With a cease-fire in place, JNF-KKL has begun to prepare for the restoration of the forests that were destroyed by rocket attacks.

Professional ground and air teams are currently assessing, mapping, and categorizing the damaged areas, a process that will continue for about three weeks. Forests will then be cleaned and prepared for replanting. In many cases, foresters will wait to see the degree to which the forests will renew themselves naturally before they begin to plant new trees. JNF-KKL nurseries have already started to germinate approximately 200,000 new seedlings with increased fertilization to accelerate the process.

More than 3,000 acres of planted forests and natural woodland containing over 750,000 trees of various species, as well as 12,500 acres of pastureland, were damaged during the fighting in the north. Most of the damage was in the Naftali mountain range, where 1,875 acres or three-quarters of the total forested area were burned; and in the Birya and Beit Keshet forests, where more than 500 acres were burned.

Since the start of the war, 12 JNF-KKL firefighting ground teams and 100 workers and volunteers have dealt with 600 forest fires. They were aided by nine fire trucks and planes that sprayed forests with fire retardant chemicals.

"From the beginning of the war until now, we have used more fire fighting materials in helicopters than in the past two years together," said Dr. Omri Bonneh, JNF director of the northern division. "During this period we have dealt with more fires than the entire number of fires in the past five years."

The cost of repairing the direct damage to the forests has yet to be determined. Funds will be needed to prepare new seedlings, care for the trees, prepare the ground for replanting, purchase and maintain firefighting equipment. In addition, millions of dollars are needed to renovate damaged security roads, campgrounds, parks, and lookout points.

"The damage caused to the green areas in the north is tremendous and even replanting the same number of trees will not restore the area to its previous state," said JNF-KKL Chairman Efi Stezler. "The forests will still need over 50 years to reach the state they were in before the fighting began. Professionals from JNF-KKL have been in the area since the beginning of the cease-fire and have begun restoration of the ground. The main tasks that KKL-JNF has taken upon itself in the coming years are restoring the north and developing the Negev."