Giant Sequoias, Yosemite National ParkLarry Ulrich Photography

Save-the-Redwoods League

Fall Bulletin 2002

The League’s purchase of the 25,000-acre Mill Creekproperty on June , marked the beginning of anew era. The acquisition of Mill Creek provides com-plete watershed protection for Jedediah Smith RedwoodsState Park, and forges habitat linkages betweenRedwood National and StateParks and the inland forestsof the Klamath-Siskiyoubioregion.

Securing protection of thiscritical watershed has been akey League objective formore than -years. Withthe assistance of over ,members, many conservationpartners, and federal, stateand local agencies, this visionhas been realized. TheCalifornia State Departmentof Parks and Recreation willown and manage Mill Creekto protect and enhance habi-tat for the fish and wildlifethat depend on ancientforests, and to provide com-patible public access,research and education.

After more than 50-years ofindustrial management fortimber production, the aver-age tree at Mill Creek is onlydecades old. As of June 4,2002, the focus for MillCreek is the restoration of25,000-acres of ancient forest, for time immemorial.Because of its size and strategic location, Mill Creekpresents an excellent opportunity to develop and testnew forest restoration techniques.Unless action is taken,Mill Creek’s young homogeneous forest poses a potentialfire risk and the prospect of centuries of forest stagna-tion. Careful management can stimulate and acceleratedevelopment of large trees with large branch platformsand a multi-layered forest canopy that support thewildlife and natural processes of the ancient forest.

Educational opportunities at Mill Creek include scientif-ic monitoring and study to ensure that restoration goals

are being met. In addition, environmental educationalprograms for Del Norte County students are beingdeveloped through the local school system to expandunderstanding of the natural environment and to teachforest land restoration and management skills.

The CaliforniaDepartment of Parksand Recreation willmanage Mill Creek inconsultation with anAdvisory Committeethat will monitor andreview restoration andrecreational priorities.The AdvisoryCommittee includes rep-resentatives of theLeague, the Departmentof Fish and Game, theWildlife ConservationBoard, and theCalifornia CoastalConservancy. TheCommittee will draw onexpertise from the manyresource professionalsand scientific expertswho were engaged indeveloping InterimManagementRecommendations forthe property — a projectled by the League withfunding provided by theCalifornia Coastal

Conservancy. These recommendations focus on actionsnecessary in the short-term to protect and enhance thenatural resources while allowing compatible public use.The plan is available on the League’s web-site.

Mill Creek challenges us all to think on a very broadtime-scale. These young forests will be restored, but it willtake many, many years. Those involved in the project willnot live to see the results of our work — the restorationof thousand-year monarchs at Mill Creek. The purchaseof Mill Creek is the beginning of an era of promise thatwill be realized only with our continued engagement.

Mill Creek: A New Beginning

Young forests surrounding the ancient redwoods at Mill Creek will grow to over 300 feet. Photo courtesy of Stephen Corley

The lodge at historic Hartsook Inn opened this summer to greet visitors to the redwoods. Photo courtesy Dave Weiman

The League recently purchased an 80-acre forest standin the Santa Cruz Mountains. Ancient redwoods andDouglas firs blanket the steep slopes and small valleysbordering Girl Scout Creek, a tributary of Butano Creekin San Mateo County near Butano State Park.If a con-servation sale was not possible, the former owner wasresolved to sell on the open market,exposing the forest to potential timberharvest and development.

As well as expanding protection of thewatershed of Butano Creek, it appearedthat the forest might be inhabited bythe marbled murrelet.The elusive mar-bled murrelet is a robin-sized, web foot-ed sea bird that nests in specialized con-ditions found only in old growth forestswithin 30miles of the ocean.Murrelets laysingle eggs on top of very large branchesand are extremely vulnerable to predationfrom jays and crows.Marbled murrelets are extremelysensitive to loss of habitat particularly since they do noteasily relocate their nesting sites. The population of mar-bled murrelets in the Santa Cruz Mountains is the

smallest and the southernmost group in the UnitedStates. The marbled murrelet has been listed as threat-ened under the federal Endangered Species Act.

