Coconino restoration project supports Wood for Life partnership, benefits local tribes
ARIZONA—The Coconino National Forest will contribute firewood from the ongoing Hart Prairie meadow restoration project to local tribes as part of the second annual Wood for Life partnership.
More than 20 organizations constitute the Wood for Life partnership, which provides local tribes with sustainable firewood sourced from forest restoration projects.
The project is conducted in conjunction with the National Forest Foundation, local tribal governments and communities, and Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps.
In addition to providing firewood to communities, the Wood for Life partnership also clears forest areas of dead wood that could fuel future wildfires and strengthens relationships between local agencies and organizations.
“We have been thrilled to see the Wood for Life initiative build momentum and grown since the partnership’s initial pilot efforts,” said Sasha Stortz, Arizona program manager for National Forest Foundation. “The work to get firewood from restoration projects to woodstoves relies on many partners, all bringing strengths and resources together. The agreement between the Coconino, NFF and Ancestral Lands is a significant step in growing and sustaining this program in Northern Arizona.”
More than 300 cords of wood in Hart Prairie will be donated to the Hopi and Navajo tribes, as well as other vulnerable indigenous populations.
The Hart Prairie restoration project’s goal is to remove young and fast-growing conifers that are encroaching into the meadow due to a lack of competition. Fire suppression and overgrazing—a result of European settlement around Hart Prairie—have exacerbated this encroachment and had negative effects on both meadow-dependent species and ground water retention.
The objective of meadow restoration is to bring tree density, size and arrangement back to what it was pre-settlement. This process is conducted using pre-settlement evidence—such as old trees, dead trees, stumps and logs—as guidance.
The Hart Prairie project will follow the Coconino’s old tree implementation plan to restore the area while still retaining as much old forest structure across the landscape.