Baker High School students help start a new forest, and find some tasty fungi

Published 2:00 pm Friday, May 20, 2022

BAKER CITY — Cierra Lafferty pats the soil around the newly planted ponderosa pine seedling, then gives the needles a gentle tug to make sure it’s secure in the ground.

“Welcome to your new home,” she says, her words nearly whisked away by the wind whipping across Dooley Mountain, about 15 miles south of Baker City.

Then she stands, pulls her phone from a pocket and holds it close to the tree.

“Blog moment!” she says, snapping a picture of the seedling, then photos of her buddies.

On Wednesday, May 18, science students from Baker High School helped plant ponderosa seedlings along the Skyline Road in an area burned by the Cornet-Windy Ridge fire in August 2015.

The lightning-sparked blazes, which burned together during hot, windy weather, spread over 104,000 acres, the largest wildfire in Baker County history.

Bill Mitchell and Noah Erickson, who both work in the silviculture department for the U.S. Forest Service, gave the students a quick lesson on the proper way to plant a tree.

But first came the vocabulary lesson as Mitchell quizzed the kids for the words that describe a fire that destroys everything.

After a hint, one student called it out: “Stand replacement.”

“Is there a seed source left to rebuild this forest?” Mitchell asked, sweeping an arm across the landscape littered with fallen logs and skeletons of standing trees.

“There is not.”

The source on this day is the students, who planted 750 ponderosa pine seedlings.

“Your goal is 20 trees each today,” Mitchell said.

He and Erickson demonstrated how to dig a hole, either with a shovel or a hoedad — a tool with a long, flat blade, rather like a large-scale tongue depressor — that was big enough for the tree’s roots.

Location matters too — the students were instructed to plant by the “microsite” technique, which means finding a place, such as beside a fallen log, where the seedling would be protected from the elements.

“This is the toughest place we plant,” Mitchell said. “It’s dry, it’s windy, it’s cold.”

Then it was time to load up the bags with seedlings, each first dipped in a bucket of water to give it a good start on growing.

In pairs or trios, the students hiked uphill, picking their way through charred logs and the lush green of grass, lupine and arnica.

This summer will mark seven years since the wildfire burned this portion of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.

“We’ve planted about 2.5 million trees since the burn,” Erickson said.

The survival rate, he said, can vary from 15% to 50% depending on weather conditions.

“It depends on the year,” he said. “Ponderosa has the highest success.”

Crews contracted with the Forest Service have planted western larch, ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir and western white pine.

This is Erickson’s fifth year with the Wallowa-Whitman. He never saw this area covered in tall, green trees — but he has seen it coming back to life.

“I’ve only see Dooley like this,” he said. “I’ve seen the growth.”

Picking as well as planting

This tree-planting excursion brought out students from several different classes: general science 2, advanced biology, advanced ecology, natural resources and wilderness readiness survival.

Nicole Sullivan, who teaches science at BHS, planned the field trip to wrap up a unit on the plant kingdom.

“And we’ve been doing botany with all the classes,” she said.

In addition to planting trees, the students hunted for morel mushrooms — in fact, the planting took a bit longer because the prized fungi kept distracting their attention.

And even though they finished the day tired with scratched skin and dirty clothes, each dirt-smudged face had a smile.

“I enjoy this,” said Jaylyn Baird.

“It feels more rewarding,” added Joy Murphy.

And the Forest Service, Mitchell told the group, appreciates the help.

“You guys did a solid job,” he said. “That’s a tough place to plant trees — the toughest we have.”

“This is the toughest place we plant. It’s dry, it’s windy, it’s cold.”

— Bill Mitchell, U.S. Forest Service