2013 Restoration Projects
Blackwater River State Forest | Essex County | Cuyamaca Rancho State Park | Ministry of Defense Estate | Bastrop State Park | Boise National Forest | Flight 93 National Memorial | Los Padres National Forest | Rural Municipality of Piney | Pike National Forest
Blackwater River State Forest
Florida Panhandle
The Blackwater River State Forest encompasses approximately 213,000 acres and is located in Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties of Florida. This is one of the largest forests in the state and is named for one of the meandering rivers that runs through it.
Efforts to reforest areas of the Blackwater River State Forest have been ongoing since the state began purchasing land in northwest Florida. Enterprise Rent-A-Car partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant 250,000 trees. Reestablishment of northwest Florida into a longleaf pine ecosystem has and will provide wildlife habitat for threatened and endangered species such as red cockaded woodpecker and gopher tortoise. This ecosystem also provides habitat for game and nongame species that include white-tailed deer, quail and black bear.
Essex County
Southern Ontario (Trees Ontario)
While experts have determined that a healthy and sustainable ecosystem requires a minimum of 30% forest cover, Essex County has only about 5% forest cover. There is a considerable and urgent need for forest restoration efforts to improve the poor air and water quality in the region. A major concern is the phosphorus loading and soil erosion as a result of heavy agriculture land use. Essex County also has second lowest forest cover in all of Ontario with poor connectivity of the region’s scattered woodlots and highly fragmented and degraded forests. To make matters worse, the region is estimated to have lost more than 1 million trees to the emerald ash borer.
Throughout the month of May, 15,000 trees consisting of 22 different species were planted on 17 acres. The trees will provide significant environmental benefits through the increase in forest cover, enhanced water quality, biodiversity and habitat improvement.
Cuyamaca Rancho State Park
Southern California
The Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is 24,000 acres of fir, pine and oak forest—home to a diverse representation of wildlife including cougar, coyote, red-tailed hawk and the California ground squirrel. The 280,000-acre Cedar Fire of 2003, driven by the Santa Ana winds, had a devastating impact on the park. Tree mortality was more than 90% in much of the forest, and future seed source was lost.
In January of 2013, Enterprise Rent-A-Car funded the planting of 50,000 Jeffrey pine, Coulter pine, sugar pine, incense cedar and white fir trees. These efforts built upon the Arbor Day Foundation’s larger, multi-year replanting effort, bringing the overall project total to 350,000 trees planted across 1,200 project areas to date.
Ministry of Defense Estate
United Kingdom (Woodland Trust)
Despite the importance of trees and the widespread recognition of the benefits they provide, the United Kingdom is one of the least wooded countries in Europe with only 13% woodland cover compared with the European average of 44%. We are working to help increase the amount of native tree cover across the UK.
In 2013, the Woodland Trust planted 100,000 trees on behalf of the Arbor Day Foundation and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. The trees have been planted on the Ministry of Defense estate to improve both the military training facilities and enhance the biodiversity of the various sites. When possible, the Woodland Trust has involved both military and civilian personnel (including Enterprise’s staff) in tree planting events.
America Y'allBastrop State Park
Bastrop, Texas
On September 4, 2011, three separate wildfires in and around Bastrop, Texas, eventually merged into one fire—the Bastrop County Complex Fire. The fire quickly spread across the drought-ridden region, inflicting significant scars on the landscape of central Texas. By October 29, when the fire was finally declared extinguished, 95% of Bastrop State Park and 32,400 acres of the Lost Pines Forest ecosystem were burned.
In the late fall and early winter of 2013, a total of 250,000 loblolly pine trees were planted to serve a critical role in helping to restore the forest and critical wildlife habitat lost in these devastating wildfires.
stephenhanafinBoise National Forest
Western Idaho
Just to the northeast of Boise, Idaho, lies the mountainous landscape of Boise National Forest—more than 2.6 million acres of forest that protect and filter the water that originates on the landscape. The Payette, Boise and the south and middle fork of the Salmon River reside in this critical watershed. Mule deer, Rocky Mountain Elk, salmon and trout are just a few species that make their home within the confines of this stunning forest.
The Red Mountain and Sheep Trail wildfires burned approximately 42,000 acres of the Lowman Ranger District in 2006 and 2007. To speed recovery of these intensely burned areas, 122,500 conifer trees were planted in the late spring and fall of 2013.
Flight 93 National Memorial
Shanksville, Pennsylvania
The Flight 93 National Memorial is a spectacularly moving, newly dedicated 2,200 acre National Park in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. This hallowed land is a permanent and lasting tribute to the forty men and women who lost their lives in order to save the lives of many others on September 11, 2001. The memorial is located on reclaimed coal mining land. Though historically forested, the reclaimed land now consists of compacted soils and thin tree stands due to the many years of intensive coal extraction.
In April of 2013—during National Park Week—30,000 trees supplied by Enterprise Rent-A-Car were planted by volunteers on a 43-acre area along the main entrance road leading to the Memorial’s most prominent feature: the Wall of Names.
ChuckThePotographerLos Padres National Forest
South-Central California
Los Padres National Forest encompasses 1.75 million acres of beautiful landscape in south-central California. The forest is comprised of redwood, mixed conifer, and oak woodlands which give shelter to more 450 different fish and wildlife species. In September and October of 2006, the Day Fire burned 163,908 acres on Los Padres.
The U.S. Forest Service immediately put together a management plan to replant more than 17,000 acres of land that was considered high severity. In the spring of 2013, 122,500 ponderosa, sugar and Jeffrey pine trees were planted. The trees used for the project were grown from seed that was collected from the native stands on the forest.
Phil CamillRural Municipality of Piney
Manitoba (Tree Canada)
In the fall of 2013, we worked with Tree Canada to plant trees on a high-priority project within the Rural Municipality of Piney, Manitoba. The parcel of land is presently hay-covered or sparsely vegetated with residual jack pine trees resulting from a violent windstorm that devastated much of the community’s tree cover.
35,000 red pine seedlings were planted to provide multiple benefits including community noise buffering, site screening, shelter, shade, noise/dust reduction, habitat and food for wildlife, enhanced recreational opportunities, wildlife corridors, aesthetic beauty, watershed protection, carbon sequestration and clean air for all Manitobans.
trekker314Pike National Forest
Central Colorado
Pike National Forests is more than a tourist attraction—it is also home to the upper South Platte watershed, the primary water source for the City of Denver and surrounding communities. In 1996, the Buffalo Creek Fire burned 12,000 acres of the Pike National Forest. Only six years later, the largest fire in Colorado's history (the Hayman Fire of 2002) burned an additional 137,000 acres. These fires had a devastating effect on the upper South Platte watershed. In moderate and high intensity burn areas, 100% of the trees were lost—and along with them, future seed sources for natural regeneration.
In the spring of 2013, Enterprise Rent-A-Car helped to plant 25,000 across more than 1,300 acres of the national forest. This planting will help to regenerate the forest and rebuild the watershed relied on by so many for clean water.