Sugar Pine Foundation volunteers plant 16,800 seedlings this spring

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There were 16,800 seedlings planted this spring, a lot of little trees including sugar pines, Jeffrey pines, and white pines, according to the Sugar Pine Foundation.

They said there are now a lot of little trees to water this summer!

"Thanks to lucky timing of our planting events, we managed to stay mostly dry even though it rained and snowed quite a bit in April and May," said the Sugar Pine Foundation in a letter to supporters. "Of course, the precipitation was fantastic for watering our newly planted baby seedlings!"

The vast majority (9,530) of trees planted this spring were sugar pines. Over 5,000 seedlings were planted by El Dorado National Forest crews in the Caldor Fire scar around Grizzly Flats. Nearly 2,000 more were planted by California State Parks staff at Burton Creek State Park outside Tahoe City. Roughly 2,500 more sugar pines were mostly planted by volunteers at sites around South Lake Tahoe.

4,460 Jeffrey pine seedlings were planted mostly by crews in the Tamarack Fire, Dixie Fire, and Walker Canyon burn scars.

2,090 western white pine seedlings were also planted this spring. This is the most western white pine they've ever planted in one season and they hope these babies will thrive at Echo Summit in the Caldor Fire area, in the High Meadows bulldozer line, in Walker Canyon, and at Tahoe Donner. This gorgeous species is just as important to restore as sugar pine since it suffers high blister rust infection rates across its range.

Many volunteers were made 2024 a successful planting season. Partners and friends at Patagonia, Everline Resort, Edgewood Tahoe, Patriot Restoration Ops, California Conservation Corps, Tahoe Regional Planning Association, Tahoe Rim Trail Association, Design Workshop, Rotary International, Alpine County, Terramar, Society of Outdoor Professionals and especially the Cub Scouts of South Lake Tahoe also came out in force to help plant.

The Sugar Pine Foundation also sends special thanks to the friends and family of Ann Margaret Valentin, the Pipkin Family Foundation on behalf of Desolation Hotel, Terramar, and the Cub Scouts of South Lake Tahoe for sponsoring our work this spring.

Last but not least, they are deeply indebted to their wonderful partners who provided truly stellar sites for them to plant:

Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit
California State Parks
Bureau of Land Management
Placerville Ranger District
Tahoe Donner Forestry Department
Carnelian Woods HOA
Edgewood Tahoe and other private landowners
Nevada State Parks
Nevada Division of Forestry at the East Shore Bike Path