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| In the Mists |
US Person was away from his desk looking at some big woods in northern California over the (no)Labor Day weekend. No, he is not talking about golf or an adulterous pro, either. The big wood is
Sequoia sempervirens, the coast redwood tree. He hiked through the BLM's
Headwaters Forest Reserve near Fortuna, CA to the see the stupefying forest giants up close. He was not disappointed. Julie, the BLM ranger who escorted him along a 3 mile loop trail was good company as well an informed interpreter of the last contiguous parcel of ancient trees in the US. The oldest surviving redwoods are estimated to be 2,000 years old. The 7,472 acre preserve, surrounded by second growth private timberland, was acquired by the government in 1999 after the state and federal governments paid $380,000,000 for the stand of timber.
US Person noted that the largest trees he saw are still marked for destruction with a blue slash. Many environmentalists participated in the sometimes violent efforts to save these trees from the sawmill. A women activist who chained herself to the local sheriff's office was
viciously rewarded with pepper spray into her eyes. Another heroine lived in an ancient redwood for two years to stop the cutting. People who respect nature and love the Earth owe these brave citizens a debt of gratitude. To see the unbroken carpet of magnificent redwoods from the ridge over Salmon Creek truly instills hope for a healthier planet. The redwoods that still stand today are the last tiny remnant of a hemisphere spanning mega forest.
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| Headwaters Giant |
The Reserve is an outstanding example of an ancient or old-growth forest--a complete, climax ecosystem--supporting innumerable other species and manufacturing oxygen while consuming carbon dioxide. In an ancient forest there are trees of various ages and heights creating a layered canopy. There are large standing dead trees (snags) and downed trees that create habitat for invertebrates, birds and fish. A single fallen log could have 4000 species of plants and animals living in and around it.The endangered marble murrelet
(Brachyramphus marmoratus) nests in the trees of the Reserve. This small sea auk flies into the forest from the nearby Pacific Ocean to breed. It mates and lays an egg in the soft moss and lichens covering the upper branches of giant sequoias. If a human visitor is lucky beyond belief they might find an anchovy in the middle of the forest, evidence of a murrelet bringing food home to its chick. Rarely seen flying squirrels and northern spotted owls also inhabit the mist shrouded empire of the redwood. No digital animation or fevered director's imagination can replicate the experience of walking through a silent natural cathedral of timeless trees where sunlight filters through the mists more impressively than any stained glass window.
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| Rockefeller Forest |
Sequoia sempervirens is a champion survivor. Its bark is fire resistant, high tannin levels in its resin free wood make it insect resistant, and the tree has two ways of reproducing itself, seeds and burl sprouts. Sequoias have shallow root systems so high winds take their toll of weakened trees. The famous Dyerville Giant in the Founders Grove was at least 362 feet tall and 17 feet in diameter. The Founders Grove is named after the founders of the Save-the-Redwoods League who began buying groves of ancient redwoods in 1917. The largest tract is the 10,000 acre Roosevelt Forest that was purchased with the help of a $1million donation from John D. Rockefeller, Jr. This one forest contains 25% of all remaining old-growth redwoods. The current record holder for the tallest tree is "Hyperion" which grows in Redwoods National Park at over 379 ft in height.
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| Bull elk stands his ground |
Less strenuous than hiking 14 miles to remote groves is a tour ofthe redwoods in Humboldt Redwoods State Park along the "Avenue of the Giants", once the route of US 101. Be sure and stop to watch the elk herd that lives near the highway through Redwoods National Park.
