Pine seedlings experience new beginning in burn scar of pipeline/tunnel

More than 200 volunteers helped plant pine saplings in a burn scar east of the San Francisco Peaks. The area burned in the 2010 Schultz Fire, was replanted, and then burned again in the 2022 Pipeline and Tunnel fires. Melissa Sevigny of KNAU was on site with Chris Curley of the Coconino National Forest, a forester, to talk about why he is working to restore it.

It’s a little heartbreaking to have to replant an area that was already replanted once, after the Schultz Fire in 2010. How does it feel to be out here doing this work today?

I would say it’s tough. Previously, we had a very dedicated forester who put a lot of time and effort into planting those 3,000 acres. And for him, it’s heartbreaking to see all that hard work actually go up in flames. Hearing that even secondhand is just tough. And then being here firsthand and reforesting that, knowing that this is an area that’s been hit by three major fires in 12 years, it’s almost like people are wondering, “When’s the next one coming?” … But I’m hopeful because when they originally reforested those 3,000 acres, there was a lot of dead wood, which caused the pipeline and the tunnel to burn so unusually hot in that area, and that heat killed the ponderosa pines. Normally, they’re a fire-adapted species, they live in symbiosis with fire, they almost need it.

Why do you think it’s important that we do this work? Why does this area need a little help to re-establish these trees?

If you look at the trees around here, you’ll see that they all have lots of cones and the ponderosa pine seeds travel quite a distance. However, most studies show that ponderosa pine seedlings will fly up to 50 meters from their mother tree. It will take hundreds of years to return to its original state and may never be reached again. By putting these seedlings back in the ground, we’re getting a head start on becoming a healthy ponderosa pine forest again.

Can you tell me a little about how burn scars compare to a healthy, unburned forest? This area contributes to a lot of the flooding we experience down in the city. Why is it important that we have plants in the landscape?

To address the flooding, the flooding on this side of the Peaks has been impressive to say the least… When more vegetation comes to the ground, the roots help to retain the moisture, they absorb the moisture and hold it in place, and they also slow down the runoff simply because there’s less water flowing over the surface… Also, we’re planting a little less densely and trying to keep the spacing more generous, rather than planting these really dense groups of ponderosa pines. So we’re doing a little bit of fire prevention work up front, rather than reacting after it’s already happening.

Will you come back next year? How many years will the replanting take?

Replanting this area will likely take a number of years. Complete replanting of the pipeline and tunnel, or to the extent we want, could take over a decade.

What did you like most about working out here?

Oh, these are long days. I’m out here just after five in the morning. When you look around, it’s so wide open. I watch the sunrises and the storms go by because you can really see everything from up here. I really appreciate that. Especially because I know that in 20 or 30 years, hopefully, you won’t be able to do that anymore because there will be trees here. I’m just enjoying it while I can.

Chris Curley, thank you for speaking with me.

Yes, thank you for letting me be here.