MAGALIA, Calif. (AP) -- The state's only nursery devoted to replanting areas destroyed by wildfires and battered by erosion is shutting down because of the budget crisis.

The state Legislature cut $3 million from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Agency spokeswoman Janet Upton said the closure is instead of cuts to fire protection. She said the nursery lost much of its funding in previous cuts.

The 17-acre Butte County nursery opened in 1952 and can produce 2.5 million seedlings annually. It is scheduled to close in February.

Jean Crist, a volunteer who has helped sort through the seedlings every year, says the state is losing a precious resource.

Besides its environmental role, Crist says the nursery provides an activity for elderly residents.