Photo: Evett Kilmartin
Several years of large wildfires have created a need for large-scale reforestation across California. The need for reforestation spans the state and extends from small-scale private forest owners, to large scale commercial operations and public agencies.
Fortunately, there are many valuable resources from ANR and other organizations to help land managers plan and implement reforestation projects. The challenge however is that these resources are of varying quality and scattered across websites, making the search for relevant resources difficult and time consuming.
But help is here! The California Reforestation Toolshed is a new website developed by the USDA California Climate Hub and built by ANR’s Informatics and GIS (IGIS) Statewide Program with support from CalFire. The Toolshed provides a one-stop shop for reforestation resources that have been vetted by reforestation professionals and researchers. Resources you can find include fact sheets, frameworks and manuals, peer-reviewed publications, programs and decision support tools. Many of the resources come from ANR. The website’s user-friendly interface offers multiple ways to search including geography, topic and resource type.
In addition to sharing essential knowledge, the Toolshed can also help land managers get connected to the right people to carry out their reforestation project. The website includes directories for Registered Professional Foresters, nurseries and UC ANR forest advisors. You can even see a live-stream of selected messages from a reforestation focused Slack group run by the California Reforestation Pipeline Partnership, with an option to subscribe.
The scale of California’s reforestation needs is immense, and will be with us for many decades. However finding the help you need has never been easier. Visit the Reforestation Toolshed today to find resources for your next reforestation project.
