Volunteer to Survey For Pine Cones!

Scout for cones throughout national forests in California and Montana. 

Adventure Scientists is a nonprofit organization that recruits and trains outdoor enthusiasts and community members to collect high-quality data, partnering with leaders working at the forefront of environment and climate research to design, build, and manage field data collection projects that add scale and access where it otherwise doesn’t exist. 

For a second year, Adventure Scientists is thrilled to host the 2024 Reforestation project, to survey cone crops for critical reforestation efforts. 

Forests in the Western United States are being devastated by wildfires, climate change, natural disasters, disease, and other factors. These disturbances diminish their ability to regenerate: to establish seedlings that eventually become mature trees in a forest.

In order to protect these vital forest ecosystems, there is an increasing need for reforestation efforts, but limited access to conifer seeds. Currently, the US Forest Service is only able to re-plant approximately 20% of national forest lands that need reforestation, but don’t have access to vital native seeds.

We are seeking volunteers to scout for conifer cones and record survey data throughout 15 national forests in Montana and California. These data will be used to collect seeds for vital reforestation in areas affected by wildfire and climate change.  

WHO

We invite all volunteers interested in preserving forest ecosystems to join this project! As hikers, backpackers, mountain bikers, climbers, or any outdoor adventurers, volunteers will be crucial to successfully identifying cone crops. 

WHAT

Volunteers will be trained to scout and document female closed cones on conifer tree species within national forests. This short and accessible training can be completed on one’s own time, and will guide volunteers through cone identification, surveying protocols, and trip planning. Once volunteers document cones, experienced seed collectors will use these data to collect cones for replantation and reforestation. 

WHERE

Volunteers are invited to survey through the following select national forests:

• California: Stanislaus, Eldorado, Sierra, Plumas, Tahoe, Inyo, Sequoia, and Lassen

• Montana: Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Helena-Lewis and Clark, Lolo, Bitterroot, Flathead, parts of Custer-Gallatin, and Kootenai

WHEN

The field season lasts from June 5th through August 31, 2024. WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING VOLUNTEERS FOR THIS PROJECT!