More than a third of the recently burned forests in California have experienced high-severity fire, killing at least 75% of their trees and other plants, according to Cal Fire.
The state fire agency is giving California-based Sierra Pacific Industries the $3 million in funding to help speed up the construction of a new seedling nursery in Siskiyou County.
California is far short of the number of conifer seedlings growing in nurseries for reforestation needs after severe wildfires.
“This project will almost double the number of seedlings being made available in the state," said Christine McMorrow with Cal Fire. "The need is somewhere around 50 million seedlings a year.”
The company plans to produce 6 million seedlings in 2024, ramping up to 25 million annually in the following two years.
“These funds essentially are going to help get them started on this nursery," McMorrow said. "Get the buildings started and get them up and running sooner than they would have been able to without these funds.”
The nursery will also bring jobs to the rural community of Gazelle, where Sierra-Pacific is anticipating hiring 10 full-time staff and an additional 110 seasonal staff members.
McMorrow says Cal Fire will continue to look at opportunities to fund development of conifer seedling nurseries throughout the state.
