Workers load native tree seedlings for transport to reforestation sites on the Mendocino National Forest near Clear Lake, California, April 15, 2026. The loadout process is a critical step in restoring areas devasted by the 2018 Ranch Fire, moving climate resilient saplings from the nursery to the field.
The U.S. Forest Service, Patriot Restoration Ops, and Clear Lake Environmental Research Center gathered on the Mendocino National Forest to plant seedlings in an effort to restore parts of the forest affected by the 2018 Ranch Fire. In just eight days, the crew planted 71,000 seedlings on the hillside east of the communities of Nice and Lucerne. The ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and incense cedar came from a nearby Forest Service...
