Catastrophic wildfires are reshaping U.S. landscapes at unprecedented speed and scale. Climate change has doubled the number of large wildfires in the western U.S. since 1984, and high-intensity burns are leaving millions of acres without the capacity to naturally regenerate. On Forest Service lands alone, over 4 million acres are in need of reforestation—yet only 6% of this need is being met annually.
The Planscape reforestation module takes a complex, scientifically rigorous, analysis process that currently takes 1+ years to complete, and reduces this to minutes, available to all.
We have partnered with American Forests to develop the prototype of the reforestation module and intend get it in the hands of practitioners in 2026.
If you’d like to collaborate on the project, let us know.
In September 2025, the Planscape and American Forests team presented the reforestation module at New York Climate Week. Video and images from the event are shared below.
On January 15th 2025, Planscape and American Forests convened a group of over 90 scientists and experts in post-fire reforestation to work on shared goals:
In the spirit of openness, we share the slides and videos of all the speaker presentations below. If you’d like to know more or join the effort, please reach out here.
Thanks to Google.org for hosting and their support.
Libby Pansing, American Forests
Carrie Levine, Lead Ecologist, Planscape
Jordan Combs, Product Manager, Planscape
Joe Stewart, University of California Davis
Kyle Rodman, Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University
Zack Holden, US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station
Michelle Jeffries, USGS
Tom Whitham, Northern Arizona University
Andy Bower, Genetics, US Forest Service Region 1
Jessica Wright, US Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station
Kim Davis, US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station
Malcolm North, US Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station
Jim Thorne, University of California Davis
Paula Fornwalt, Colorado State University
Marin Chambers, Colorado Forest Restoration Institute
Aalap Dixit, New Mexico Highlands University, Oklahoma State University
Carlos Gonzalez Benecke, Oregon State University
Josh Sloan, New Mexico Highlands University
Solomon Dobrowski, University of Montana
Brian Morris, American Forests
Matt Hurteau, University of New Mexico