This Summer, during marbled murrelet nesting season,researchers, conducting surveys according to a strictly

defined protocol,recorded more than100 detections of birds flying abovethe grove and observed ten birdsbelow the canopy level.This confirma-tion ofmurrelet use for courtship andnesting underscores the importance ofprotecting this remaining stand of theancient redwood forest.

The League’s purchase was madepossible in part by a grant and aloan from the California StateCoastal Conservancy.The League isseeking contributions to repay the

Coastal Conservancy loan and to cover other acquisi-tion costs totaling $540,000.The parcel will then beadded to Butano State Park for permanent preservationand stewardship.

League Buys Old-Growth RedwoodsMurrelets nesting onsite

The threatened marbled murrelet, a seabirdthat nests in large branched conifers near theocean, was seen in the ancient redwoods ofthe League’s latest purchase. Photo courtesy of Tim Zurowski

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This summer the Hartsook Inn was opened by Save-the-Redwoods League and the California Department ofParks and Recreation to greet travelers to the north coastredwoods. The Inn is located on 33 acres in a beautifulstand of old growth redwoods adjoining RichardsonGrove Redwoods State Park in Humboldt County. TheInn had been closed since the League purchased it in1998 to protect the trees from threatened harvest.

Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, park aides andvolunteers provided information about the redwoods,the League, and what to see and do in the north coast.Many visitors told stories about past times at the Inn.One guest was a descendent of Fred Hartsook - the manwho developed the Inn in the 1920’s. The informationgathered during the summer from the visitors will beinvaluable as the League develops a business plan for thelong-term future of the Inn.

Hartsook InnGreeting Visitors to the Redwoods again

either words nor images can prepare you for your first

encounter with a monarch giant sequoia.Imagine 150 years ago, chasing a wound-ed grizzly bear through the forests ofCalifornia’s Sierra Nevada, and suddenlyencountering the shaggy cinnamon-redtrunk of a tree so massive that only withoutstretched arms could 16 people encir-cle it. In 1852, in an area now permanent-ly protected as Calaveras Big Trees StatePark, A.T. Dowd, a frontiersman andbackwoods hunter from Connecticut,abandoned pursuit of the bear and staredupward at the massive column thatreached more than 300 feet skyward.

At that time, the “big trees”, as the giantsequoias were known, had received littleattention beyond the Native Americanswho revered the trees.

That soon changed. By 1855, over theobjections of early conservationists, twoof the finest sequoias in the CalaverasNorth Grove were destroyed in order tocreate exhbits. Dowd’s Discovery Treewas cut down in 1853. Then, the fol-lowing year, the bark was stripped off ofanother tree, the Mother-of-the-Forest,in eight foot sections to a height of 116feet. The bark sections were laterreassembled in order to create a showpiece in the Crystal Palace exhibitionhalls of New York City and London.The shell of the Mother-of-the-Forestmade a 20,000-mile journey from theCalaveras Grove through the Port of SanFrancisco, around Cape Horn to theEast Coast and then on to Europe. Thenaked, burnt remains of this tree canstill be seen in Calaveras Grove today.People can also visit the stump ofDowd’s “Discovery Tree” whose base is

so large that an early “cotillion party ofmore than thirty-two persons coulddance on the stump at one time.”

The first published description of giantsequoia was included in the journal ofZenas Leonard, a member of the WalkerParty’s 1833 exploration and fur-trap-ping expedition in California. Walkerand his men probably passed throughthe Merced or Tuolumne Grove, nowpart of Yosemite National Park. It wasn’tuntil Dowd’s “discovery” in 1852, how-ever, that the big trees received wide-spread attention. Calaveras Grove

The Big TreesCelebrating 150 years of theGiant Sequoia

became one of California’s primarytourist attractions, drawing visitors whohave continued to come for 150 years tomarvel just as Mr. Dowd did.

