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Tonto National Forest, partners rejuvenate, restore iconic saguaro

December 16, 2021

Saguaro.
Pictured here, an unburned saguaro near the Superstition Wilderness on the Tonto National Forest, Nov. 12, 2021. Saguaros can live up to 150 years. USDA Forest Service photo by Susan Blake.

ARIZONA—The saguaro cactus is only naturally found in the Sonoran Desert. Its unique statue-like shape with extended arms is synonymous with the Southwest. They are a critical species in this finely adapted ecosystem, as well as iconic and beloved by Arizonans and visitors from around the world.

When the 2020 Bush Fire took off along State Highway 87, it burned more than 80,000 saguaros in the Tonto National Forest Four Peaks Wilderness area. It was particularly devastating because the Sonoran Desert located within the wilderness is not a fire adapted ecosystem; therefore, the saguaros, along with most native plants in the desert, were destroyed or impacted so severely that their survival is unlikely. 

Despite the grim prognosis, there is some encouraging news involving a project to save the saguaros. Although most of the saguaros that were scorched during the fire are dying very slowly, some of the arms that survived unscathed are being removed and placed in a nursery. Once in this environment, the saguaro arms have an opportunity to scab over and receive the necessary nutrients to potentially sprout their own roots and be planted the following year. According to forest biologists, these arms have a 60-70% chance of surviving once they are planted.

“After about a year, when the cactus has grown its roots, we’ll plant them back into the same spot as they were before the fire came,” said forest partnership liaison Bec Veerman. “While the odds aren’t perfect that they will survive, they often do better than the ones that grow from seeds and they have a 10-to-20-year head start!”

Interview about saguaro restoration project.
A reporter from a local Phoenix news station interviews partnership liaison Bec Veerman about restoration efforts to salvage healthy arms from saguaros burned during the Bush Fire. To Veerman’s left sit two planters with healthy arms removed from a dying saguaro. These cuttings will be placed in a nursery to sprout roots and, in a year’s time, will be planted in the same location they were removed from to revegetate the area scorched by the Bush Fire. USDA Forest Service photo by Susan Blake.

In addition to this ongoing effort, there have been several volunteer events to revegetate the burn area since the fire. Most recently, the Four Peaks Brewing Co., National Forest Foundation and the forest sponsored their second annual “Save the Saguaro” volunteer event. Over 300 cacti were planted in the Bush burned area. These cacti were recovered from an OHV project area on nearby Bureau of Land Management Land. The Four Peaks Brewing Co. officially adopted the Bush burn area, donating $5,000 to the National Forest Foundation to get the ball rolling and has dedicated staff that water the saguaros every month.

In addition, that same weekend the Tonto teamed up with Natural Restorations and Copper State Four Wheelers for the 12th annual Four Peaks Cleanup companion event named after the wilderness area. 

“The Tonto has great partners that want to restore and protect its diverse ecosystem,” said Veerman. “Our partners and volunteers are essential to getting critical work completed across the forest with the ultimate goal of improving forest health.”

Volunteers replant saguaro.
Volunteers plant a saguaro in the Bush burn area during the second annual “Save the Saguaro” volunteer event held Nov. 7, 2021. The forest teamed up with Four Peaks Brewing Co. and the National Forest Foundation to sponsor the event with participants planting over 300 cacti recovered from an OHV project area on nearby Bureau of Land Management Land. USDA Forest Service photo by Susan Blake.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/inside-fs/delivering-mission/sustain/tonto-national-forest-partners-rejuvenate-restore-iconic