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Don't feel like rambling too much here but after taking a class (Ecosystem Restoration Design) last year that touched on this method a few notes: - Yes, you ge

Don't feel like rambling too much here but after taking a class (Ecosystem Restoration Design) last year that touched on this method a few notes: - Yes, you generally try to use native species only. Search for things like the WWF ecoregions map to get a broad idea, search for a local resource on native species. - The reason it grows a bit faster isn't magic - it involves a higher input effort/cost, and you skip a stage of succession by focusing more on planting 'keystone species' rather than going through an initial stage of 'pioneer species'. - Because of this, they tend to be more attractive in urban environments. See also related organizations like "tiny forests" https://www.ivn.nl/tiny-forest/tiny-forest-worldwide https://www.ivn.nl/tiny-forest/tiny-forest-worldwide (netherlands), https://theotherdada.com https://theotherdada.com (beirut), more listed on https://www.afforestt.com/about https://www.afforestt.com/about. You do need a minimum width/length to implement, and may need to dig the soil/amend the soil to deal with urban-area compaction. - The most actionable things you can do is: - got money? Right now (temperate winter here) is a good time to plant native saplings if they're not sold out. You may even find some folks 'salvaging' native plants from areas where land is about to be cleared for construction. - setup a tree nursery. Native saplings can be expensive - try things in a small way, tell your neighbors, start mutual learning. - Keep in mind not all areas in the world should be planted with trees. Some areas are natively grasslands and thus trees are less populated. - If you're going to have a dense forest, you need a plan for maintenance so you don't end up with woody mass building up to cause a fire later on (see millan millan's papers "greening and browning in a climate change hotspot". You might be able to partner with a local businesses, school, government, etc. to find a spot & help with expenses/maintenance

_qwfv 6y ago
I'm considering a few hundred acres of mountainous clearcut land in the pacific northwest. Are there any resources you'd recommend to learn about replanting non-urban areas?
- jointpdf 6y ago
  The best option might be to get in touch with your local university forestry extension, for example: https://forestry.wsu.edu/ https://forestry.wsu.edu/ Another resource would be your local USDA office. The NRCS should be available to provide free site-specific technical assistance (e.g. for soil regeneration and conservation planning). There are also zillions of loan/grant/easement/conservation payment programs that the USDA runs: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/technical/tsp/ https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/prog...
  - reportingsjr 6y ago
    Beware that the USDA will typically not provide good advice if you aren't planning on using land for resources like harvesting lumber/crops/animal husbandry. If you want to restore a local ecosystem you'll need to reach out to another organization, probably an NGO, to figure out how to proceed in a reasonable manner. The biggest group that would probably help would be the Nature Conservancy.
    - iammiles 6y ago
      I'll second talking to a local nonprofit over the USDA or USFS. At least in the PNW, these agencies are focused on extracting value from the land and their replantings are tightly-packed monocultures designed to be harvested again. They have about as much in common with a forest as a golf course has with a prairie.
      - Ericson2314 6y ago
        All the stories I hear add up to the USDA basically being pound-for-pound the worst federal agency. (DoD is bad, but so much bigger, and has redeeming bits like DARPA. I don't know of any redeeming bits in USDA off hand.)
      - jointpdf 6y ago
        I was going to add that consulting a nonprofit (like the Nature Conservancy) would be a good idea as well. But why either or? If I were undertaking a project as large as reforesting several hundred acres of land, I’d want to consult as many sources as possible. USDA has field offices in almost every county, not to mention loan (including easy-to-qualify-for microloans of <$50K) and payment programs to help with capital and expenses. Genuine question—are “tightly-packed monocultures” that are recurrently harvested optimal (from a carbon removal perspective) under some conditions? Similarly, if you inherit a mature forest, is it optimal to harvest some portion of it so that new trees can absorb carbon?
- seltzered_ 6y ago
  Probably depends on where you are specfically - whether it's west/east of the cascades, etc.. If in the mid-north area of Cascadia consider resources like https://salishsearestoration.org/ https://salishsearestoration.org/ ( https://salishsearestoration.org/wiki/Human_systems https://salishsearestoration.org/wiki/Human_systems references organizations/resources) , https://ecosystemguild.org https://ecosystemguild.org (trying to do a different kind of 'restoration camping' model), https://westernforestry.org/ https://westernforestry.org/ (they had a good recent webinar series: https://westernforestry.org/upcoming-conferences/2020-empowering-tribal-culture-ecology-and-food-systems-webinar-series-free https://westernforestry.org/upcoming-conferences/2020-empowe... ). Inland northwest? I don't know, https://inlandfoodwise.online https://inlandfoodwise.online folks may have pointers. Consider the aspects of both social and ecological restoration, land acknowledgement, land 'ownership'. If you're doing non-urban areas and attempting housing, think about the different framings of Wildlife Urban Interface (WUI). Note excerpt: " See also [[Millán Millán]] paper Greening and Browning in a Climate Change Hotspot: The Mediterranean Basin which delves into this too. interesting paper, talks about wildlife-urban interface (reminded me of https://www.pnas.org/content/115/13/3314 from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/30/opinion/sunday/california-fires.html ) but notably the urban population living near it... "This is occurring in an area where human population is increasing—especially the urban population (i.e., people not living from the land) in the wildland–urban interface (Modugno et al. 2016)." main reaction is that I/we need to be trained to go through that transformation in living with land."
  - Pfhreak 6y ago
    This is incredibly useful. It's just east of Steven's Pass.
    - redisman 6y ago
      A good place to source trees is “Go Natives” in Richmond Beach. I went there this summer and they had hundreds of cedars and a great selection of native plants of all kinds.
- redisman 6y ago
  I’ve been thinking about something similar one day. Buy a tract of land and just let it return to its native form with some help from me. Are there any obvious legal or financial pitfalls or hints you’ve gathered?
  - Pfhreak 6y ago
    Mineral rights might be sold independently from land rights, meaning someone could come mine the land you are fostering. You can get cheap seedlings from the state, and depending on the land you might be able to get financial assistance with preparing the land. Everything is slow. Timber companies are slow, forest service is slow, etc.
asicsp 6y ago
>Because of this, they tend to be more attractive in urban environments. See also related organizations... I participated in one of the projects in Bengaluru, India. I no longer live there, but I've seen photos/videos - they are lovely. See https://www.saytrees.org/miyawaki https://www.saytrees.org/miyawaki for more details.

