Replanting our Nation’s Forests
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Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

Forest Overview

6.3 million acres. Located in Nevada and Eastern California

The expanse of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest unfolds further than any others in mainland United States. Only Alaska hosts two larger forests. The Humboldt-Toiyabe stretches through Nevada's many mountain ranges into eastern California's Sierra Nevadas. Visitors enjoy remarkable diversity among its arid deserts, Ponderosa pine forests, spruce, larch, and aspen stands, plus Krummholtz and lodgepole pine.

Among these lands are 10 ranger districts, 23 wilderness districts, and ancestral homelands of several Native American tribes. As many as 100,000 prehistoric and historic archeological sites exist here. Rich lodes of ore attracted many 19th-century miners, whose only remaining traces reside in the forest's ghost towns.

The Need for Trees

Unprecedented winds in July 2007 fed a blaze that destroyed 2,700 acres in the Hawken fire. The loss of trees allowed soil to erode, increased water runoff, and placed water supplies for both wildlife and people at risk. Restoration of the area's ecosystems has focused on preventing soil erosion and keeping sediment out of water sources prior to planting trees.

What We Are Doing

In the Carson Ranger District, we are helping plant 95,000 Jeffrey pine and western white pine seedlings whose roots will hold that soil in place and replace habitat for native creatures.