From Ashes to Action: Scaling Reforestation After Wildfire
Catastrophic wildfires are reshaping U.S. landscapes at unprecedented speed and scale. Climate change has doubled the number of large wildfires in the western U.S. since 1984, and high-intensity burns are leaving millions of acres without the capacity to naturally regenerate. On Forest Service lands alone, over 4 million acres are in need of reforestation—yet only 6% of this need is being met annually.
Ashes to Action will identify, promote, and accelerate solutions that will increase the pace and scale of post-fire reforestation in the United States. This event will be led by a diverse group of collaborators:
American Forests (Brian Kittler & Libby Pansing)
Planscape (Jordan Combs & Rob Lawson)
The Nature Conservancy TNC (Susan Cook-Patton & Alix Murdoch)
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (Genny Biggs)
The Environmental Policy Innovation Center (Reed Van Beveren)
The Doris Duke Foundation (Sacha Spector)
Lightning talks will provide rapid, accessible insight into the reforestation challenge for all participants—whether seasoned experts or newcomers—while group discussion will surface concrete ideas and collaborations
Our intended outputs include:
A shared action brief summarizing key barriers, solution pathways, and near-term opportunities
A shortlist of catalytic interventions ready for philanthropic and policy support
A core group of partners committed to continued collaboration after the event
The event will culminate with networking drinks and snacks. Registration is required.
Hosted at the Treehouse at Doris Duke Center.
All participants must arrive prepared with a photo ID to present at check-in.