The Barry Point Fire in 2012 severely burned the landscape destroying thousands of acres of prime forest land in northeastern Modoc County. The purpose of the Barry Point Fire Ecosystem Restoration Project (BPFERP) was to set in motion the reforestation and rehabilitation process of the affected Barry Point Fire area and to reestablish native ponderosa pine on private lands with public values protected by a conservation easement.

The BPFERP area includes 22,414 acres of the approximately 32,686-acre Lakeview Forest owned by Collins Timber Company. The project is located in Modoc County on the Modoc plateau west of Goose Lake, immediately adjacent to the California/Oregon state line. The Modoc Resource Conservation District (RCD) and Collins Pine worked in partnership on this project with assistance from Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS).

This prime area of forest land provides natural, ecological, and scenic assets to conservation values such as fish and wildlife habitats, multiple subwatersheds, open space as well as public recreational values. These values are also recognized by the State of California in the form of a conservation easement held by Pacific Forest Trust through the Wildlife Conservation Board and the people of Modoc County as providing a public benefit.

In 2015, the Modoc Resource Conservation District (MRCD), in partnership with Collins Pine Timber Company, was awarded a grant from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) with Proposition 1 funding in support of the Watershed Improvement Program. The purpose of the grant was to reestablish the native East side pine/Ponderosa pine, Initially, approximately 500,000 seedlings were to be planted on 2364 acres within the SNC boundaries. However, this number was reduced to 139,710 acres on 835 acres due to a variety of circumstances explained more thoroughly in the “Challenges” section.

It is our expectation that following the completion of this project, the area will provide restore wildlife habitat, protect water quality, enhance the scenic beauty the local community enjoys for recreation, and ensures that the property can remain in timber production to support the local economy.

The project took approximately four years to complete. Completion date was in October 28, 2019.