Creating Sequoia ParksBy 1890, East Coast and internationalinterest in the giant sequoias led to thecreation of the country’s second nationalpark, Sequoia National Park, to protectthe sequoia groves of the southern SierraNevada. In 1890, a broad based cam-paign was launched at the local, state,and national levels, to save the CalaverasBig Trees from the threat of logging. Inspite of a twelve-year campaign to create

a national park to protect the CalaverasBig Trees, the effort failed.

In 1926, a second campaign to protectthe Calaveras Big Trees was initiated inconjunction with the movement spear-headed by Save-the-Redwoods Leagueand the Sierra Club to establish a statepark system to protect the Calaveras BigTrees and other natural areas of great sig-nificance. The Calaveras GroveAssociation was formed to focus localsupport. Finally, in 1928, the people ofCalifornia passed the state’s first statepark bond act, which provided $6 mil-lion in matching dollars to create theCalifornia State Park System.

In 1931, the League and the CalaverasGrove Association, with the pivotal sup-port of John D. Rockefeller and Mrs.William H. Crocker, finally secured pri-vate funds to match park bond funding,and the State purchased 1951 acres inand around the North Grove ofCalaveras Big Trees. The North Grove, adense 60-acre stand including more than100 sequoias over five feet in diameter,was the grove Dowd had discovered in1852. The more remote and largerSouth Grove was not acquired until1954 after still another campaign led bythe Calaveras Grove Association andSave-the-Redwoods League. The Leaguecontinues working to secure the protec-tion of Calaveras Big Trees State Park.Our latest acquisition, a one-acre parcelinside the South Grove, will completecomprehensive protection for the area.By 2002 the League had assisted withthe acquisition of 2,031 of the Park’s6,500 acres.

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Image courtesy of Calaveras County Historical Society

The Winter MonthsMany people visit the giantsequoias during the warmsummer months, but fewhave been privileged to seethe silent sequoias draped incloaks of snow in the depthsof winter. Winter can arriveearly and linger late in theSierra. In 1901 John Muirrecounted his experiencehunting the “big redwoods”as they welcomed the firstsnow-storm of the year:“…looming up in the dimclouds and snow-drifts likelighthouse towers in flyingscud and spray...Every bossylimb and crown is solidwhite, and the immenseheights of the giants becomevisible as the eye travels thewhite steps of the colossaltower, each relieved by amassof blue shadow” (John Muir,Atlantic Monthly, volume 88)

Whether you strap on snow-shoes and head off muffledby warm clothes, or don san-dals on a warm summer day,we encourage you to journeyto the Sierra and meet thesemagnificent trees.

Calaveras Big Trees StatePark is open year round,although the road to theSouth Grove is closed duringthe winter. A gentle one-mileloop trail through the northgrove leads the visitor pastthe site of A.T. Dowd’s dis-covery of the giant sequoias150-years ago. A guided traildeep into the heart of thewilderness of the SouthGrove allows for longerexploration.

Larry Ulrich Photography

In 2000, President Clinton signed aproclamation creating the GiantSequoia National Monument to protectthe giant sequoia and the natural andscenic beauty of the region. The327,769-acre monument, located inSequoia National Forest in the south-ern Sierra Nevada Mountains, contains27 of the world’s 73 giant sequoiagroves and thousands of acres of associ-ated watersheds and forests.

A management plan for the monumentis being developed to protect the giantsequoia groves and restore the ecologi-cal processes necessary to sustain a fullyfunctioning ecosystem. After anotherhot, dry summer with numerous wild-fires erupting throughout the west, fireand fuel management is a particularlyimportant and contentious issue.

