King Fire Botanical Surveys Underway in El Dorado National Forest

The King Fire burned over 97,000 acres in El Dorado County, California between September and October 2014, of which approximately 63,000 acres occur on Eldorado National Forest lands. To assist the U.S. Forest Service with their habitat restoration and emergency response efforts, five teams of HELIX biologists are currently conducting large-scale botanical surveys in the El Dorado National Forest to identify and map sensitive and invasive plants.  Restoration efforts are expected to include logging to salvage burned trees for lumber, removing damaged trees for safety reasons, replanting, prescribed burn and erosion control.