Deschutes National Forest

Since 2019, large-scale reforestation efforts have been in place across Deschutes National Forest to help the landscape recover after high-severity wildfire. This work is spread across different burn footprints and focuses on getting forest cover back where natural regrowth will take a long time. Some of the fires that have shaped these replanting priorities include the Two Bulls Fire (2014), the Milli Fire (2017), the Newberry Fire (2021), and more recent events like the Darlene 3 Fire (2024) and the Flat Top Fire (2024).

Across these areas, reforestation work generally includes site preparation and planting native trees that fit the elevation and soils, with the goal of rebuilding a healthy, resilient forest over time. That helps with the basics that matter after a big burn: keeping soil in place, reducing erosion into streams, and bringing back habitat structure (shade, cover, and food sources) that wildlife depends on.

In 2025, additional post-fire site prep and replanting work moved forward in areas burned in 2024 (including Darlene 3), and new reforestation planning also advanced for parts of the 2024 Flat Top Fire footprint.

This ties into bigger habitat goals in the forest too. Forest restoration planning in Deschutes includes maintaining or improving habitat for species like the northern spotted owl (listed as threatened) and mule deer, along with other sensitive wildlife.

Where planting is needed, crews commonly lean on native conifers—ponderosa pine is one example used in post-fire planting in Deschutes, and nearby landscapes can include mixes like Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, grand fir, western larch, and western juniper, depending on the site.

And because healthy forests and healthy water are connected, rebuilding forest cover upstream supports river and lake systems that are important for fish habitat—work in the forest’s watersheds is closely tied to species like Chinook Salmon, bull trout, and other cold-water fish.