the warming effects of urban surfaces, trees act as air conditioning and can cool down a city block by as much as 10 degrees. With fewer heat-absorbing surfaces and more trees, rural and some suburban areas are better able to SOURCES: mitigate the urban heat https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190325173305.htm island effect. https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal. pmed.1002629#pmed.1002629.s001 PAGE 33 STUDIO / AMERICAN FORESTS 33 STUDIO PAGE

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UrbanHeatIsland-magazine-10-28_REVISED-JAN-20.indd 1 1/20/21 12:12 PM MOTIVATIONAL MUSINGS

“The worst visions that Hollywood has given us of “Strategies that dystopian futures are real possible futures if we don’t trees have honed for act on the problem; the greatest crisis that we face millions of years are as a civilization.” failing to keep pace.” MICHAEL MANN, DIRECTOR OF THE EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE CENTER AT PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SPEAKING ABOUT CLIMATE ERIC SPRAGUE, VICE PRESIDENT OF FOREST RESTORATION AT AMERICAN FORESTS, CHANGE, CBS NEWS MEDIUM

“You can build a new building, you can Louis Blumberg put new sod in, you can build new roads @lblumberg

— but no matter how much money and power somebody has, they can’t put back Phoenix sets record with 144 days of 50-year-old trees.” 100-degree-plus temperatures! We need real action on Extreme Heat ROB DAVIS, FORMER DENVER CITY FORESTER, THE ATLANTIC NOW! Let’s start by Naming Heat Waves #NametheWave @ArshtRock @ClimateResolve @ICRicardoLara “We developed this real commitment LOUIS BLUMBERG, INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY to keeping fire out and of course CONSULTANT, TWITTER that was completely backwards from what Indigenous people had done for thousands and thousands of years.”

MARY HUFFMAN, DIRECTOR OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES BURNING “I love the calm, the NETWORK, NEW YORK TIMES peace, the intrigue; I can go for a walk and find a plant I’ve Tim Christophersen @TimChristo never seen before or

We need to link #inequality, #biodiversity hear a new bird call, and #climate: they are sides of the same or discover a weird issue. We are all in the same storm, but not fungus. This forest is an (yet) all in the same boat.

TIM CHRISTOPHERSEN, COORDINATOR, UNITED NATIONS DECADE amazing space to be.” ON ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION 2021-2030 & NATURE FOR CLIMATE AT UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM, TWITTER ANGELICA PATTERSON, PH.D. STUDENT AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY’S DEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, ON NEW YORK’S BLACK ROCK FOREST, THE GUARDIAN PAGE 33 STUDIO / AMERICAN FORESTS 33 STUDIO PAGE

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 15 treelines

FOREST FOOTNOTES

Determining the impacts of restored vacant lots on adolescent health

When Baltimore announced a plan to “clean and green” vacant lots in its neighborhoods, research-

American Forests has helped transform ers at Johns Hopkins University viewed it as an vacant lots into green spaces, such as the opportunity. The researchers plan to study, for Osborn Outdoor Education Center in Detroit, the first time, the impact that converting vacant pictured here. Pictured above is the vacant lot before the transformation. lots into green oases has on long-term adoles- cent health. While recent studies have primarily shown the benefits of this type of intervention on adult health, this new longitudinal study will explore changes in adolescent health over time. The research might help reduce health inequities among socioeconomically disadvantaged youth, whose health and well-being are influenced by neighborhood factors. Ultimately, the research has the potential to improve youth health outcomes in Baltimore and beyond.

Are the West’s forest margins fated to wither from wildfire? Maybe not, suggests new research / SHUTTERSTOCK SVETLANASF TOP: / SHUTTERSTOCK; YEVHENII CHULOVSKYI BOTTOM:

Life on the edge isn’t easy. In California’s eastern Sierra Nevada and other dry forests in the West, wildfires often start in the drier zones, where trees meet sagebrush lowlands, then sweep up forested slopes. Conven- tional wisdom has long held that these dry, low-elevation forests are fated to vanish as climate change whips up fiercer fires and deeper droughts. A recent study in Ecosphere, however, showed that these at-risk forests can survive with the right help. For the research team’s study sites in the Eastern Sierra, drought alone wasn’t a fatal threat, with mod- els predicting that enough water will remain through 2100 to support seedling growth. Instead, the biggest peril to these forests is severe wildfire — which can be prevented via controlled burns and thinning overgrown trees. According to one of the study’s authors, interventions like controlled burns “could actually create very resilient conditions in

At-risk forests can survive with the right help, such as controlled burns. places where most people have been suggest-

ing that we’ll see forest loss.” MCDERMOTT LAURA LEFT AND RIGHT: TOP SERVICE; FOREST U.S. BOTTOM:

16 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS Wildfire smoke exposure is linked to cardiovascular issues and increased susceptibility to the flu and COVID-19. Due to record wildfires in California, this photo shows the resulting thick orange haze above San Francisco with ash and smoke floating over the Bay Area.

The hidden health costs of wildfires: damaged lungs, poisoned water

Blade Runner skies over San Francisco. Moonscapes of ash and blackened trees. Last year’s staggering fire season offered plenty of scenes of destruction, but some of the fires’ worst effects are invisible. In San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Ore., and other western cities, wildfire smoke caused some of the world’s worst air pollution for weeks on end. Prolonged expo- sure to smoke triggers long-term lung damage, and is particularly worrisome for younger and older people, as well as those with asthma and other lung conditions. Wildfire smoke exposure is also linked to cardiovascular issues and increased susceptibility to the flu and COVID-19. The wildfires have also put regional water supplies — including those we rely on for drinking water — in danger. Incinerated watersheds can fill waterways with debris and wash arsenic and other toxins from mines, towns and industrial sites into streams and rivers. Heat-damaged plastics and building materials, such as plastic water pipes, can also leach poisonous chemicals. After California’s 2017 Tubbs and 2018 Camp wildfires, the potent carcinogen benzene was found in water at levels that could cause immediate harm, along with a cocktail of other dangerous compounds. Limiting smoke exposure and improving building codes

BOTTOM: YEVHENII CHULOVSKYI / SHUTTERSTOCK; TOP: SVETLANASF / SHUTTERSTOCK SVETLANASF TOP: / SHUTTERSTOCK; YEVHENII CHULOVSKYI BOTTOM: can mitigate these risks — but the only way to tackle them in the long-term is with climate action and climate-resilient forestry.

A breakthrough in science: transparent wood

Scientists have discovered a way to make wood transparent. With this breakthrough, we might be looking through wood windows in the not too distant future. While glass is the most common material used for windows, it is not very energy efficient. Heat can easily transfer through it, which can lead to increased energy demand and higher energy bills, especially during hot sum- mer months and windy, cold winters. Wood, on the other hand, is very energy efficient. A team of Because wood is very energy efficient, light and durable, it’s possible transparent wood could replace products commonly used today for windows. researchers from the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Products Laboratory, Univer- sity of Maryland and the University of Colorado found that the lignin that gives wood its color is removed when wood is immersed in a sodium hypochlorite solution and, later, a polyvinyl alcohol solution. Because wood is lighter and more durable than glass, it’s possible this product could

BOTTOM: U.S. FOREST SERVICE; TOP LEFT AND RIGHT: LAURA MCDERMOTT LAURA LEFT AND RIGHT: TOP SERVICE; FOREST U.S. BOTTOM: replace glass, and even plastic, products commonly used today for windows.

