MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES RELEAF

 

In 2003 the Old Fire burned through thousands of acres of precious land in the San Bernardino Mountains – in 2007 once again fire struck during the Slide and Grass Valley Fires.

Developed in 2004 after the 2003 Wildfires, Mountain Communities Wildfire ReLeaf is an ongoing program educating private landowners in the value of reforesting the burn areas and areas devastated by the bark beetle infestation. The ReLeaf program uses seeds previously collected in the San Bernardino Mountain burned areas. These seedlings are grown at the Southern California Edison Nursery in Auburn, CA and delivered to the sites for direct plantings as weather and climate conditions permit. Citizen and student volunteers are used on much of the larger burned areas, and professional planting crews in the more hazardous areas.

Working for over 18 years with Southern California Edison and CalFire we continue to work to grow and plant seedlings each year. Due to funding from American Forests, we have been able to complete site visits, land treatments, and the planting of additional seedlings across the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California. Southern California Edison will continue growing the seedlings needed as we move forward for our 2023 and 2024 planting seasons. New partnerships are being created as ReLeaf continues assisting in areas devastated by additional wildfires.

ReLeaf completed a two-year project partnering with American Forests and CalFire under the "Resilient Communities" grant program sponsored by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Wells Fargo. The funding supported planting, restoration treatments,
community engagement and development of a climate – informed restoration plan for the San Bernardino Mountains over a two-year period. Our 2022 planting season closed out with planting 10,000 seedlings in partnership with American Forest, Cal Fire, and the California Conservation Corps.

Since 2004, ReLeaf Volunteers, partnering with the Mojave Desert Resource Conservation District and CALFIRE (California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection) have planted over 475,000 native seedlings across several hundred acres of land in the San Bernardino Mountains and additional areas located in San Diego and Riverside Counties.