× By Alex Brown, Stateline.org
Share: Rows of conifers grow in a greenhouse at the Webster Forest Nursery, operated by the Washington Department of Natural Resources. Washington produces about 8 million seedlings a year for reforestation on state and private lands, but many other states have closed nurseries or cut production in recent years, leaving small forest owners without a crucial supply of trees. (Alex Brown/Stateline/The Pew Charitable Trusts/TNS)
When wildfires ripped through Oregon last Labor Day, they burned huge swaths of forest, including 63,000 acres of smaller, private lands.
Oregon state law requires forest owners to replant their land within two years of a wildfire, but many haven’t been able to: They used to rely heavily on state-run tree nurseries, but Oregon closed its nursery more than a decade ago.
As state nurseries shut down, forest owners seeking seedlings are left to ask: ’What do we do now’?
Updated Apr 12, 2021;
Posted Apr 12, 2021
Rows of conifers grow in a greenhouse at the Webster Forest Nursery, operated by the Washington Department of Natural Resources. (Alex Brown/Stateline/The Pew Charitable Trusts/TNS)TNS
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When wildfires ripped through Oregon last Labor Day, they burned huge swaths of forest, including 63,000 acres of smaller, private lands.
Oregon state law requires forest owners to replant their land within two years of a wildfire, but many haven’t been able to: They used to rely heavily on state-run tree nurseries, but Oregon closed its nursery more than a decade ago.