Courtesy of TNC

According to a July 5 release from The Nature Conservancy in Michigan, the conservancy, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, with the help of contractors, planted some 51,000 native conifer tree seedlings across approximately 170 acres in the East Branch Ontonagon River Watershed and the Perch River Watershed of the Ottawa National Forest near Kenton in May.

The release says that the conifer seedlings are planted near cold and cool water streams to help replace trees impacted by spruce budworm. These spruce budworms defoliate the spruce and fir trees.

“Our forests are critical habitats for wildlife, help filter water and moderate our climate,” Mindy Kantola, forest partnerships project manager at TNC is quoted as saying. “This project will help restore tree cover in areas that are vital to cold water trout that are threatened by warming water. We’re proud to continue this partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, Ottawa National Forest because climate resilient lands and waters benefits us all.”

Emily Clegg, director of Land and Water Management with the TNC, said the budworms defoliating the streams spruce and fir trees along streams has exposed them to excessive daylight.

“By daylighting the streams,” Clegg said, “you’re increasing the water temperatures.”

The project of planting trees is not for carbon reduction, but just for keeping cold water streams cold. According to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System (www.rivers.gov, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by Congress in 1968 to preserve rivers with outstanding natural, cultural and recreational values.

According to www.rivers.gov, the East Branch river has a high population resident brown trout, Lake Superior run salmon and steelhead, which are cold water fish.

“This is part of a preemptive restoration effort to plant these long-lived conifers, like big White pines,” Clegg said. “If we plant them now, in 50 to 150 years from now, we’re going to have these big, shading trees that will hopefully keep the temperatures of the streams lower.”

As the trees grow larger, she continued, as they die, they will fall into the streams, creating additional habitat for the fish that live in the streams.

The project, which has been ongoing through multiple agreements since 2018, the TNC release says, diversifies near stream forest cover needed for both aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. The project also protects water quality by improving stream bank stabilization with natural vegetation reducing erosion potential. Last year, 40,000 trees were planted across 131 acres in the Paint River, part of the Menominee River watershed.

“The Ottawa National Forest is grateful for the partnership with The Nature Conservancy,” Ottawa National Forest Supervisor Darla Lenz is quoted as saying. “This partnership has led to numerous projects beneficial to the Ottawa including over 1,500 acres of riparian tree planting efforts, stewardship timber harvests, and recreational and wilderness area trail maintenance and boardwalk construction.”

Through the partnership, TNC has identified, prioritized and implemented the underplanting of a mix of white pine, red pine, white spruce, tamarack, hemlock and cedar tree seedlings. TNC staff identify and flag areas where trees will be planted a season in advance. In May, TNC staff picked up trees from local nurseries and staged them at drop points in the field. Timberland Forestry Services, a contractor based in Munising, MI, planted the trees.