2010 Restoration Projects

Flathead National Forest | Sequoia National Forest | San Bernadino National Forest | Payette National Forest | Manitoba, Canada | Scotland: Cowal and Trossachs Forest District

Flathead National Forest

Forest Overview

250,000 trees | Northwest Montana, adjacent to Glacier National Park

The 2.3 million-acre Flathead National Forest is located in northwestern Montana, adjacent to Glacier National Park and the U.S. border with Canada. The region is home to two of the most popular travel destinations of the Pacific Northwest, Glacier National Park and Flathead Lake. The state department of tourism calls this “Glacier Country.” The 2007 Brush Creek Fire area is located approximately 20 miles west of Whitefish, Montana on the Tally Lake Ranger District.

Need for Trees

The forest experienced several large wildfires in 2003 and 2007 that resulted in 322,000 acres or 14% of the total forest being burned. Adequate tree regeneration is not establishing due to the intensity of the fires. This particular project will plant 1,150 acres within the Brush Creek Fire area. With the help of Enterprise and the U.S. Forest Service, we can help replant 250,000 western larch, lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce, Douglasfir, and western white pine in an area in need of diversity and resiliency to future fire and insect disturbances.

Planting and Impact

The project is within the Flathead watershed which drains six million acres of scenic landscapes. Many rivers in this area drain into Flathead Lake which is the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River. The lake is one of the cleanest lakes of its size and type anywhere in the populated world. In the summer it is often easy to see through twenty feet of the water column. It is 28 miles long and up to 15 miles wide with a maximum depth of 370 feet. The Flathead National Forest administers the largest amount of public lands in the watershed and is critical to the water quality. The Flathead National Forest serves as the “kidneys” of the rivers and lakes and provides a buffer that filters out nutrients and pollutants.

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Sequoia National Forest

Forest Overview

271,000 trees | Central California

The Sequoia National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument in central California are named for the giant sequoia, the world's largest tree. The landscape is as spectacular as its 38 groves of giant sequoia. Majestic granite monoliths, glacier-torn canyons, roaring whitewater, and lush meadows await your discovery at the southern end of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Elevations range from 1,000 feet in the foothill region to peaks over 12,000 feet in the rugged high country, providing visitors with some of the most spectacular views of mountainous landscape in the entire west.

Need for Trees

This project includes recovery from the 2001 McNally Fire, 2007 Vista Fire, and the 2008 Piute Fire. The reforestation efforts also include parts of the Hartland Camp area in the northwest that receives high use by forest visitors near giant sequoia groves. The Piute Fire alone consumed 37,025 acres on the Sequoia National Forest. The goal this spring is to improve resilience, habitat, and high water quality in the face of a changing climate. Enterprise Rent-a-Car and the Arbor Day Foundation will make sure that this goal is reached in the spring of 2010.

Impact

Sequoia National Forest is located in Tulare County which is populated by more than 426,000 residents. The county crosses eleven different watersheds in south central California. Some of the critical waterways in the forest are Hume Lake, Kern River, and Kings River. Near the end of the Piute Fire in 2008, two localized heavy rainstorm events occurred within the fire area. These events resulted in high rates of soil erosion, sedimentation of streams, and debris flows that extended into the Kern River from Erskine Creek and Clear Creek. It is imperative that these areas are replanted and the trees can begin to hold soil in place and keep the soil out of the water.

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San Bernardino National Forest

Forest Overview

300,000 trees | Southwestern California

The San Bernardino National Forest is comprised of three Ranger Districts spanning 676,666 acres in San Bernardino and Riverside counties in southern California. The San Bernardino National Forest contains a large number of unique ecological communities and is also among the highest in the nation for recreational use due to its location northeast of the Los Angeles Basin. The San Bernardino National Forest as public land was set aside for the conservation of natural resources such as trees, water, minerals, livestock range, recreation, or wildlife.

Need for Trees

In 2007 the Butler II Fire burned near the mountain community of Big Bear which is located within the Santa Ana watershed. The tree plantings are critical to the recovery of an area that has been significantly deforested. Large portions of the Butler II Fire area burned at stand-replacing severity levels, destroying most of the seed source. The benefits include stabilization of the local soils, improved storage and release of high quality water to the surrounding communities, and restoration of wildlife habitat for several sensitive species.

