HISTORY OF DEGRADATION (WHY)

In September 2020, the Sarpy Fire advanced across southern Montana. The fire blazed through 52,000 acres of land, including parts of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. It also burned through Ponderosa pine forests, which serve as islands of biodiversity in otherwise treeless plains. Human intervention is now needed to bring these forests back.

RESTORATION (WHAT)

With your support, we will be helping to re-plant Ponderosa pine on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. Working with our partners, American Forests and the Northern Cheyenne Forestry Department, we will help to restore forest cover where it is needed most. The key challenge to this project is ensuring the trees survive the first 15 years. Juvenile trees tend to be more vulnerable to low intensity fires. Once old enough to withstand fires, the forest can continue to grow and regenerate without human intervention.