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 17 Seeing the city for the trees BY MORGAN HEIM

18 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS WHEN EBONI HALL FIRST ENTERED COLLEGE, she thought for sure she was going to become a sports therapist. She wanted to learn kinesiology, the study of body movement and muscles. It was a sensible choice, something familiar, and a far cry from her ultimate path in urban forestry.

She’d grown up in Baton Rouge, La., entrenched in a love for natural areas, her childhood full of making mud pies, climbing trees and read- ing books outside. Despite that connection to nature, she’d never really thought about urban forestry as a concept, let alone a potential career path. “I remember thinking, urban forestry? That sounds like some- thing for tree huggers,” she says. It was during a summer program called BAYOU, Beginning Agricultural Youth Opportunities Unlimited, at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, that Hall’s world changed. Hall is young, Black and a woman, quite different from the typical description of a forester, a field long dominated by white men. “People of color don’t have a reflection of themselves in this field, and they get discouraged,” says Hall. “Maybe if people see I’m able to do it, they’ll think they can.” The BAYOU program introduced Hall to an array of environmen- tal science disciplines and job opportunities that redefined urban forestry for her. She went on to study the discipline at Southern, the only four-year university that offers a bachelor’s degree in urban forestry. Eventually, she earned her Ph.D. and now works as the senior manager of urban forestry education at American Forests. Hall has made it her life’s mission to provide other young people with the inspiration she found through BAYOU. In doing so, she is shaping one of the most important roles for building social and environmental equity and combating climate change.

CREATING THE NEXT GENERATION OF URBAN FORESTERS People who work in urban forestry are addressing climate change, as well as social and environmental equity. City trees help absorb carbon from the atmosphere and make people’s lives better by providing shade, filtering the air, lifting moods and more. Trees also create jobs. But not everyone benefits equally from trees, largely because socioeconomically disadvantaged communities historically have lacked trees. A blossoming movement toward Tree Equity — which, simply put, is about ensuring every city neighborhood has enough trees so that every person benefits from them — is fueling the demand for more urban Left: Eboni Hall foresters. In fact, jobs for people who can spends her days split between research, plant, prune and maintain trees in cities is increasing urban expected to grow 10% by 2028. forestry education at Attracting young people to the field is institutions, assisting youth in navigating essential to growing that workforce. Hall and their urban forestry others like her are taking on the challenge, career path and educating youth about urban forestry and mentoring students, all while working to related fields as a career and helping create

LEFT: COURTESY OF EBONI HALL COURTESY LEFT: achieve Tree Equity. clear pathways for professional advancement.

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 19 The first step is making sure these future foresters understand that city trees are more than something nice to look at.

TREES AS CRITICAL URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE In America’s cities, trees help the environment, but they also play a vital role in fulfilling our basic needs. That is particularly true during the COVID-19 Suleima Mednick-Coles is cobbling together her interests pandemic. “Green spaces are a peaceful place to go to as an amalgamation of multiple majors and minors, including international studies, sustainable development find refuge. When you don’t have access to them, you and environmental justice and African-American studies. often are surrounded by unhealthy environmental conditions, and it has impacts on mental health,” says Suleima Mednick-Coles, one of Hall’s mentees In order to meet that need, American Forests has and a student in the Black Scholars program at the set a goal that by 2030 at least 100,000 people, University of San Francisco. particularly those from socioeconomically disad- Making the connection between the importance vantaged communities, will enter jobs in forestry. of caring for trees and how they benefit day-to-day “I think it’s something that’s really a no-brainer to life is critical to growing interest in urban forestry, invest in,” Anderson says. “And it’s a well-paying says Sarah Anderson, director of Career Pathways one, with average entry-level tree workers earning at American Forests. “Communities with low tree about $20 an hour, roughly $40,000 per year.” canopy cover tend to have higher rates of unemploy- ment, and if you don’t have access to trees, you can’t PAVING THE WAY make money caring for them.” One obstacle to building an urban forestry work- Job opportunities to plant and care for trees are force is that many young people don’t know how expected to rise, thanks in part to the important role to access the field, or that it even exists. American cities will play in the global trillion trees movement. Forests is working with Southern University and LEFT: BOUYANT PARTNERS / AMERICAN FORESTS; ABOVE: COURTESY OF SULEIMA MEDNICK-COLES COURTESY ABOVE: / AMERICAN FORESTS; PARTNERS BOUYANT LEFT: MESHOULAM DAVID RIGHT:

20 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS groups like Speak for the Trees, Boston to raise Today, Hall spends her days split between awareness of, and build bridges to, the field. research, increasing urban forestry education at American Forests has developed two guides to institutions, assisting youth in navigating their help individuals map their journeys to urban forestry urban forestry career path and mentoring students, careers: the Career Pathways Exploration Guide and all while working to achieve Tree Equity. the Career Pathways Action Guide. Geared toward “Don’t wait too long to take that exam,” Hall people who could benefit most from joining the field, teases, while on a recent Zoom call with Jordan these guides spotlight educational pathways and Davis. Davis is about to graduate with a degree entry-level job training programs that train and place in urban forestry from Southern University. He individuals who face barriers to employment so that entered college bent on studying engineering they can enter the field. There are pilot projects in when he discovered the BAYOU program and a six cities: Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, new future. The exam Hall is referring to is the Providence, R.I., and Syracuse, N.Y. International Society of Arboriculture Credential, The local programs also try to provide additional a requirement to become a certified arborist. Davis services, such as transportation and childcare, both laughs good-naturedly. “I won’t. I won’t,” he says. significant barriers to job entry in communities He’s thinking of returning to his hometown of where people are struggling financially. “It’s all about Jackson, La., to provide urban forestry community meeting people where they’re at, physically, emotion- outreach. A lot of students get interested in jobs they ally, age-wise,” says David Meshoulam, executive learn about in high school, Davis says. He wants director of Speak for the Trees, Boston. urban forestry to be one of them. He’s thinking of Job shadowing, paid apprenticeship and pre- someday launching his own arboriculture business. Below: Teen apprenticeship programs can remove barriers to His family even started a company, Carpet Cuts, Urban Tree Corps member Maya finding viable careers. “Many youth live in the now LLC, a lawn care business that incorporates tree Hall demonstrates and go into survival mode in order to provide for care. His face beams with pure optimism. how to input data their families,” says Hall. “They can’t afford to stop on a street tree to Boston City working to improve a skill set.” That’s where partner- Morgan Heim is a conservation journalist based in Councilor Annissa ships, programs, resources and expertise provided by Oregon’s forest country. Essaibi George. American Forests come into play.

