ROLLA, Mo., — Mark Twain National Forest will continue its climate adaptation and forest restoration processes, with potential boosts from a new national plan. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced a strategy for how the Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will address a reforestation backlog of four million acres on national forests and plant more than one billion trees over the next decade. With new resources made available through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—combined with support from state, local, and Tribal governments as well as other partners—the Forest Service aims to eliminate the backlog over the next ten years and develop the infrastructure, such as nurseries, to keep up with increasing reforestation needs.
Nurseries play a key role in climate-adapted ecosystem restoration in Missouri. Seeds collected decades ago from shortleaf pine trees on Mark Twain National Forest were used to establish seed orchard trees that are growing on the Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas. Each year, seeds from those tress are sent to a nursery in Louisiana, where they are grown to seedlings. The seedlings are then planted to make shortleaf pine reforestation projects possible, including on the Mark Twain National Forest. Having a high-quality seed stock based on a native tree lineage, that has been established and climate adjusted in warmer temperatures, serves as an example of how nurseries can play a vital role in climate adaptation of a forest.
The Forest Service has invested more than $100 million in reforestation this year – more than three times the investment in previous years – thanks to the Repairing Existing Public Land by Adding Necessary Trees (REPLANT) Act made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These investments will help mitigate the impacts of climate change, rebuild in the aftermath of devastating wildfires, and strengthen America’s forestlands.
Before the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and REPLANT, the Forest Service was only able to address about 6% of its post-wildfire reforestation needs. The REPLANT Act directs the Forest Service to plant more than a billion trees over the next decade. Mark Twain National Forest traditionally utilizes funds received through timber sales to facilitate forest restoration work, but it may be able to augment those processes through funding provided through the REPLANT Act.
Mike Joyce, Integrated Resources Officer for Mark Twain National Forest stated, “REPLANT has the potential to help us restore the health of our forest; and we will identify opportunities to use it when appropriate for meeting our reforestation goals. Funds generated from commercial timber sales continue to support on-the-ground projects that improve wildlife habitat, remove invasive species, and promote native vegetation in collaboration with our many partners.”
The national reforestation strategy will serve as a framework to understand reforestation needs, develop shared priorities with partners, expand reforestation and nursery capacity, and ensure the trees planted will grow to support healthy, resilient forests. This strategy is an important first step in realizing the goals laid out in President Biden’s direction to scale up climate-smart reforestation and also supports the Forest Service’s 10-year strategy to cut wildfire risk, protect communities and improve forest health.
On the Forest, climate adaptation continues with the development of the Mark Twain Carbon Assessment. It will help guide project planning through increased understanding of the nuances of carbon processes tied to forestry.
If you have reforestation or climate adaptation ideas that you would like to share with Mark Twain National Forest, please email them to Public Affairs Officer Cody Norris at cody.s.norris@usda.gov.