03/16/2024
Saguaro REPlanting in the Bush Fire Burn Scar with HDR
On Saturday, March 16th, 2024, we partnered with HDR to plant 140 saguaros in the Bush Fire Burn Scar at Four Peaks on the Tonto National Forest. Thank you to everyone at HDR for awarding us with an HDR Action Grant that provided funding to make this replanting event possible! 42 volunteers helped us plant 140 saguaros purchased & delivered from Arizona Wholesale Growers with grant funding.
Our Dedicated Restoration Team walked volunteers through a step-by-step demonstration on the process of planting a saguaro and setting it up for the best chance of long-term survival before everyone started digging holes & planting saguaros. The replanting area received enough rain the day before that watering the saguaros wasn’t needed.
VOLUNTEERS WATCHING A PLANTING DEMONSTRATION
Volunteers worked in groups to get each saguaro from the staging area, using special leather/kevlar gloves to protect their hands, over to a suitable planting location. Once they had locations selected, they began digging holes, putting the saguaros in the ground with the marking tape knot facing north, making sure they are not too deep, too shallow, or leaning.
Volunteers asked members of our team check each saguaro before moving onto the next one to ensure we could give feedback if any changes needed to be made.
THANK YOU TO JUSTIN NOYES & CHRIS BARTH FROM HDR FOR HELPING MAKE THIS EVENT POSSIBLE!
In addition to grant support form HDR, projects like this would not be possible without the support of our Sponsors:
Arizona Wholesale Growers, AVNET, AZ 4Runner Outsiders, Arizona Toy Pros, Battle Born Offroad, Desert Monsters Tours, Icon Vehicle Dynamics, Illuminated Funds Group, Nitro Gear & Axle, OdySea Aquarium Foundation, REI Co-op, Resolution Copper, Salt River Project, State 48 Overland, Stellar Adventures, Tru Flask, Victory 4x4, and Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative.
Photos from Natural Restorations
Photos from HDR
Click HERE to check out our Events Calendar & register for a cleanup.
Visit our replanting page to view additional replanting projects
Support our Bush Fire Burn Scar Restoration Project,
click HERE for donation details & options on our website.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE 2020 BUSH FIRE
On June 13th, 2020 the 5th largest wildlife in Arizona history was sparked when an individual driving south on SR87 from Payson to Phoenix, noticed their car was overheating. They pulled off the highway to safely inspect the vehicle, but they parked on dry grass and the heat from their brakes sparked the fire.
Flames carried through 193,455 acres of the Tonto National Forest. It devastated multiple ecosystems in the Four Peaks Wilderness Area as the fire burned over the top of Four Peaks and back down towards Roosevelt Lake. Unfortunately, most of the fire occurred in the Sonoran Desert, an ecosystem not evolved or adapted to wildfires. With the impact to over 80,000 iconic saguaros and thousands of other native desert cacti, plants, and trees, Natural Restorations is dedicated to the long-term efforts to restore and revegetate this burn scar.