Help the Sugar Pine Founation by donating or planting a seedling

Officially Earth Day is over, but the spirit runs throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin all year long. One way that the public can help the environment is to join forces with the Sugar Pine Foundation.

The non-profit agency started in the summer of 2004 when John Pickett of the U.S. Forest Service saw that most of Tahoe’s white pines, including the princely sugar pine, the world’s largest pine, were dying due to a non-native, invasive fungus called white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola). He knew that losing Tahoe’s white pines would be catastrophic for the region’s wildlife, water quality and economy; not to mention future generations of nature-lovers and recreationalists.

Although blister rust is incurable, about 3-5% of sugar pines and western white pines possess a natural genetic resistance to the fungus. John felt passionate about saving Tahoe's forests, and he knew what to do: identify blister rust resistant trees, collect their seed, and plant their progeny. He decided to take action and by July of 2005, he had created the Sugar Pine Foundation, a non-profit corporation dedicated to restoring the natural regeneration of white pines in the Tahoe region and beyond.

Still going strong today, the Foundation directs the planting of thousands of seedlings in the basin.

On Sunday, May 1, KUNR supporters, Boys Scouts and CCC will be in Tahoma to plant sugar pines from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The next South Shore planting will be on Thursday, May 5 at the Lake Tahoe Community College. From 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., students in the Environmental Science class will gather in room D-103 before heading out to plant.

To sign up for either of these events or any in the future, visit their website www.sugarpinefoundation.org for details.

For those not able to join in a planting, adopting a tree is a possibility. For $25, you'll get a certificate with the details and location of your adopted tree, along with a photo!