After years of planting tree seedlings every spring, this year, Trees, Water & People and partners will be conducting fall plantings in New Mexico, Colorado, and South Dakota, to test whether survival rates are higher as we head into winter, versus into the hot dry months of summer. 

Young tree seedlings have their work cut out for them in the era of climate change. They face tough odds for survival given the exceptional drought conditions in the southwest, and the unpredictability of precipitation patterns. High mortality rates in reforestation projects across the west, often as high as 80%, have prompted the entire sector to think about how to improve the likelihood of survival for tree seedlings as they get established. One of these changes in approach is to plant trees in the early fall, so that trees have enough time to settle in and go dormant before their first hard freeze.

This fall we are attempting this with the Pueblos of Jemez and Cochiti in New Mexico, where summer monsoons provide lots of moisture leading into autumn. Last week we delivered some 8,000 conifer seedlings to these Pueblos on the heels of several strong rainstorms, and are working to get them into the ground before the end of September. In early October, we’ll be doing the same with the Ute Mountain Ute in Southwest CO, using a mix of riparian species, and with the Lakota on Pine Ridge, SD, where we’ve planted Ponderosa Pine for the past 6 years. Next week the coalition we work with on the Cameron Peak fire will begin planting 7,000 Ponderosa seedlings in the burn scars above our hometown.

In addition to experimenting with planting in different seasons, we’ve also tried using technology to improve results. One way we do this is by using GIS to ensure we’re planting on land with favorable slope, aspect, and altitude for tree survival. Then we are experimenting both with special polymers that retain moisture and mycorrhizae around the roots of seedlings, and with different sorts of protective cones, that both protect from the sun and from grazing animals. Protex cones in New Mexico helped us attain survival rates of 62% one year after planting, during a very tough and fire-heavy year.  

Drastic circumstances require that we constantly review our approaches to reforestation, and adjust accordingly. The sector is constantly learning and adapting to the current climate reality, and working collaboratively to ensure that future generations are able to enjoy the western forests that we’ve seen so devastated in our lifetimes.