Key Bottlenecks to Reforestation

A large-scale tree planting program--like the Trillion Trees Initiative--won't achieve the desired success unless the program successfully overcomes six key bottlenecks. To some, "success" is a photograph of a tree-planting ceremony--a couple of kids and adults with gloves and trowels or a dignitary in suit and tie with a spade tossing a little soil in a pre-dug hole. While these are great photo-ops to accompany the start of actual tree planting, a successful national tree-planting program requires key activities and investments in critical infrastructure, starting three years before actual tree-planting begins and continuing for 10-20 years.

First, sufficient seed must be available. Not enough seed is currently available for all the different sites to be planted. Second, there must be enough nurseries to grow the seedlings. Current national nursery capacity is one-third what's needed for a major tree-planting program. Third, landowners need to be signed up to participate. Public education and incentives will be needed. Fourth, site preparation is needed the year before planting. But there's a shortage of businesses to do this work. Fifth, tree planters are needed. There's too few people; and heavy competition for their work by fruit and vegetable growers. Sixth, monitoring is needed four or five years after planting to see if the trees that were planted are free-to-grow from competing vegetation. If not, the competing vegetation needs to be removed. But except for lands growing trees for forest industry, monitoring and competition control rarely happen.

To be successful, a large-scale tree planting program needs solutions to all six of these key bottlenecks. That takes long-term leadership and long-term commitments--10 to 20 years. It requires adequate resources each year--people to gather, clean, and store seed; nursery operations to grow 3X as many seedlings; landowners willing to have trees planted on their land; site preparation businesses; willing workers to plant seedlings; and efficient monitoring and competition control 4-5 years after planting, Yes, this will take a lot of effort! And consistent financial investments in the program! Over the next 20 years. Similar programs in the 1930s and 1950s were successful. WE CAN DO THIS again, with broad-based public support. YOUR support, along with mine.