Over 36 million trees died across 2.6 million acres of California's federal, state and private lands in 2022 alone, revealed a report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service.
Higher temperatures and prolonged drought conditions have brought about a myriad of issues that are causing more trees to die faster, including lower water levels, crowded forest conditions, insect outbreaks and disease. But mortality rate and severity, as well as the number of acres affected, has significantly increased compared to years prior, forestry officials said Tuesday.
Tree mortality was particularly high in the central Sierra Nevada Range and forests up north, with the true firs making up over 77 percent of the total dead trees found throughout the state.
The data comes from the USDA Forest Service's annual aerial detection survey, which estimates tree damage and mortality figures to better tailor the department's approach to increasing forest health alongside state and local partners.
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Last year, the Forest Service launched a decade-long strategy that uses fuel reduction techniques, community hardening practices and congressional funding to mitigate wildfires in the nation's most at-risk places, including California's forests.
"Forest health is a top priority for the Forest Service," said Jennifer Eberlien, regional forester for the Pacific Southwest Region. "The agency's 10-year strategy to address the wildfire crisis includes removal of dead and dying trees in the places where it poses the most immediate threats to communities. Working together, we can mitigate the risks of tree mortality and high-intensity wildfire by reducing the overabundance of living trees on the landscape."
And on a state level, Eberlien is working with California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot and Cal Fire officials to funnel state and federal funds to forest health treatment projects via a California-led coalition titled the California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force.
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"As we tackle California's wildfire and forestry challenges, tree mortality remains a major concern for the state," said Joe Tyler, CAL FIRE director and chief. "And we're seeing real results. In the past several years, the partnerships underway have accelerated the rate of projects completed, and in 2022 alone, we saw examples of where our combined forest resilience efforts made a difference in protecting lives, communities and our state's natural resources."
