In a milestone moment for its newest international collaboration, the U.S. Forest Service International Programs Office recently hosted representatives from the Algerian Direction Générale des Forêts (DGF) in the Southwestern United States. Over 10 days, officials from Algeria’s Department of Fauna and Flora, as well as the Sétif and Tlemcen Forests, toured watershed restoration and management sites across Arizona, Nevada, and California. The visits offered an opportunity for the Algerian delegation to observe firsthand how the U.S. Forest Service and its partners manage and restore watersheds and forests. This immersive experience marked the first time the DGF had engaged with the U.S. Forest Service in such an extensive, on-the-ground study tour, and it set the foundation for a new three-year collaboration funded by the US Department of State, and in close collaboration with the US Embassy in Algiers.
The new three-year collaboration focuses on watershed management and restoration in Algeria. As both Algeria and parts of the U.S. face similar climate challenges—namely, Mediterranean and arid conditions exacerbated by climate change—the exchange of knowledge has never been more critical.
The tour began in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest, where the group visited Bartlett Dam under the guidance of the Salt River Project (SRP). SRP’s presentation on sediment mitigation strategies introduced the Algerian team to advanced U.S. watershed management techniques. The delegation also explored areas affected by the 2023 Wildcat Wildfire, witnessing the post-fire recovery efforts of the Forest Service’s Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team. The integration of science-based assessments and recovery strategies provided valuable insights that will inform Algeria’s approach to managing similar post-fire landscapes.
On their second day on the Tonto, the group trekked north to the Payson Ranger District to visit a restoration “test site” and a mastication area in the Dude Fire Restoration project. This landscape-scale restoration project is within the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) footprint. At the “test site,” Forest Botanist Robert Madera explained the importance of building a robust native plant seed bank. In partnership with the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE), the test site will assist the IAE and the Tonto National Forest in understanding plant growth and how and when to seed, vital information for post-wildfire restoration.
Later, Forest Silviculturist Patty Ringle discussed the multi-phased Dude Fire Restoration Project, which is restoring the Dude Fire burn scar to a healthy fire-adapted forest. The Dude Fire occurred in 1990 and tragically killed six firefighters from the Perryville Crew, a state inmate crew that trained and volunteered to serve as wildland firefighters.
The group then traveled to the Prescott National Forest to learn about a collaborative nursery effort with the Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE) and to visit Fieldhouse Farms and a community college nursery near Chino Valley. The small-scale seed production operations support forest restoration projects throughout the Tonto.
The tour concluded with visits to California’s renowned Lake Tahoe and the CAL FIRE Reforestation Center. These visits were both informative and cultural, as the delegation witnessed not only how Americans enjoy public lands for recreation but also how the Forest Service collaborates with CAL FIRE to advance reforestation and conservation efforts. By the end of the journey, the Algerian team departed with a wealth of technical knowledge, practical insights, and a renewed vision for managing their nation’s critical water and forest resources.