A FIELD WITH MANY DISCIPLINES One exciting outlook in the field of urban forestry is how expansive it is. Traditionally, urban forestry has been synonymous with arboriculture and tree main- tenance, Hall says. “But urban forestry encompasses so much more than trees alone.” An array of disciplines have jobs that fall under the urban forestry umbrella: environmental law, hydrology, psychology, soil science, urban planning and public health, to name a few. Currently, Southern University and A&M College is the only university in the United States that offers a designated degree in urban forestry. Students elsewhere often have to create their own paths. For example, at the University of San Fran- cisco, Mednick-Coles is cobbling together her interests as an amalgamation of multiple majors and minors that encompasses international stud- ies, sustainable development and environmental justice and African-American studies. To entice and prepare students, Hall hopes more colleges and universities will begin offering urban forestry programs, making more connections to other dis- ciplines and utilizing an interdisciplinary urban

LEFT: BOUYANT PARTNERS / AMERICAN FORESTS; ABOVE: COURTESY OF SULEIMA MEDNICK-COLES COURTESY ABOVE: / AMERICAN FORESTS; PARTNERS BOUYANT LEFT: MESHOULAM DAVID RIGHT: forestry curriculum she developed.

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 21 earthkeepers

walked to a nearby creek to meditate. She A bond forged in fire: knew the Creek Fire was raging not too far away, but it seemed unlikely it could Brittany and Gilbert Dyer cross the “big wet firebreak” of the San Joaquin River. As she sat, though, “all of a sudden a weird feeling came over me,” she recalls. Something was telling her to BRITTANY AND GILBERT DYER the United States Forest Service, where leave. She raced home to grab their dogs are good at turning problems into oppor- he’s worked for the last 20 years. and evacuation bags, fleeing in sight of a tunities. A decade ago, the pair met when As familiar as they are with wild- 50,000-foot pyrocumulus cloud — one of Brittany bumped into Gilbert at a bar and fires, the biggest single fire in California the largest ever recorded. spilled her beer on him. “It was love at history left them stunned. On Septem- The evacuation that followed lasted first sight,” Gilbert laughs. They married ber 4, the Creek Fire exploded about 13 nearly a month and tested the Dyers’ lim- in 2017 in a “secret wilderness wedding” miles from their house in North Fork, its. Gilbert worked back-to-back 24-hour attended by six friends and five dogs. growing to 40,000 acres in a single day. shifts, snatching just a few hours of sleep Now, the Dyers work to fix a far “The fire moved the fastest I’ve ever at a time. Brittany, still working long days thornier issue: California’s flagging forest seen without being in a desert with high for American Forests, evacuated to one health. As the California state director winds,” Gilbert said. friend’s house, and then another. for American Forests, Brittany works to The next day, Gilbert left home before But even through smoke and flame, restore forests across the state, particu- sunrise to patrol for unsafe campfires and the pair found ways to be together. On larly those charred by severe wildfires. other issues from Labor Day weekend Gilbert’s birthday, Brittany tracked

Gilbert is a fire prevention officer with campers. A few hours later, Brittany down where he and his crew would be YBARA / AMERICAN FORESTS KATE ALL PHOTOS:

22 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS Left: When the Dyers got married, sleeping for the night, and drove up to they knew that climate change would deliver cupcakes. Because of pandemic transform their lives. Just not like this. Below: Gilbert is a fire prevention concerns, the pair couldn’t hug. “That officer with the U.S. Forest Service. was really hard,” Brittany says. “I just Brittany is the California state director wanted to be in his arms.” for American Forests. In late September, Brittany and Gilbert were cleared to return home. Their house escaped with minor damage, but many of their neighbors’ houses and nearby forests did not. “It’s devastation,” Gilbert says. “Driving though it every day, it still pretty much brings a tear to the eye.” The Creek didn’t wreak total destruction. Brittany expects that portions of the 380,000-acre burn scar will prove to be moderate “good” fire, which rejuvenates rather than wrecks forests. The blaze mostly spared Jackass Lake in the John Muir Wilderness, where Brit- tany and Gilbert got married ankle-deep in the lake’s water. Even then, they knew that the climate crisis would one day reshape their lives — both worked it into their vows, unknown to the other. Their house is in the center of a tinderbox, where climate change-fueled drought and pest outbreaks have killed 163 million trees since 2010. It was just a matter of time before it burned. Despite the fire, the pair is hope- ful. The scope of the destruction has finally made the state’s wildfire problem impossible to ignore. Brittany dreams of a day when the wail of sirens doesn’t mean danger, but that her husband and other forestry workers are out setting controlled burns, a key tool to prevent out-of-control wildfires. She’s gearing up to make American Forests a driving force Brittany and Gilbert Dyer to reforest the Creek Fire’s burn scar. stand in the ash of the 2020 As for Gilbert? “Being a firefighter,” Creek Fire, California’s he says, “it makes you prepared largest-ever single fire.

ALL PHOTOS: KATE YBARA / AMERICAN FORESTS KATE ALL PHOTOS: for anything.”

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 23 CECILIO RICARDO / U.S. FOREST SERVICE FOREST U.S. / RICARDO CECILIO

THE UNITED

STATES it. by We must We BY ALLISON GUY BY with fire, orwith make friends OFFIRE be consumed WHEN THE CREEK FIRE roared to life near Shaver Lake, Calif., last September, it chewed through the area’s overgrown, sickly forests, belching smoke and spitting out blackened, matchstick trunks. But in forests owned by the electrical utility Southern California Edison, the Creek’s famished roar turned to a purr. The wildfire licked over the landscape, charring mature trees but not killing them. There simply wasn’t enough fuel — dense, dry shrubs and drought-stricken trees — to feed the fire to excess.

Laura Spellman, a “hot shot” firefighter, uses a drip torch to burn vegetation as part of efforts to contain a 2018 wildfire in Mendocino

CECILIO RICARDO / U.S. FOREST SERVICE FOREST CECILIO RICARDO / U.S. National Forest, Calif.

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 25 STATES STATES UNITED UNITED THE THE OF FIRE

This was in large part thanks to John Mount, a retired California Edison forester. In 1979, “I’m more hopeful today than I’ve Mount quietly began setting controlled burns on been for a while. Everyone is angry the utility’s land surround- ing Shaver Lake. His fires at the state of our forests. And once cleared overgrown brush you get to anger, you get change.” and weeded out small and unhealthy trees. At the time, —BRITTANY DYER, AMERICAN FORESTS’ CALIFORNIA STATE DIRECTOR this flew in the face of con- ventional forestry practice, which, for a century, had The gargantuan scale of the problem means labored to extinguish all that restoring flames to fire-famished forests fires as quickly as possible. won’t be easy or quick. With money and man- As a forestry student, power, though, it can be done. “I’m more hopeful the stance had made no today than I’ve been for a while,” says Brittany sense to Mount. Califor- Dyer, American Forests’ California state director. nia’s forests thrived before “Everyone is angry at the state of our forests. And modern wildfire control. “I once you get to anger, you get change.” simply asked myself a ques- Above: John tion,” Mount said. “If lightning has been starting NATIVE FLAMES Mount discovered fires for millennia, why are we putting them out?” The first Europeans to arrive in North America for himself what North America’s Mount discovered for himself what North found a land of seemingly divine abundance: a native peoples had America’s native peoples had known for centu- profusion of nut trees and berry bushes, grassy known for centuries: ries: Setting moderate fires protects and rejuve- clearings swarming with deer, parklike wood- Setting moderate fires protects and nates the land, and prevents intense, dangerous lands that you could drive a wagon through. It rejuvenates the land, wildfire. Now, after a record-busting fire season wasn’t providence they should have thanked, but and prevents intense, that scorched 4 million acres in California alone, native people. dangerous wildfire. it’s clear that our forests are starving for “good” For millennia, tribes across North America fire — not just in the West, but across the country. used fire as a tool to favor useful plants and ani-