Fire is a natural disturbance and anessential component in a functioningforest ecosystem. Fire creates ideal con-ditions for giant sequoia seedlings. In1875 John Muir described a low-inten-sity fire in the depths of a giant sequoiaforest “creeping and spreading beneaththe trees, slowly nibbling the cake ofcompressed needles and scales withflames an inch high, rising here andthere to a foot or two on dry twigs”.Only where considerable quantities offallen limbs had accumulated were thebig trees harmed.

This summer, the McNally fire blazedseemingly out of control until it hadconsumed over 150,000 acres of forest.Fortunately, the giant sequoia groveswere spared the full force of the flames.But a century of fire suppression hasaltered the historic fire regime, and amajor conflagration could do signifi-cant harm even to the giant sequoiaunless proactive steps are taken toreduce fuel loads in the forest.

A key challenge for the managementplan for the Giant Sequoia NationalMonument is reintroduction of a natu-ral fire regime while maintaining theintegrity of the groves.

For more information on theManagement Plan please contactSequoia National Forest on (559) 784-12500 or on the web atwww.r5.fs.fed.us/giant_sequoia/.

Planning for the New Giant SequoiaNational Monument

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Kate Anderton, Executive Directorof Save-the-Redwoods League,introduces 10-year old donor JuliePeterson, at the May 30 ceremoniesheld at Sequoia National Park torecognize the addition ofDillonwood Grove. Julie, who hadnever before seen a giant sequoiatree, made the trip from her homein Seaside Park, New Jersey toCalifornia with her father, JohnPeterson. Two years ago she sent a$20 check saved from herallowance to the League, to helpwith the $10.3 million campaignto buy Dillonwood Grove, the1,540-acres containing the largestgrove of privately owned sequoias.Save-the-Redwoods League secured$5 million from the federal Landand Water Conservation Fund, and

$600,000 from the State ofCalifornia. Gifts ranging from $5 to$1.5 million from League members,benefactors and foundations coveredthe remainder of the purchase price.

Dillonwood, now part of SequoiaNational Park, is open to the public.Access is by foot only. Facilities andservices are not yet available. Parkrangers spent the summer mappingthe property and taking inventoryof cultural, vegetation and animalresources so that plans can be madefor enhanced access and trails.

For more information on SequoiaNational Park, go to www.ameri-canparks.net

Dillonwood Now Open to Public

The League’s Executive Director, Kate Anderton,Honors Julie Peterson at the celebration ofDillionwood’s addition to Sequoia National Park.Photo courtesy of Dave Weiman

Bats in the Big TreesIn collaboration with theYosemite Fund, the League issupporting a study of bats inYosemite National Park’sgiant sequoia groves.Tracking bats is no easy busi-ness, especially in 200’ treesat night! Researchers haveused helium balloons, guanotraps, radio tracking,acoustic surveys, and mistnets to discover if bats areusing the giant sequoia.

They identified fourteen ofthe seventeen bat speciesfound in the park in thegiant sequoia groves. Fivespecies were found reproduc-ing within the groves. Batswere found foraging overnearby creeks and roostingand raising young in treehollows. Researchers moni-toring winter temperaturesinside large “goosepens”-hollow fire scars on giantsequoias - concluded that by moderating the extremewinter temperatures the treehollows are ideal for hiber-nating bats, allowing themto survive freezing outsidetemperatures.

Their work was captured onfilm for the popular BBCseries “Vets in the Wild” tobe shown on the DiscoveryChannel starting this fall.Photo courtesy of Merlin D. Tuttle,Bat Conservation International

Book Reviews

Burning Questions by David Carle Praeger, Westport, CT, 2002. $26.95This timely book chronicles the controversies of the last 100 years surrounding fire suppressionand the debates over prescribed burning. The impacts of the effective public relations cam-paign of Smokey Bear begun in 1944 and the historic fires of Yellowstone and theOakland Hills are detailed. An historical account of the prescribed burning inCalaveras Big Trees State Park pioneered in 1970, is particularly interesting.

