A Living Tribute
Blog
Recent Posts
-
Read More
Stories From the Forest: Spring 2026 Spotlight Forests
Every honorary tree planted through A Living Tribute helps restore forests that have been impacted by wildfire, drought, storms, habitat loss, and decades of ecological change. In Spring 2026, we are proud to continue supporting a growing range of reforestation and restoration efforts across the United States and Canada.
From longleaf pine restoration in Florida to wildfire recovery in California and Oregon, each featured location tells a story of resilience, renewal, and remembrance. These are places where tree planting does more than restore a landscape — it helps protect watersheds, strengthen wildlife habitat, improve forest health, and create a living tribute that carries meaning far into the future.
Below is a closer look at some of our spotlight forests for Spring 2026.
Withlacoochee State Forest, Florida
Longleaf pine forests are one of the most iconic and ecologically important ecosystems in the southeastern United States. In Florida, they play a vital role in supporting biodiversity, improving water quality, and strengthening the land’s natural resilience to drought and fire.
At Withlacoochee State Forest, restoration efforts are focused on bringing back this fire-tolerant, drought-resistant ecosystem. The region has experienced major land-use changes dating back to the 1800s, and work is now underway to help restore it to its natural longleaf pine sandhill habitat.
This restoration supports more than forest recovery alone. It also helps protect the Withlacoochee River watershed, a critical water source for eight counties, while creating habitat for species such as gopher tortoises, Sherman’s fox squirrels, red-cockaded woodpeckers, and bobwhite quail.
For those choosing Florida State Forests for an honorary tree planting, this project offers a meaningful way to honor a loved one while helping preserve the natural legacy of Florida’s Nature Coast.
Angeles National Forest, California
In Southern California, the San Gabriel Mountains continue to recover from years of severe wildfire damage. A Living Tribute’s support in Angeles National Forest helps continue restoration across landscapes impacted by major fires including the Eaton Fire, the Station Fire (2009), and the Powerhouse Fire (2013).
These events left behind large areas with limited natural seed sources, making it difficult for the forest to regenerate on its own. Reforestation helps accelerate recovery by restoring native tree cover and rebuilding ecosystem health in areas where natural recovery would otherwise be slow.
Spring 2026 planting efforts are expected to restore hundreds of acres with tens of thousands of seedlings (61,750), including native species such as Coulter pine, Jeffrey pine, Ponderosa pine, Sugar pine, and Big-Cone Douglas fir. These efforts help stabilize soils, improve watershed health, restore wildlife habitat, and strengthen long-term forest resilience throughout the region.
Most of the plantings will occur in the Charlton-Chilao and Lakes Hughes areas, where both natural tree stands and plantations have been impacted by fire damage as well as drought and insects.
Stanislaus National Forest, California
The 2013 Rim Fire left a lasting mark on California’s Sierra Nevada, burning through vast stretches of forest and disrupting wildlife habitat, water systems, and natural regeneration patterns.
Today, restoration continues in Stanislaus National Forest through the planting of native species such as Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and incense cedar. This work helps restore forest cover, improve water quality, reduce the risk of high-shrub takeover, and support healthier fire cycles over time.
By helping this forest recover, honorary tree plantings in California contribute to a broader effort to rebuild a more resilient Sierra landscape for future generations.
Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada
Tree planting around Lake Tahoe is set to resume in late April and continue through the fall, with a brief pause during the peak summer season. These efforts are focused on landscapes impacted by wildfire in and around the Tahoe Basin.
Planned planting areas include the Tamarack Fire scar in Markleeville, Lovers Leap Campground in Twin Bridges, the Caldor Fire scar at Echo Summit, and the Davis Fire scar on the Nevada side of the lake.
This work helps restore one of the West’s most beloved natural landscapes while improving forest health, supporting watershed protection, and helping fire-impacted areas recover with native tree cover.
Fremont-Winema National Forest, Oregon
Oregon’s forests have faced growing pressure from fire suppression, overstocked stands, and increasingly severe wildfires. In the Klamath Basin, these challenges have affected both forest health and the broader ecosystems that depend on it.
Restoration in Fremont-Winema National Forest helps rebuild tree canopy across a region that serves as important habitat for a wide range of wildlife. Reforestation here also supports water quality and long-term ecological resilience in one of Oregon’s most significant natural landscapes.