Impact

Through our partnership with Enterprise and the U.S. Forest Service, we can help replant 300,000 sugar pine and jeffrey pine trees in a critical watershed with heavy recreational use. The eighteen national forests in California cover only 20% of the land in the State but produce almost half the state's runoff water. Because so much of California's water comes from the national forests, the health of the California forest ecosystems and watersheds is critical. Many of California's national forests were created specifically to safeguard and preserve water supplies. The Santa Ana watershed begins in the mountains of San Bernardino National Forest and consists mainly of snowmelt and storm runoff. It is crucial that the water is of high quality in the mountain region because in the end, it makes its way to the drinking water for millions of residents in southern California.

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Payette National Forest

Forest Overview

79,000 trees

The Payette National Forest offers the visitor over 2.3 million acres to enjoy, from the deep recesses of Hell's Canyon to peaks reaching elevations of almost 9,500 feet. To the west is the Hell's Canyon National Recreation Area, the deepest river gorge in North America. Standing on the canyon’s east rim, visitors gaze down 8,000 feet to the Snake River that carved this canyon and across the 10-mile-wide chasm into the neighboring state of Oregon. The Payette National Forest provides habitat for approximately 300 species of mammals and birds. Rare species in Payette include the bald eagle, boreal owl, and whiteheaded woodpecker.

Need for Trees

In the summer of 2007, a lightening-caused fire burned more than 9,500 acres of land in the Middle Fork Weiser River Drainage and 2,800 acres of land in the Grays Creek Drainage. The 79,000 ponderosa pine, Douglasfir, and western larch trees will help restore upland forest and would restore vegetation and structure to create a resilient ecosystem.

Impact

Rivers and streams on the Payette drain into two of Idaho's major rivers, the Snake River and the Salmon River. Watersheds on the forest provide high-quality waters for fish habitat, recreation, irrigation, and domestic drinking water for municipalities. The South Fork of the Salmon River alone drains about 827,000 acres of central Idaho, an area slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island. The South Fork Salmon River contains the most important remaining habitat for summer Chinook salmon in the Columbia River basin. Enterprise's generous gift to the Arbor Day Foundation would help to ensure a future forest that consists of great diversity of natural resources and abundant fish and wildlife.

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Manitoba, Canada

Forest Overview

50,000 trees

During the summer of 2005, a large area of southeastern Manitoba's forest was destroyed by a savage wind storm with gale force winds in excess of 150 km per hour. This storm uprooted and destroyed more than 180,000 cubic meters of mature pine forest within a populated region located in the rural municipality of Piney in southeastern Manitoba. This will be the final phase of planting and will conclude the efforts that began in 2007.

Need for Trees

Trees that once sequestered carbon, prevented soil erosion, and beautified the landscape were devastated. This natural disaster had a huge impact on many communities within the municipality of Piney. Tree cover was stripped off the landscape, leaving forested communities such as Sandilands with no tree cover. Hundreds of hectares of forestland have blown down, creating a loss of habitat and food for wildlife and a loss of buffer for the local watershed.

Impact

The area plays a key role in protecting the larger Red River Basin watershed. The newly planted forest will help to trap water and snow and release it slowly into Manitoba's lakes and streams. According to scientists at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, loadings of phosphorus from the Red River Basin have increased by over 50% in the last ten years. This project would be a great step in reversing the nutrient loading into area waterways and also helping to clean the local streams, lakes, and watershed.

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Scotland: Cowal and Trossachs Forest District

Forest Overview

50,000 trees

The main feature of Cowal and Trossachs Forest District is the large variation—from the flat, fertile areas of the Carse of Stirling in the east, through the scenic, forested landscapes of the Trossachs, to the coastal region of south Cowal. This area also includes much of the area of Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. The district is heavily wooded and although dominated by conifer, the area has the highest percentage of broadleaf woodland in Scotland.

Need for Trees

The different forest blocks are all part of a habitat corridor that needs to be developed for the benefit of the flora and fauna of the forest structure. Some of these areas were commercial plantations that need to be converted to native woodlands. This area has a high proportion of ancient woodland and is also a key asset and important for tourism. Through the unique partnership with the Scottish Ministers and Enterprise, 50,000 coniferous and hardwood trees will be planted and efforts to eradicate invasive species will also continue.

Impact

Water is a significant feature of Cowal and Trossachs Forest District. The district includes a large number of inland water bodies including Loch Lamond, Loch Katrine, and Loch Eck as well as a number of sea lochs such as Loch Fyne, Loch Goil, and Loch Long. This area also contains the catchments of a number of major river systems, including the headwaters of the River Forth, the northern catchment of the Endrick Water, as well as the northern boundary of the Firth of Clyde. The continuation of this project and the planting of this corridor are making a big impact with the locals and their treasured waterways.

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