Report: California plagued with 36M dead trees

Tree mortality was particularly high in the central Sierra Nevada Range and forests up north, with the true firs making up over 77% of the total dead trees found throughout the state.

The data comes from the USDA Forest Service’s annual aerial detection survey, which estimates tree damage and mortality figures to better tailor the department’s approach to increasing forest health alongside state and local partners.

Last year, the Forest Service launched a decadelong strategy that uses fuel reduction techniques, community hardening practices and congressional funding to mitigate wildfires in the nation’s most at-risk places, including California’s forests.

“Forest health is a top priority for the Forest Service,” Jennifer Eberlien, regional forester for the Pacific Southwest Region, said. “The agency’s 10-year strategy to address the wildfire crisis includes removal of dead and dying trees in the places where it poses the most immediate threats to communities. Working together, we can mitigate the risks of tree mortality and high-intensity wildfire by reducing the overabundance of living trees on the landscape.”

On a state level, Eberlien is working with California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot and Cal Fire officials to funnel state and federal funds to forest health treatment projects via a California-led coalition called the California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force.

“As we tackle California’s wildfire and forestry challenges, tree mortality remains a major concern for the state,” Joe Tyler, Cal Fire director and chief, said. “And we’re seeing real results. In the past several years, the partnerships underway have accelerated the rate of projects completed, and in 2022 alone, we saw examples of where our combined forest resilience efforts made a difference in protecting lives, communities and our state’s natural resources.”