_qwfv 6y ago

I'm considering a few hundred acres of mountainous clearcut land in the pacific northwest. Are there any resources you'd recommend to learn about replanting non-urban areas?

jointpdf 6y ago
The best option might be to get in touch with your local university forestry extension, for example: https://forestry.wsu.edu/ https://forestry.wsu.edu/ Another resource would be your local USDA office. The NRCS should be available to provide free site-specific technical assistance (e.g. for soil regeneration and conservation planning). There are also zillions of loan/grant/easement/conservation payment programs that the USDA runs: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/technical/tsp/ https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/prog...
- reportingsjr 6y ago
  Beware that the USDA will typically not provide good advice if you aren't planning on using land for resources like harvesting lumber/crops/animal husbandry. If you want to restore a local ecosystem you'll need to reach out to another organization, probably an NGO, to figure out how to proceed in a reasonable manner. The biggest group that would probably help would be the Nature Conservancy.
  - iammiles 6y ago
    I'll second talking to a local nonprofit over the USDA or USFS. At least in the PNW, these agencies are focused on extracting value from the land and their replantings are tightly-packed monocultures designed to be harvested again. They have about as much in common with a forest as a golf course has with a prairie.
    - Ericson2314 6y ago
      All the stories I hear add up to the USDA basically being pound-for-pound the worst federal agency. (DoD is bad, but so much bigger, and has redeeming bits like DARPA. I don't know of any redeeming bits in USDA off hand.)
    - jointpdf 6y ago
      I was going to add that consulting a nonprofit (like the Nature Conservancy) would be a good idea as well. But why either or? If I were undertaking a project as large as reforesting several hundred acres of land, I’d want to consult as many sources as possible. USDA has field offices in almost every county, not to mention loan (including easy-to-qualify-for microloans of <$50K) and payment programs to help with capital and expenses. Genuine question—are “tightly-packed monocultures” that are recurrently harvested optimal (from a carbon removal perspective) under some conditions? Similarly, if you inherit a mature forest, is it optimal to harvest some portion of it so that new trees can absorb carbon?
seltzered_ 6y ago
Probably depends on where you are specfically - whether it's west/east of the cascades, etc.. If in the mid-north area of Cascadia consider resources like https://salishsearestoration.org/ https://salishsearestoration.org/ ( https://salishsearestoration.org/wiki/Human_systems https://salishsearestoration.org/wiki/Human_systems references organizations/resources) , https://ecosystemguild.org https://ecosystemguild.org (trying to do a different kind of 'restoration camping' model), https://westernforestry.org/ https://westernforestry.org/ (they had a good recent webinar series: https://westernforestry.org/upcoming-conferences/2020-empowering-tribal-culture-ecology-and-food-systems-webinar-series-free https://westernforestry.org/upcoming-conferences/2020-empowe... ). Inland northwest? I don't know, https://inlandfoodwise.online https://inlandfoodwise.online folks may have pointers. Consider the aspects of both social and ecological restoration, land acknowledgement, land 'ownership'. If you're doing non-urban areas and attempting housing, think about the different framings of Wildlife Urban Interface (WUI). Note excerpt: " See also [[Millán Millán]] paper Greening and Browning in a Climate Change Hotspot: The Mediterranean Basin which delves into this too. interesting paper, talks about wildlife-urban interface (reminded me of https://www.pnas.org/content/115/13/3314 from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/30/opinion/sunday/california-fires.html ) but notably the urban population living near it... "This is occurring in an area where human population is increasing—especially the urban population (i.e., people not living from the land) in the wildland–urban interface (Modugno et al. 2016)." main reaction is that I/we need to be trained to go through that transformation in living with land."
- Pfhreak 6y ago
  This is incredibly useful. It's just east of Steven's Pass.
  - redisman 6y ago
    A good place to source trees is “Go Natives” in Richmond Beach. I went there this summer and they had hundreds of cedars and a great selection of native plants of all kinds.
redisman 6y ago
I’ve been thinking about something similar one day. Buy a tract of land and just let it return to its native form with some help from me. Are there any obvious legal or financial pitfalls or hints you’ve gathered?
- Pfhreak 6y ago
  Mineral rights might be sold independently from land rights, meaning someone could come mine the land you are fostering. You can get cheap seedlings from the state, and depending on the land you might be able to get financial assistance with preparing the land. Everything is slow. Timber companies are slow, forest service is slow, etc.

asicsp 6y ago

>Because of this, they tend to be more attractive in urban environments. See also related organizations... I participated in one of the projects in Bengaluru, India. I no longer live there, but I've seen photos/videos - they are lovely. See https://www.saytrees.org/miyawaki https://www.saytrees.org/miyawaki for more details.