Over the next ten years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to plant more than one billion trees to help restore millions of acres of burned and damaged forests throughout the American West. Additionally, President Biden announced that over the next few years, the Forest Service will raise its efforts from the 60,000 acres it replanted last year to roughly 400,000 acres annually.
The federal government is concentrating on restoring trees on public lands because forests, among other things, filter and store water, trap carbon, supply food and timber to Indigenous people, and generate more than $11 billion in economic activity through outdoor recreation. Areas that have been burned by wildfires are more vulnerable to other potentially disastrous issues including mudslides, flooding, and landslides when left bare.
According to the Forest Service, wildfires are the primary cause of forest degradation and account for 80% of replanting as of 2021. This year, flames have already consumed 5.6 million acres in the United States, which is more than twice as much as the same period in 2021 and more than three times as much as the same period in 2020.
This is a CIMA Law Group blog entry. CIMA Law Group is located in Arizona and specializes in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations. If you live in Arizona and need legal assistance CIMA Law Group can help.
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