Forest Giants of the Pacific Coast by Robert Van PeltGlobal Forest Society with University of Washington Press, Seattle, 2002. Softcover: $35.The tallest trees on earth are the Coast redwoods, the sequoia sempervirens,beautifully featured in this book that surveys 20 known species of the tallestPacific Coast trees. Each description of 117 champion trees, including loca-tion and size, is accompanied by a photograph and drawing. The author iden-tifies “the Calaveras Colossus”, a magnificent sugar pine in Calaveras Big TreesState Park, as the largest known sugar pine.

The book is dedicated to Wendell Flint “whose lifetime passion for measuring trees directlyprovided the template and inspiration for this book”, and includes a brief overview of the scienceof measuring trees.

Calaveras Big Trees State Park

DillonwoodGrove

SanFrancisco

Los Angeles

Giant Sequoia Grove

Giant Sequoia National Monument

To receive our bulletin via email, send your email address to bulletin@savetheredwoods.org

Save-the-Redwoods League 114 Sansome Street • Room 1200 • San Francisco • CA • 94104(415) 362-2352 voice • (415) 362-7017 fax • www.savetheredwoods.org

9 PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

Memorial GroveThe tranquil solitude and sense of awethat ancient groves inspire attract peoplefrom around the world to the redwoodforest. Many feel that there is no morefitting monument to honor someonethey love and respect than with a gift ofthese majestic redwoods-memorials thatlive-to future generations.

The League’s Honor and MemorialGrove Program was started in 1921when the first memorial grove was estab-lished to honor of one of the nation’sheroes of World War I. Today, nearly1,000 groves have been established

Grove gifts are used for the purchase ofredwood forestland and for the supportof other League programs. Donors maydirect their gifts to a specific Leagueproject if they wish. Grove gifts, whichaverage $25,000 to $75,000, may bemade in lump sum, over a period ofthree years, or by bequest. Donors may

select and name their groves. A signbearing the grove name is placed inmost groves.

The ancient redwoods are a windowinto the deeper reaches of time. Withyour help, they will continue to survivefor generations to come.

For more information, please contactHolly Garrison, the League’s Director ofDevelopment and Marketing, at (415)362-2352.

This Year’s Groves❖ Big Basin Redwoods State Park

Patricia M. WoodburyMemorial Grove

❖ Grove of Old TreesGolden Wedding Anniversary Grove

❖ Harry A. Merlo StateRecreation AreaWolff Family Grove

❖ Julia Pfeiffer Burns State ParkEleanor Vernon Hamilton Grove

❖ Limekiln State ParkPaulina June and George Pollak Grove

❖ Navarro River Redwoods State ParkEwald-King GroveFernandez-McMillen Family GroveThe Neal Family Grove

❖ Prairie Creek Redwoods State ParkGwendolyn Winifred De CampMemorial Grove

❖ Purisima Creek Redwoods OpenSpace PreserveMerritt Family Grove

Stuart Stevenson Soulé Memorial Grove, Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Photo courtesy David Swanlund

Holiday GiftsAre you searching for a gift thathas special meaning? This holi-day, honor a loved one whileprotecting the redwood forest.

With a gift of $25 or more, theLeague will send a beautiful per-sonalized card in honor or inmemory of someone you careabout.With a gift of $1,000 ormore, you can select an HonorTree in one of the state park’sHonor Groves.

You can also give the gift ofmembership in the League.

Exciting UpcomingEvents!

We invite our southernCalifornia members to markyour calendar’s now for theLeague’s receptions for membersin the Los Angeles area onMarch 19 & 20, 2003 (locations to be announced).Our Executive Director andCouncillors look forward tomeeting you and describing the League’s successes and future plans.

Interested in Making aStock Gift?

Stock gifts are a great way to sup-port the League.A gift of appreci-ated securities may avoid capitalgain tax and qualify for anincome tax charitable deduction.

For more information, on any of the above call (888) 836-0005

or log on to www.savetheredwoods.org.