WASHINGTON, DC—In the Forest Service, good things come in…trees. But, sometimes, those trees need a little help and, in 2022, 13  Forest Service tree-climbers drove from Montana, Michigan and Oregon to central Utah to climb Engelmann spruce and Douglas fir trees on the Manti-La Sal National Forest. Climbers came from the Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Flathead and Superior national forests and the Dorena Genetic Resource Center. They came in trucks packed with ropes and climbing gear to ascend 175 trees and pick their ripening cones.  

Why? In the 1990s, the Manti-La Sal sustained the largest recorded outbreak of spruce beetle in the state of Utah, killing 90% of the Engelmann spruce population and leaving more than 70,000 acres of dead standing trees along the top of the Wasatch Plateau. The forest prepared some of the largest timber sales in the history of the state to remove the wood, but the National Forest Management Act of 1976 requires that cutover areas be adequately restocked within five years after harvest. 

The problem? The Manti-La Sal did not have enough seed in their bank to address a reforestation need on this scale. To get more seed, the forest’s timber program began scouting out trees that had survived the beetle kill, as well as meeting criteria to ensure a healthy gene pool. Spruce trees only produce cones every two to three years, so they monitored yearly for a healthy cone crop. When one finally came in 2021, they were unable to source enough contractors to harvest it all.  

“We do everything we can to develop a contractor pool, but it’s still very difficult. There aren’t enough of them, and everybody needs them all at the same time,” says Lisa Winn, the center director at the Dorena Genetic Resource Center and National Tree Climbing program leader. 

Because of the shortage, the forest’s timber program decided to go out on a limb: They learned to climb trees and harvest the seeds themselves. They reached out to ​​Joe Baer, a forester and tree climbing instructor on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, and he agreed to drive to Utah to teach them. 

“This was a motivated group of people, and I got the impression they were not going to waste time,” said Baer. “It sounded like they had a very good understanding of the challenge they were up against and that they were doing everything they could to get where they needed to be.” 

After a four-day course, the new climbers got to work, but as beginners they could not work fast enough. Two contractors were able to help them pick one third of the crop, but as the harvest window began to close, the cones flared open and seeds fell to the ground. Without the more experienced contractors, they would have missed out on a usable collection at all. 

They still needed more help, and Baer wanted to provide that help. He consulted with the regional reforestation specialist, Ellen Jungck, and the two came up with an idea to address the labor shortage: a National Tree Climbing Task Force. 

Baer reached out to his colleagues from the USDA climbing community and asked for commitments to travel to Utah in 2022 if another crop showed up. He compiled a roster of more than 20 willing climbers, including climbers from the Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service.  

Piloting the program

It turned out that 2022 was a masting year—an event when a species reproduces in large quantities. Photos of seed samples were sent to the regional geneticist, who said it was the best Engelmann spruce and Douglas fir seed she had seen in about three decades.  

“When the stars align and you’ve got a big collection, you don’t want to miss the opportunity,” said Baer. 

Once the cones were ripe, the task force mobilized. Over 10 days the team members left their units by 6 a.m. to climb and pick, not returning until dark, thoroughly sticky from pitch.   

“The mad dash to collect as many cones as possible across as big of an area as possible is a pretty crazy and great experience, and one of those things that may be physically exhausting in the moment,” said Baer. “But you look back on it and think ‘man, that was awesome and rewarding.’”  

With the help of the task force the Manti-La Sal surpassed their goal of 260 bushels, collecting 303. Three trailer loads were driven to Lucky Peak nursery in Boise, Idaho, for the cones to be processed and the seed stored until sown. It’s enough to plant approximately 11 million seedlings, which could cover nearly 28,000 acres of fire-scarred ground. 

“It’s a huge success story. This is what it’s going to take to make it happen, and it takes a lot of energy on a lot of people’s parts,” says Jungck. 

Getting off the ground  

Reforestation needs have increased due to the wildfire crisis, insects and disease, and climate change. In response, the Forest Service is scaling up seed collection efforts to address the reforestation backlog. Members of the tree climbing Technical Advisory Group are strategizing how to organize the task force so that certified climbers can be identified and assigned to a collection when needed. 

“Seed banks are depleted, and that seed doesn't last forever,” said Winn. “If we are going to keep up, we have to have a way to continue to meet demand. Seed comes when it's ready and we don't get to pick that time or place,” said Winn. “We have to find ways to mobilize limited resources, and this task force is a great way to help us respond much better.”  

More information 

Want to branch out? Join the tree climbing program. Contact Lisa Winn or James “Brock” Mayo to find your regional climbing coordinator. 

You can see photos from this project on the Intermountain Region’s Flickr page: Manti-La Sal National Forest Cone Collection 2022.