71,000 seedlings give a burned California forest a fresh start

Clear Lake, California · Spring 2026

Original ground video, interview and photographs: Andrew Avitt / U.S. Forest Service. DVIDS item-specific public-domain labels. No government endorsement. Outside-credit aerial footage is excluded. No added music.

Interview excerpt: Tracy Cline, CLERC stewardship director. The original interview audio is retained. English captions are provided.

Bennett Blackwood is our fictional AI bear presenter; the story footage and photos are real.

• Reforestation: Nature and nurseries — U.S. Forest Service
• Mendocino National Forest Reforestation (B-Roll) — U.S. Forest Service
• Reforestation: Nature and Nurseries [No Music] — U.S. Forest Service
• Reforestation Mendocino National Forest — seedling — U.S. Forest Service
• Restoring the Forest Together: North Shore Restoration Project Public Meeting — Clear Lake Environmental Research Center
• CLERC — official organization and donation link — Clear Lake Environmental Research Center
• Support CLERC — official donation form — Clear Lake Environmental Research Center

Read the story · Read the transcript