Low-intensity burns open up grazing areas for wildlife, such as this mule deer. The deer is standing among ponderosa pines, one of the most fire- adapted tree species in western forests. TOP: COURTESY OF JOHN MOUNT; BOTTOM: TOM REICHNER / SHUTTERSTOCK TOM BOTTOM: OF JOHN MOUNT; COURTESY TOP: PARK NATIONAL MOUNTAINS SMOKY GREAT BOTTOM: SURVEY; GEOLOGICAL U.S. TOP:

26 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS mals. Fire regenerates bushes that produce food, Above: This 1905 dye, medicine and materials for baskets and tools. photo from the southern rim of It aids oaks, and other trees that grow edible nuts, the Grand Canyon and opens up grazing areas for game animals. Ron shows the parklike Goode, the chairman of California’s North Fork conditions once common in Mono Tribe and an advocate for the restoration western forests. of tribal burning, explains: “The forest is a garden, Left: American and the native people took care of it.” chestnuts, which once numbered In the wildfire-prone landscapes of the west- in the billions, ern U.S., burning was also a matter of safety. It were well-adapted helped to prevent wildfires from encroaching on to frequent, moderate fires. villages and kept extensive trail networks open as evacuation routes. People and wildlife used these trails when it was time to flee. “Lion has her kids, bear has her kids, deer has her kids,” Goode says. “Better hope no one is hungry.” Tribes burned throughout the year, setting many small fires that added up in a big way. In ated a rich patchwork of oak savannahs, mead- California, an estimated 4.5 to 12% of the state’s ows and pine-dotted slopes. Fire-adapted species land burned before Europeans arrived. Tribes flourished: not only oaks, but also sequoias, burned around 2% of this total, or roughly 2 Ponderosas and other hardy conifers. Frequent, million acres, according to Goode. Now, in stark low-level fire also favored big, mature trees, contrast, California burns somewhere between which are more flame-proof than little ones. “It 50,000 and 125,000 acres a year. was well-documented that a ‘small’ tree was 6 The result of all that burning was a profoundly feet in diameter,” Goode says. different landscape from the one we see today. Tribes set fires in all corners of the country, Compared to today’s overcrowded forests, “the even in the East’s wet, fire-resistant woodlands. basal distance between trees was huge,” Goode Many eastern forests that are now dim, dense

TOP: COURTESY OF JOHN MOUNT; BOTTOM: TOM REICHNER / SHUTTERSTOCK TOM BOTTOM: OF JOHN MOUNT; COURTESY TOP: PARK NATIONAL MOUNTAINS SMOKY GREAT BOTTOM: SURVEY; GEOLOGICAL U.S. TOP: says. “You might be talking 50 feet.” Burning cre- thickets of trees and tangling underbrush were,

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 27 for centuries, open, park-like spaces, with a far as well as for communities that want to protect greater dominance of flame-resistant, food- their forests for the future. Oaks and hickories bearing trees: American chestnuts, which are are “better situated than northern hardwoods now functionally extinct due to disease, along with dealing with a changing climate,” says Bill with oaks and hickories. Zipse, a supervising forester with the New Jersey Starved of fire, eastern oak-hickory forests Forest Service. By letting less-resilient trees are being outcompeted by northern hardwood like beech and sugar maple overrun forests, “you species that grow profusely in ample rain and might be setting yourself up with something

rich soil. This is bad news for nut-loving wildlife, more fragile now than what you started with.” MILLER, WYOMING KYLE ABOVE: SERVICE FOREST / U.S. HOTSHOTS

28 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS STATES STATES UNITED UNITED THE THE OF FIRE

Above: Wildlands firefighters set "backburns" to control the 2020 Pine Gulch Fire, the second-largest wildfire in Colorado history. Right: Smokey Bear cemented the idea that forest fires are wasteful, even immoral.

FLAME WARS This mammoth conflagration At first, Europeans didn’t snuff out all fire. Many stunned the country and cemented colonizers actually adopted tribal burning methods, the Forest Service’s zero-tolerance after seeing the good it did for the land. In the early approach to wildfire. From then on days of the United States Forest Service, foresters out, all wildfire had to go, as soon debated whether total fire suppression was the goal, as possible. In 1935, the agency or if the “Indian way” of light burning should be. institutionalized its infamous “10 The Great Fire of 1910 scorched all debate, a.m. policy” — the practice of put-

FAR RIGHT: JASON PATRICK ROSS / ROSS PATRICK JASON RIGHT: FAR SHUTTERSTOCK along with 3 million acres in Idaho and Montana. ting out a wildfire the morning after

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 29 STATES STATES UNITED UNITED THE THE OF FIRE

“Some of the best, intuitive, artistic fire professionals I’ve ever met were private landowners who learned the art of fire from their families.”

—ZACHARY PRUSAK, FLORIDA FIRE MANAGER, THE NATURE CONSERVANCY

its initial report. A decade later, Smokey Bear cemented the idea that forest fires are wasteful, even immoral. Deprived of tribal burning, forests started to go haywire. The diverse mosaic of habitats that moderate burns once maintained turned to uniform sweeps of rangy, same-aged trees. Moist forests grew denser, wetter and less likely to burn. Dry forests, conversely, grew more likely to burn — not with your everyday “good” fire, but Below: Florida’s in tree-torching infernos. As Western forests love affair with fire translates at the racked up a deep “fire debt,” they grew cramped legislative level. The and unhealthy. Overcrowded trees competed for state has amended water, sunlight and nutrients, and succumbed its laws to make prescribed fire to drought and bark beetle outbreaks that past easier, not harder. forests had been able to withstand. LEFT: CARLTON WARD JR. / THE NATURE CONSERVANCY JR. / THE NATURE WARD CARLTON LEFT: PRUSAK OF ZACH COURTESY RIGHT: CONSERVANCY; JR. / THE NATURE WARD CARLTON ABOVE:

30 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS With 1.5 to 2.5 million acres of controlled burns a year, Florida's fire culture sets itself apart.

