Researchers in New Mexico faced an almost cruelly ironic threat when the largest wildfire burning in the U.S. approached their facility containing millions of seeds and thousands of tree sprouts meant to help restore fire-ravaged landscapes.
“The sad truth is we’re not going to be able to do that overnight, so we’re going to see these catastrophic fires for a decade, two decades, three decades — it depends on how quickly we make this turn,” he said, while stuck at home watching live updates of the fire’s progression as road blocks remained in place.
The center has provided sprouts for projects in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Texas and California, but experts said its capacity for turning out as many as 300,000 seedlings annually isn’t enough now and certainly won’t be in the future as climate change and drought persist. About 10,000 seedlings rescued from the forestry center in Mora will be used for a project focused on growing ponderosa pine at higher elevations. The trouble, Hurteau said, is that past fire footprints chosen for the research are in the line of fire again this year.
But at this pace, she acknowledges the work will take centuries. Part of the goal, she said, is to find ways to do it cost-effectively.
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