The broader Klamath Basin is especially important for biodiversity, including nesting bald eagles and native fish species. Re-establishing forest cover in this region has benefits that extend well beyond the planting site itself, helping restore connected ecosystems and strengthen the landscape for the future.
Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge Area, Alabama
In West Blocton, Alabama, restoration work is focused on pine beetle recovery. Our tree plantings support the long-term health and productivity of forested landscapes through responsible land stewardship and sustainable forest management.
This effort helps enhance biodiversity, protect wildlife habitat, and ensure forests continue to provide ecological and community value over time. It reflects the importance of active restoration in working landscapes and shows how forest recovery can serve both environmental and long-term sustainability goals.
Northern Michigan - Red Pine Terrestrial Reforestation
In northern Michigan, reforestation efforts focus primarily on restoring red pine forests on sites where mature plantations have recently been harvested. Replanting helps quickly re-establish forest cover and supports long-term carbon storage, future forest products, and a range of wildlife habitats.
These planting efforts are part of an ongoing cycle of responsible forest renewal, helping maintain healthy working forests while ensuring the land continues to provide ecological benefits for decades to come.
Sumter National Forest, South Carolina
In South Carolina, restoration efforts are helping reforest areas impacted by Hurricane Helene in 2024. After the disturbance, the site was salvage logged to recover value from downed and damaged trees and prepare the land for replanting.
The area was reforested in early 2026 using native loblolly pine seedlings. This work helps bring forest cover back to the landscape while supporting long-term recovery after a major storm event.
Oak Park, Georgia
In Georgia, this year’s restoration efforts focus on a site that underwent salvage logging following wildfire damage. Salvage logging helps remove dead and damaged trees while preparing the area for successful reforestation.
The site was replanted in early 2026 using native loblolly pine seedlings, representing a new chapter for our work in Georgia. Together, these plantings help restore forest function, stabilize the land, and support future habitat and watershed health.
Tombigbee National Forest Area, Mississippi
Similar restoration work is also underway in Noxubee County, Mississippi, where post-wildfire sites were prepared through salvage logging and reforested in early 2026 with native loblolly pine seedlings.
These efforts help turn damaged landscapes into recovering forests, creating long-term benefits for wildlife, soil stability, and climate resilience.
Central and South Texas Floodplains
In Texas, tree planting efforts are helping restore degraded riparian corridors along creeks, streams, and rivers within major floodplain systems.
These community tree plantings support the re-establishment of forest buffers across parts of Central and South Texas, bringing benefits that include watershed protection, erosion control, flood mitigation, groundwater support, regional cooling, stormwater filtration, and wildlife habitat creation.
Restoring riparian forests is especially important in landscapes that have experienced over a century of ecological degradation. Through tree planting, these 7 areas can begin to recover both function and resilience:
Travis, Bastrop, Hays, Williamson, Caldwell, Burnet and Blanco County
British Columbia, Canada
In British Columbia, severe wildfires have left many forested areas understocked and struggling to recover naturally. Continued drought has added even more stress, making active restoration increasingly important.
This project supports the reforestation of impacted landscapes to improve carbon sequestration, rebuild wildlife habitat, and restore the overall stability of the land. It also helps reintroduce important native plant communities that benefit both biodiversity and local communities.
Our first EverTrack tree plantings in British Columbia will take place in regions such as Nadina, Nicola Valley, and Williams Lake, marking an important expansion of verified planting opportunities in Canada.
Verified Honorary Tree Planting Across the U.S. and Canada
Through A Living Tribute’s EverTrack program, honorary tree planting can do even more. Verified locations offer added transparency through features such as GPS coordinates, seedling photos, and post-planting growth tracking, helping families and gift recipients feel more closely connected to the restoration their tribute supports.
EverTrack locations currently include forests and restoration sites in:
-
Oregon
-
California
-
Florida
-
Michigan
-
Georgia
-
Alabama
-
South Carolina
-
Mississippi
-
Canada
Each location offers a different restoration story, but all share the same purpose: to create meaningful, lasting impact through trees planted in honor of loved ones.
Plant a Tree in Honor of Someone Special
When you plant a tree through A Living Tribute, you are helping restore forests that need it most while creating a living memorial or gift with lasting meaning. Whether your tribute supports wildfire recovery in the West, longleaf restoration in Florida, riparian planting in Texas, or reforestation in Canada, every tree helps tell a story of remembrance, renewal, and hope.
Explore our current planting locations and choose the forest that feels most meaningful for your tribute.
Stories from the Forest: Spring 2026
-
