September 19, 2021 Bush Fire Replanting Project
Lower Sycamore - Tonto National Forest
14 volunteers helped us replant a section of the 2020 Bush Fire burn scar on the Tonto National Forest Mesa Ranger District at Lower Sycamore. We planted 150 saguaros, ocotillos, fishhook barrels, staghorn cholla, and teddy bear cholla.
Native desert cacti including Barrel, Saguaro, Hedgehog, Staghorn Cholla, & Teddy Bear Cholla were salvaged from several Phoenix area construction sites, transported, & replanted at the top of Lower Sycamore on the Tonto National Forest.
Thank you to everyone at the Tonto National Forest Service - Mesa Ranger District for all of your help and support of our Replanting Program! Thank you to Jenny Vitale, Toll Brothers Arizona, Boyce Thompson Arboretum, and several private land owners for helping make this project possible.
We would also like to thank Ryan Morin, a military veteran on our Dedicated Restoration Team for helping with the project! And thank you to his wife, Burt, for her help!
It means so much to us to be a part of this Replanting Project because of our love & commitment to Lower Sycamore and all things Tonto National Forest. It was devastating to drive through the area after the Bush Fire & see the damage left behind. To be able to physically do something to bring life back to this area is extremely rewarding for all of us!
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Watering Cacti in the desert
Watering cacti is not only valuable in providing initial water to reduce transplant shock, it also aids in compacting the soil around the freshly planted root network. This was accomplished by providing each newly planted cacti with several gallons of water, no easy task in the middle of the desert.
Sad to see trash in our replanting areas!
