Kings Canyon National Park Tree Mortality

Los Padres Center Corpsmembers cut through a downed tree trunk to create a safe escape route to fell additional trees in Kings Canyon National Park as part of Save the Sierra.

Wood cracking, branches popping, tree trunks slamming into the ground; you’ll never forget the sound.

It’s what happens when Los Padres Center Corpsmembers are hard at work in Kings Canyon National Park, where they’re making it safer for visitors by cutting down dead and dying trees that could unexpectedly fall.

Drought and bark beetle decimated forests in the Sierra Nevada.

Corpsmembers are not only undoing some of the damage, they’re gaining hands-on experience removing hazardous trees.