Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich got his shoes dirty Friday morning, but it was all in a day’s work.

He and a cadre of U.S. Forest Service workers, fellow politicians (including Harris Sherman, Under Secretary for Natural Resources, pictured with Antonovich at right) and environmentalists joined forces to start a re-planting effort in the Station Fire burn area that devastated a huge part of the Angeles National Forest in 2009.

The tree planters met at the Wildwood Picnic Area in Tujunga to announce a major effort to restore the Angeles National Forest after the Station Fire devastation.

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“It has been nearly two years since the tragic Station Fire that took the lives of two of our County’s firefighters, burned 160,000 acres, destroyed over 100 structures and displaced thousands of our County’s residents,” said Antonovich, who also serves as a director for the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

“The impact of the devastation required a large-scale effort to renew and revitalize our forest.  To assist, the AQMD allocated $1.4 million to support one of the largest local reforestation efforts to date with the growing and planting of nearly half a million trees in a 3,000-acre area of the forest.

“In addition to improving water quality, recreational opportunities and air quality for future generations, this reforestation project will help restore the eco-system, reduce the threat of mudslides, and remove tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” he added.