Another 18-million trees, mostly conifers, died in California, from the fall of 2017 to the fall of 2018. That’s according to the latest annual survey from the USDA Forest Service. Over 147-million have died across nine-point-seven million acres since the drought began in 2010. But Information Officer Stephanie Gomes says the pace has slowed, thanks to recent wetter and snowier winters…

Most of the dead trees are in the southern and central part of the Sierra, but have been slowly creeping into the northern range. Since 2016, one and a half million dead trees have been removed, primarily those posing the highest hazards to life and property. Gomes says the focus of the Forest Service is increasing the pace and scale of ecological restoration…

The Forest Service completed about 313-thousand acres of restoration last year, which included over 63-thousand acres of prescribed fire. That’s the largest number recorded since the National Fire Plan was implemented in 2001. Governor Newsom recently announced a five-year, one-billion dollar, forest management plan in his state budget proposal.