In California, the few advocates for controlled FLORIDA ON FIRE burning fought a current of entrenched belief. Hope for our fire-hungry forests might, of all “My mom even at one point burned a couple of places, come from Florida, a state more famous Below: Many species times, and she got in trouble for it,” Goode recalls. for spring break than land stewardship. But of flower thrive after fire. This “The fire people showed up, the sheriffs showed with 1.5 to 2.5 million acres of controlled burns orchid in Florida up. They all wanted to arrest her.” As for Mount, a year, the Sunshine State might be better has sprouted after a during his brief stint with the Forest Service distinguished as the Flame State. controlled burn. before California Edison, he was “chastised quite Here, for many landowners, burn- soundly” for suggesting that fire could be good. ing is considered as much a right as The legacy of over a century of fire famine — life, liberty and happiness. “Some of and decades of climate inaction — is now the best, intuitive, artistic fire profes- inescapable. Since 2014, drought and beetles sionals I’ve ever met were private alone have killed a staggering 162 million trees landowners who learned the art of in California’s national forests. Fire seasons have fire from their families,” says Zachary grown longer, costlier and more severe. Last Prusak, the Florida fire manager for year’s record-breaking infernos in California, The Nature Conservancy. Colorado and Oregon underscored the apocalyp- Prusak, who grew up in Daytona tic cost of ignoring forest health. “The wildfires Beach smelling smoke from controlled were not unforeseen or accidental,” says Dyer, burns, has worked with prescribed fire of American Forests. “It was a bomb that was for 33 years. He’s had plenty of time

LEFT: CARLTON WARD JR. / THE NATURE CONSERVANCY JR. / THE NATURE WARD CARLTON LEFT: PRUSAK OF ZACH COURTESY RIGHT: CONSERVANCY; JR. / THE NATURE WARD CARLTON ABOVE: ready to go off.” to reflect on what sets Florida apart,

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 31 fire-wise. The biggest difference, he suspects, amended its laws to make prescribed fire easier, is that state residents simply never stopped not harder. Now, people can’t be held liable for burning. The Seminole Tribe has been burning damages or injuries from a controlled burn unless uninterrupted for centuries. Cattle families, proven “grossly negligent.” In addition, a culture of some of which have ranched the same land for collaboration — a necessity, given Florida’s densely five generations, are vocal proponents of fire, packed population — makes it easier to work across which regenerates grass for grazing. agencies, and across public and private lands. Florida’s love affair with fire translates at the Of course, nothing is perfect. Even with the legislative level as well. The Great Fire of 1910, statewide enthusiasm for firelighting, Florida’s and the policies that came after, were blips on the landscapes are still hungry for more. Sandhill

radar. Following severe wildfires in 1998, the state habitats and longleaf pine forests need to be sated FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE U.S. ABOVE: YBARRA / AMERICAN FORESTS KATE RIGHT:

32 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS STATES STATES UNITED UNITED THE THE OF FIRE

with fire every two to three years, or run the risk of withering away. “To use an Alice in Wonderland metaphor, we are the Red Queen. We’re trying to run as fast as we can just to stay in the same place,” Prusak says. “We need to do more.”

BACK TO THE BURN Florida is one of fire’s biggest fans, but it isn’t alone. Many other states, tribes and private entities have progressive mindsets and policies when it comes to controlled burning. New Jersey, for example, passed legislation in 2019 making it easier for private landowners to burn. The state’s Forest Fire Service boasts dedicated fire wardens, who manage both fire suppression and prescribed burns. “I don’t even see that in most western states, let alone most east- ern states,” says Zipse, of the N.J. Forest Service. “That’s kind of a luxury.” Ironically, the places that would most benefit from firelighting have historically been the most averse to it. Across the West, communities and regulators have long balked at controlled burns, and for understandable reasons. Smoke is a nuisance, and downright dangerous to people with lung conditions such as asthma. There’s always the risk, though remote, that a burn could spin out of control and hurt people or structures. Attitudes can change, though, and fast. In Shaver Lake, John Mount overcame any initial resistance with good old public outreach. “That

Above: The aftermath of a "good" fire: burned underbrush, unscathed trees. Right: Brittany Dyer surveys the damage of the 2020 Creek Fire, the largest single fire in California history. ABOVE: U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE U.S. ABOVE: YBARRA / AMERICAN FORESTS KATE RIGHT:

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 33 STATES STATES UNITED UNITED THE THE OF FIRE

meant going to coffee shops every morning,” he Perhaps not surprisingly, the only national says. “I would stop off and have a beer in the after- agency that has significantly increased pre- noon. I went to every Lion’s Club meeting, every scribed fire is the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Women’s Club meeting. They very quickly under- Money and manpower are major hurdles. In stood that having to put up with a little smoke … California, for example, a whopping 20 million that I was really protecting their homes.” acres need to burn before forests and other habi- In the wake of the 2020 wildfires, more commu- tats stabilize. Prescribed fire alone costs around nities are clamoring for prescribed fire and other $200 an acre — but because so many forests in fuel reduction work. Culture is less of a barrier California are too overgrown to burn without now than scale: Western wildlands are vast, and raging out of control, they first need to be thinned massive slices are federally owned. Forty percent of excess brush and trees, to the tune of roughly of land in Colorado is federal. That number jumps $1,500 an acre. Environmental permits can cost to 50% in California and Oregon, and 60% in Idaho. as much as the on-the-ground work itself. “You’re For forests that depend on regular fire to stay looking at a price tag of potentially billions of healthy, this isn’t great news. The U.S. Forest dollars,” Dyer says. Service and other federal land agencies are Those pricey permits don’t necessarily trans- chronically understaffed and underfunded, and late to action. In Oregon, 1.3 million acres of fed- Below: Grand tend to be more risk-averse and less nimble when eral land are permitted for prescribed fire, but are Canyon National it comes to prescribed fire. Even as the merits of languishing without funds or foresters to do the Park fire managers “good” fire have come into laser focus, the use of work. Burn crews can be vanishingly scarce, and burn underbrush to reduce fuel prescribed fire on western lands flatlined — and the complexity of coordinating with a mishmash for wildfires. in some cases decreased — over the last decade. of local, state and national agencies means that SERVICE PARK / NATIONAL M.QUINN BELOW: ABOVE: U.S. FOREST SERVICE; RIGHT: BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT BUREAU RIGHT: SERVICE; FOREST U.S. ABOVE:

34 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS “They very quickly understood that having to put up with a little smoke … that I was really protecting their homes.”

—JOHN MOUNT, RETIRED CALIFORNIA EDISON FORESTER

landscape scale, rather than ownership-by-own- ership, and using science to prioritize where to send money, expertise and manpower. American Forests is supporting this shift by convening meetings, providing research and advancing poli- cies that align with shared stewardship. BELOW: M.QUINN / NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PARK / NATIONAL M.QUINN BELOW:

these crews are often unavailable dur- ing the narrow, unpredictable weather windows when it’s safe to burn. Still, some promising changes are on the horizon. “A fire season like this kind of coalesces our attention,” says Courtney Schultz, a wildfire policy expert at the University of Colorado. “I do think there’s some good momentum around prescribed fire.” She cited the National Prescribed Fire Act of 2020, which would provide $300 million a year for federal agencies to set prescribed fires, $10 million for burns in areas at Our forests are going to burn, one way or another. Above left: Severe high risk of severe wildfire, and a cash incentive The climate crisis is fueling early springs, deep wildfires can kill even mature to any local or state government conducting burns droughts and withering temperatures, guarantee- trees of fire- bigger than 100,000 acres. ing ever-bigger, hotter wildfires. If we want to adapted species. More money is on the way. In 2018, American stave off devastating flames — which decimate Right: Oak savannas, such Forests helped to pass the “Fire Funding Fix,” which forests, watersheds, homes and wildlife — we have as this one in secured stable funding for wildfire fighting, without to cut carbon emissions in half in the next decade, Cache Creek, Calif., cannibalizing money from other federal programs all while taking sweeping action to restore forest are adapted to frequent fire. that benefit forests. In August, California announced health. Firelighting alone won’t solve our forest it will begin using fire and other fuel-reduction woes, but it’s a big part of the solution. “We have to methods on 1 million acres of land each year by 2025. make friends with fire,” Dyer says. “Without it, the At the same time, a recent cultural shift whole system will collapse.” towards “shared stewardship” is enhancing collaboration between federal and state agen- Allison Guy writes from Washington, D.C., cies, nonprofits, tribes and other groups. This and is American Forests’ senior manager of

ABOVE: U.S. FOREST SERVICE; RIGHT: BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT BUREAU RIGHT: SERVICE; FOREST U.S. ABOVE: enables identifying the most at-risk forests on a communications, American ReLeaf.

