Salt River Project has begun a new program to help fund forest restoration, which will help improve Arizona’s watersheds.

Much of the Valley’s water supply comes from rain and snow in high country forests, where fuel buildup has led to major wildfires.

The program allows customers to invest $3 a month or more to help with forest thinning projects.

The Salt and Verde River watersheds have lost nearly 3 million acres to wildfire in the last two decades. 

“We really believe that our efforts should be put into preventing these large and devastating wildfires across the watershed,” said Elvy Barton of Salt River Project.

The program begins months after the Bush Fire burned more than 193,000 acres in Tonto National Forest.