Wilderness regulations put Monterey County last in line for a federal reforestation effort.

The presence of wilderness areas in Monterey County complicates the region’s ability to benefit from new federal legislation written by the county’s representative in Washington, Congressman Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley.

The Restoring Existing Public Land by Adding Necessary Trees Act, or REPLANT, secures funding for the U.S. Forest Service to plant about 1.2 billion trees and create nearly 49,000 jobs over the next decade. REPLANT was initially introduced by Panetta in 2020, but found a home within the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law on Nov. 15.

The legislation aims to fund and prioritize backlogged reforestation efforts across the U.S. In California, the bill will likely have the largest impact on burn-scarred areas, where reestablishing trees will help fortify the land against mudslides that threaten infrastructure, like the Highway 1 washout at Rat Creek last January.

However, it’s unlikely that the legislation could have helped prevent something like the Rat Creek slide. Much of the Dolan Fire was in the Ventana Wilderness. Reforestation there is a low priority because wilderness areas are meant to be preserved in their natural condition.

Panetta says he is working with the U.S. Forest Service to identify areas “especially on the Central Coast” that can use some of the funding; however, there are no reforestation projects in the hopper within Monterey County’s portion of the Los Padres National Forest, unlike areas that burned during this year’s Dixie and Caldor fires.

Andrew Madsen, public affairs officer for the Forest Service, says wilderness reforestation is rare but not entirely off the table.