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 35 BRINGING SONGBIRDS BACK TO How restoring the HAWAII, ONE forests of Mauna Kea is essential FOREST AT to the continued A TIME survival of Hawaiian songbirds

BY KATHERINE GUSTAFSON / USFWS LEAH MESSER

36 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS IN 1977, DR. J. MICHAEL SCOTT NOTICED SOMETHING seriously amiss with ‘Akiapōlā‘au, ‘I‘iwi and some of Ha- waii’s other endangered songbirds. Their numbers were plummeting, throwing them into even graver danger. He identified the east side of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano on Hawaii Island, as one place where robust bird popula- tions were declining fast. Scott, one of the first endangered species biologists hired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), turned to his agency, The Nature Conservancy and other entities to create the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge. It’s an area of almost 34,000 acres whose restoration is essen- tial for the continued survival of Hawaiian songbirds.

Looking down slope toward the station at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge as the sun

LEAH MESSER / USFWS LEAH MESSER rises over the ocean.

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 37 BRINGING SONGBIRDS BACK TO HAWAII, ONE FOREST AT A TIME

“The refuge is only about 35 years old, and if you see that most of the outplanting started in the early 1990s, and you look at the trees today, anybody can see a dramatic difference.”

—TOM CADY, MANAGER OF HAKALAU REFUGE

What has followed is a mighty effort to regener- ate the degraded forests of Hakalau, an enormous project that continues to this day and has been recognized as one of the most successful examples of native forest restoration in the world. A comparison American Forests was instrumental to this between 1999 (top success from early on — supporting the replanting photo) and 2020 (bottom photo) of some 165,000 koa trees from 1992 to 1996 — and

at the fenceline is now planning to bring a new infusion of energy Tom Cady, manager of Hakalau Refuge, plants an / USFWS KAHN NOAH RIGHT: / USFWS; MEGAN NAGEL BELOW: in the Pua Akala and capital to the next stage of forest restoration ‘ohi‘a¯ in the summer of 2020. management unit of Hakalau. and bird conservation. The vivid change reflects "passive" CREATING HAKALAU patch together the protected area. They quickly restoration, the fencing and removal Starting in 1985, the refuge’s founders acquired observed that the upper third of these lands, roughly of grazing animals. parcels of the landscape from private owners to 13,000 acres, had been cleared of native forests and converted to pasturelands. The lower portion was covered in largely intact forest and marshland. That cleared land was only one reason that the area’s bird populations were declining. Other problems included predation by cats, mongooses and rats, as well as habitat degradation by feral pigs and cattle. But the Southern house mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus) was by far the biggest threat to Hawaiian songbirds, given that they infect birds with avian malaria and pox virus. And, unfortunately, these non-native mosquitoes thrive below 4,500 feet — the portion of the ref- uge that retained some of the most intact forest birds’ native habitat. As the refuge was established, it became clear that restoration efforts needed to focus on moving the birds’ habitat up the slope to higher elevations so they could escape the mosquitoes. This was more easily said than done, consider- ing that the upper pasturelands were filled with Kikuyu grass, an invasive species that is incred- ibly persistent and prevents many native forest plants from growing. “If you were to go back in a time machine and see what the landscape looked like [before defor- estation], there probably wasn’t a lot of grass,” says Tom Cady, manager of Hakalau Refuge. “The native grass that would have been here was fairly

benign, and the forest and grass were adapted to USFWS THIS PAGE:

38 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS each other. Now there are a lot of these foreign grasses, and for a long time they were grazed heavily, but they’re not grazed anymore, and they have exploded.” But the grasses didn’t stop the full-steam-ahead effort to restore

the forest canopy on some of the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge restoration is essential for the continued survival deforested pasturelands. With of Hawaiian songbirds. One of the meanings of the name Hakalau, which is likely more than American Forests’ help, refuge staff 600 years old, is "many perches." and volunteers planted 5,000 acres of koa, the largest and one of the most culturally important native tree species in only horticulturalist working for USFWS. He is the Hawaiian Islands. The tree’s beautiful and renowned in the conservation community — “a highly valued hardwood is a symbol of royalty restoration legend” — says Dr. Stephanie Yelenik, and has long been used by native Hawaiians to who spent 2013 to 2020 as a research ecologist build canoes, surfboards and ukuleles. with the U.S. Geological Survey at Hakalau. A key element in this reforestation effort was Horiuchi has single-handedly figured out how

BELOW: MEGAN NAGEL / USFWS; RIGHT: NOAH KAHN / USFWS KAHN NOAH RIGHT: / USFWS; MEGAN NAGEL BELOW: the dogged work of one man, Baron Horiuchi, the to propagate and nurture many of the native and

Baron Horiuchi describing the concept of laulima, or many hands. He credits the success of reforestation efforts to the dedicated volunteers and staff working together to return native plants to Hakalau Forest. THIS PAGE: USFWS THIS PAGE:

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 39 The Hawaii ‘Akepa¯ is one of the smallest honeycreepers and can

be found in ‘ohi‘a¯ and koa-‘ohi‘a¯ USFWS BETTINA ARRIGONI; RIGHT: BELOW: forests above 4,500 feet.

these important trees for replanting. The boiling “The birds that only eat fruit are slower to move into water weakens the impermeable external seed those forest areas. There’s no fruit for them to eat coat, which provides protection during dormancy, thereby replicating the processes that would have so why would they hang out there? But you want historically occurred in nature via fire, birds’ them there so they can carry the seeds [uphill] digestions or in some other manner. Thanks to his ingenuity, portions of Hakalau’s to plant the fruit that will feed them.” landscape have been transformed from grasslands to developing forest anchored by hundreds of — DR. STEPHANIE YELENIK, RESEARCH ECOLOGIST WITH THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY AT HAKALAU thousands of koa. “The refuge is only about 35 years old, and if you see that most of the outplanting started in the early endangered plants in the refuge and runs the nurs- 1990s, and you look at the trees today, anybody can ery that supplies the vast majority of seedlings for see a dramatic difference,” says Cady. “You can see Hakalau’s restoration efforts. To propagate koa, he how the landscape that is the refuge has changed realized that the seeds begin to grow once they’ve dramatically over time.” been given a bath of boiling water, a technique As the canopy was restored, some species of birds

that has allowed him to provide a steady supply of began to come back. JEFFREY JACK ABOVE:

