A $3.3 million project by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning will re-seed vulnerable Alpine Ash species in fire affected areas of the North East.

The project forms part of the State Government's $250 million Reducing Bushfire Risk Program and aims to help restore Alpine Ash forest that was devastated during the 2019-20 bushfires.

Hume deputy chief fire officer Aaron Kennedy said almost 70,000 hectares of the species had been affected and the project will aim to regenerate 13,000 hectares with 7300 kilograms of seed.

"The summer fires severely impacted Alpine Ash creating concern that without action it will become locally extinct," Mr Kennedy said.

"Sowing has begun in Walwa and Upper Murray regions and assessments are being undertaken in Abbeyard, after which prioritisation for sowing areas will be completed.

"We prioritise the sowing by considering those areas with the highest biodiversity values and those areas with the lowest risk of future fire."

Mr Kennedy said the project will be crucial to ensure fire damaged forests regenerate and is expected to continue until July, when snow fall will make re-seeding difficult.

"Alpine Ash species generally don't regenerate until they're 15 years of age, before they can produce their own viable seed," he said.

"The re-seeding is done through aerial sowing, at this stage we have helicopters that can sow from the air into the fresh ash seed bed and sowing needs to happen before the snow."

Mr Kennedy said it could take more than a decade for the trees to reach maturity, putting areas at risk if further fires occur.

"Alpine Ash is fire tolerant so when they have high intensity fire that impacts them, they'll drop their seed and the seed will germinate and you'll get thick regrowth," he said.

"However, if you get another fire in the landscape before regrowth, that species can be removed from the landscape because it can’t produce seed.

"We’re targeting those areas that have more than one fire in quick succession and haven't had the opportunity to reproduce there."