40 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS BRINGING SONGBIRDS BACK TO HAWAII, ONE FOREST AT A TIME

BIRDS IN DANGER Birds returning to restored forests is indeed a great success, but more must be done to halt the continuing decline of Hawaii’s wild species. Due to habitat destruction and the incursion of non- native species, Hawaii is often referred to as the “extinction capital of the world.” The state com- prises less than 1% of the land mass of the U.S., but it is home to 40% of all threatened and endangered plant and animal species in the country. The invasive mosquitoes have contributed to the extinction of more than 31 species of birds, including 24 species of honeycreepers and the entire Mohoi- dae family, including the magnificent ‘Ō‘ō group. The mosquitos are on track to spread to all disease- free forest habitats on the islands, potentially caus- ing the extinction of at least 12 species of Hawaii’s remaining honeycreepers, such as the ‘Akiapōlā‘au, Hawaii ‘Ākepa and ‘I‘iwi, and negatively affecting the remaining native thrushes, flycatchers and ‘Alalā. Helping establish bird habitat above the reach of the mosquitoes is the lynchpin to ensuring the birds survive. To do so, native fruit-producing plant species must be present in the forest under- they hang out there? But you want them there so Above: The story. Species, such as Ākala (native raspberries), they can carry the seeds [uphill] to plant the fruit mosquitos are on track to spread ‘Ōhelo (tart berries), Kāwa‘u (native holly) and that will feed them.” to all disease-free Pilo (in the coffee family), attract the robin-like This leads to the next logical question: Where is forest habitats ‘Oma’o, also called the Hawaiian thrush, the only the fruit? Restoration efforts have included planting on the islands, potentially causing native exclusively fruit-eating bird left on the tens of thousands of fruit-producing plants, most of the extinction of at Hawaii Island. which are doing well. But despite that success, more least 12 species of “The birds that only eat fruit are slower to plants are needed to lure the birds. And they’re not Hawai‘i’s remaining honeycreepers, move into those forest areas,” says Yelenik. regenerating naturally. What’s preventing these such as the ‘I‘iwi,

BELOW: BETTINA ARRIGONI; RIGHT: USFWS BETTINA ARRIGONI; RIGHT: BELOW: “There’s no fruit for them to eat so why would native plants from coming back on their own? pictured here. The answer, far from simple, represents that Left: The robin-like 'Oma'o, also called next stage of this important work. the Hawaiian thrush, is the only native STRIVING FOR DIVERSITY exclusively fruit- eating bird left on Koa trees, the foundation for the thriving forest the Hawaii Island. that the birds need, have grown in abundance. Yet, as Yelenik found in her research, koa fixes nitrogen in the soil, which fertilizes the Kikuyu grass. Well-fed, the grass continues to grow robustly and choke out all the other native veg- etation that’s important for healthy forest bird habitat, including fruit-producing plants that nourish some of the birds. “The diversity that would have been [in the understory] before anyone ever stepped foot here would have been incredible,” reflects Yelenik. “The vast majority of those are now gone. We have a very limited pool of native species to work with. They do not compete well with all of the invasive plants that have come to play here in the

ABOVE: JACK JEFFREY JACK ABOVE: Hawaiian Islands.”

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 41 Yelenik provided science that helps inform refuge managers’ decisions on how to improve their strategy for understory planting. She led research on the importance of plant diversity, density, soil turnover and other factors in the regrowth of the understory. One of the major things her research group found lacking as part of the foundation for the forest are ‘ōhi‘a trees, another important native tree species that has very different properties from koa. ‘Ōhi‘a is a flowering tree in the myrtle family that can grow in the form of a shrub or a tall tree. Once ‘ōhi‘a gets big enough, it can successfully outcompete some of the nuisance understory species, including grass, allowing more native species to flourish. “The entire ecosystem welcomed the koa trees back, which is unusual,” says Austin Rempel, forest restoration manager at American Forests. “The only problem is that the koa trees get big and look like a mature natural forest, but some of the understory plants and trees aren’t coming back. It’s mostly a grassy understory. But the recipe for success is there.” Yelenik says that success in the understory- restoration efforts would look like a diversity of native plants that are regenerating on their own,

Above: Endangered Lobelioids Clermontia pyrolaria under one of the early koa outplantings, now mature. Right: ‘Ohi‘a¯ is a flowering tree that, once it gets big enough, can successfully outcompete some of the nuisance understory species, including grass, allowing more native species to flourish. LEFT: LEAH MESSER / USFWS; RIGHT: ROSA SAY ROSA RIGHT: / USFWS; LEAH MESSER LEFT: USFWS TOP:

42 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS BRINGING SONGBIRDS BACK TO HAWAII, ONE FOREST AT A TIME

more pressing as one of the birds’ greatest threats moves higher, too.

RACE AGAINST THE MOSQUITOES Mosquitoes typically can go above the 4,500-foot elevation line during warm summer months, says Steve Kendall, wildlife biologist for the Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, who retired at the end of 2020. Histori- cally, they have been above that line so briefly that they don’t spread much disease. However, he says, “with climate change, we expect that line to keep on moving up.” as well as the presence of birds and the tendency This dynamic lends a sense of urgency to of those birds to continue to move uphill. conservation efforts.

Climate change is making the need for the “It’s a race, and our part of it is too slow, Above left: A native birds’ habitat to move continuously higher ever- really, to beat the mosquito problem,” says Cady, koa forest.

BE PART OF THE SOLUTION

Make a difference for forests and the world. Become a member today! www.americanforests.org/ways-to-give/membership LEFT: LEAH MESSER / USFWS; RIGHT: ROSA SAY ROSA RIGHT: / USFWS; LEAH MESSER LEFT: USFWS TOP:

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 43 BRINGING SONGBIRDS BACK TO HAWAII, ONE FOREST AT A TIME

the manager of Hakalau Refuge. “Our number The refuge’s plant propagation and outplant- one priority is how do we outcompete mosquitos ing program has remained highly productive or beat them back? How can we keep them at since American Forests helped get 165,000 trees bay so that the bird populations can continue in the ground. The coronavirus pandemic has to flourish?” challenged progress, since volunteers — who pro- vide most of the labor for the program — haven’t Steve Kendall, retired wildlife “A BIGGER-PICTURE APPROACH” been able to come to the refuge. New investments biologist for the The immediate answer is to take more aggressive in propagating and planting understory plants Big Island National action in moving the birds’ habitat uphill, while and ‘ōhi‘a will help convert the 5,000 acres of Wildlife Refuge Complex, collecting simultaneously continuing to work on restoring former pasture back to native forest. There are and recording data. the understory of the already-replanted areas. also plans to expand those forestlands onto surrounding land owned and managed by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, an agency that oversees the use of certain public lands to benefit native Hawaiians. Immediately up the mountainside from Hakalau lies a Hawaiian Home Lands area that starts at its lower elevations as a solid, impenetrable, 5,000-acre monoculture of gorse, a flowering, thorny exotic shrub that makes establishing new forest virtu- ally impossible. But further uphill is the Mauna Kea State Forest Reserve, an area of dry sub-alpine woodlands which is connected to Hakalau by the Kanakaleonui Bird Corridor, a narrow strip of land currently under restora- tion that will enable forest birds to move between the two forests. Mauna Kea Reserve, in contrast to the wet forests of Hakalau, has more native māmane, a flowering tree, and other types of native plants. Horiuchi, Hakalau’s horticulturalist, can help in replanting areas closer to the refuge, as he has figured out by trial and error how to propagate māmane. It’s done by cutting off an end of the seed to prompt its growth. American Forests is teaming up with the global customer relationship management leader, Salesforce, the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge and Mauna Kea Watershed Alliance to push this project forward, restoring 20 acres of degraded forest in the bird corridor by planting 6,000 koa and understory plants. The group will be hiring a nursery technician Sources: Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex (USFWS); Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge (USFWS); Mauna Kea Watershed Alliance Watershed Mauna Kea (USFWS); Refuge Wildlife National Forest Hakalau (USFWS); Complex Refuge Wildlife Big Island National Sources: to lend a hand and learn Horiuchi’s tried-and-true methods for growing

Hawaii’s endangered flora. They will BRAD LATHAM PAGE: FACING USFWS; LEFT:

44 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS Luring Songbirds Up a Mountain

Ensuring the survival of several types of Hawaiian songbirds has meant reforesting Mauna Kea, a long dormant volcano. But an invasive mosquito now threatens the birds, and as the climate warms, scientists want to restore habitats higher up the mountain where cooler temperatures could keep the insects away.

Mauna Kea State Forest Reserve (8,000 to 12,000 feet elevation) Mostly shrubland and subalpine forests up to 9,500 feet. Above that, cinder and ash. Mauna Kea (East side of mountain) 13,000 feet

12,000 feet

9,500 feet

8,000 feet

Patureland Patureland

6,200 feet

Mosquito line at 4,000 feet

3,600 feet

Kanakaleonui Bird Corridor (6,200 feet to 8,000 feet elevation) A narrow 1.8-mile-long stretch that connects the forests of the Hakalau to those of the Mauna Kea higher up. Comprised of former pastureland and a scattering of native trees. Salesforce is helping plant 20 acres AREA of koa trees and understory plants here. ENLARGED ABOVE

Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge (3,600 to 6,400 feet elevation) A combination of forest, pasture and marshlands. American Forests helped plant more than 165,000 trees

Sources: Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex (USFWS); Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge (USFWS); Mauna Kea Watershed Alliance Watershed Mauna Kea (USFWS); Refuge Wildlife National Forest Hakalau (USFWS); Complex Refuge Wildlife Big Island National Sources: here in the 1990s. LEFT: USFWS; FACING PAGE: BRAD LATHAM PAGE: FACING USFWS; LEFT:

AMERICAN FORESTS WINTER/SPRING 2021 | 45 BRINGING SONGBIRDS BACK TO HAWAII, ONE FOREST AT A TIME

Aerial photo of koa outplanting in the former pasturelands. JIM KRAUS

next door that are at higher elevation. It’s our job “It’s our job to put those plant and tree species to put those plant and tree species together and together and get this forest back to something as get this forest back to something as close as pos- sible as it once was.” close as possible as it once was.” It’s a big task, but the professionals who have

—TOM CADY, MANAGER OF HAKALAU REFUGE worked on this for decades know what it takes to succeed. They’ve honed their reforestation approach in every aspect, from propagating seed- be supported by a four-person “strike team” that lings to analyzing ecosystems, and they can add will return to the bird corridor every spring to their solutions to the already well-established plant. The project will also focus on community and celebrated conservation project at Hakalau. engagement and enlisting volunteers to help pull “I can’t think of many better places to put weeds, collect seeds and plant seedlings. As such, trees, honestly,” says Rempel. “If these birds are this project will be like much of the restoration using them, then each acre we put in is more work at Hakalau, which has been done by volun- habitat. And that’s what they need: more habitat. teers from the community, some of whom have It makes a lot of sense.” been coming to volunteer for decades. “We are looking at a bigger-picture approach Katherine Gustafson is a freelance writer where the refuge plays a role, Salesforce plays a specializing in helping mission-driven role, and some of our other partners play a role,” changemakers like tech disruptors and dynamic says Cady. “That way we could reforest lands nonprofits tell their stories.

46 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS 1 Million

trees by 2021!

JIM KRAUS Partnering with American Forests for a greener future

Not only do we employ environmentally sound practices in everything we do, from our bot- tling at the source right through packaging and delivery, we also partner with incredible groups like American Forests, who we work with to restore the environment by planting 50,000 trees every year. In 2021, we’ll be planting our millionth tree as a part of this decades long partnership — but we don’t just do this for the good of the water. We do it to help pro- tect the planet and the communities where we live and work.

Learn more at www.crystalgeyserplease.com/our-commitments Simple...but not easy.TM last look

SEEKING COMFORT IN THE WOODS

INSPIRED TO SHARE THE BEAUTY OF THE WOODS she loves, Michelle Collison SPACE BETWEEN Meyer started taking photographs and writing soulful poems five years ago about her nature SOUNDS experiences in the Driftless Area. It’s a unique geological region at the corner where Wisconsin, There is a splendid Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois meet. Kind of silence in Glaciers left the Driftless Area untouched, preserving a hilly landscape unusual for the Remote forest lands Upper Midwest, complete with bluffs along the Mississippi River, disappearing streams and caves. The region, surrounded by prairie, also boasts cool microclimates with species Woodlands large Enough to surround normally found much further north. A soul on all sides Most of Meyer’s photos and poems are set in county and state parks in southwest Wisconsin. For miles and miles Her work conveys an unmistakable hopefulness. Since the pandemic, many of her website visitors have told her they find comfort in what she creates. Treeland so removed “I really feel the human spirit as a whole benefits from being in nature,” she says. “It’s a From “civilization” connection that keeps us grounded.” That the thrumming As winter begins to wind down and we Of highway traffic Does not intrude eagerly await the spring, here are a few photos and a poem to remind us of that journey. Find In such a place more at https://www.facebook.com/ One can hear WoodlandSpaces/ Silence between Each note of the Forest symphony

As tree limbs sway In the overstory above Clicking and clacking They send their ballad Reverberating into The surrounding woods

Birds join in as they Chirrup and call Out to each other

Squirrels add their Notes as well while They skitter up trees And gossip with One and other …

And throughout The entire symphony In between each Rich, echoing note One grasps silence Expanding for miles Out into the woodland

Silence uninterrupted By highway noise Silence enough To breathe

© WOODLAND SPACES PHOTOS: MICHELLE COLLISON MEYER MICHELLE COLLISON PHOTOS:

48 | WINTER/SPRING 2021 AMERICAN FORESTS PUT STOCK IN FORESTS: A LIVING INVESTMENT

And find a wealth of benefits for the short and long term

Your gift of stocks, bonds or mutual funds can plant a living investment of trees to ensure forests thrive far into the future and provide the benefits of clean air and water to future generations.

With an outright gift of appreciated securities to American Forests, you may save on capital gains and income taxes, while protecting and restoring critical forest ecosystems.

In 2018, the IRS declared that charitable donations from your tax-deferred IRA or 401(k) will be exempt from taxation up to $100,000. Speak to your financial advisor about how you can generously support forest restoration, while minimizing or avoiding tax on distributions from those accounts.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Broome, vice president of philanthropy,

[email protected], A tree you plant today may outlive your grandchildren’s 202-370-4513. grandchildren’s grandchildren. This Great Basin bristlecone pine is 5,067 years old, the oldest-known living, non-clonal organism on Earth. American Forests cannot offer legal or tax advice. Please consult your lawyer or tax advisor about the advantages of making a

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