This document summarizes information about Coast Redwood forests and the history of their protection. It discusses how Coast Redwoods were once widespread but are now limited to northern California coast due to climate change. It describes the ecological importance of Coast Redwood forests and threats they face such as soil erosion, climate change, and development. It also outlines the history of logging Coast Redwoods from the 1800s onward, the conservation movement that arose to protect them, and their current value for tourism.

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The Significance of Sequoia sempervirens (Costal
Redwood) Forests: Should they be Protected?
Cobain Schofield
Introduction
The Sequoia sempervirens, referred to from hereon in by their
common name: “Coast Redwoods”, are amongst the largest living
organisms on Earth and the tallest tree species, commonly exceeding
90m in height – the height of a 30-storey building. The average age
in some groves is around 1,300-1,500 years old, though the oldest
specimens are thought to be some 4,500 to 5,000 years old. The fossil
history of Coast Redwoods extends back several million years and
indicates that Coast Redwoods were once scattered over much of the
northern hemisphere. However, climatic changes have resulted in
their gradual extinction across the globe, apart from a small sliver of
land along approximately 500 miles of the California coast (Ornduff
& Faber, 2003). This region now contains all of the world’s old-
growth Coast Redwood forest, and extends northwards along the
Pacific coast from the mountains of Monterrey County to the
southwest of Oregon. The Redwoods are well suited to this unique
climate; their extensive root systems extend out laterally, as well as
down vertically, drawing water from deep underground across a large
area (Olson, et al., 1990). During dry summer months, the Coast
Redwoods may obtain up to 30% of their water needs from the regular
coastal fogs via the process of canopy drip (Burgess & Dawson,
2004). Some specimens of S. sempervirens have also been
successfully grown in parts of northern Europe and the eastern coast
of Britain, where rainwater is plentiful and fogs are also frequent
(Forestry Commission, 2016). Their fast growth rate has seen a
Sequoia sempervirens tree named as the 3rd
tallest in England, at little
over 100 years old (Monumental Trees, 2016).
Though the Coast Redwoods are distributed along the Pacific coast,
they are not continuous; instead they exist in groves which vary in
size and density. Some of these groves have been declared as State
Parks, of which there are 49 along the California coast. Redwood
National Park was also established by the Federal Government in
1968, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980,
with a view to preserve the “largest remaining contiguous ancient
coast redwood forest in the world in their original forest and
streamside settings” (UNESCO, 2016). The national park covers an
area of 56,883ha and includes a 37-mile stretch of pristine coastline,
a mountainous region, and is home to California Sea Lions, Bald
Eagle and California Brown Pelican, amongst a rich variety of other
wildlife.,
Coast Redwoods and Human Interactions throughout History
Native Americans and Redwoods
Native American people have lived in California for thousands of
years, however their impact on the archaeological record was
minimal; some tribes had not developed agriculture by the time of the
Spanish invasion in the mid-1700s, which is regarded as “surprising
because of a high population density and cultural advancements”
(Diamond, 1997). Despite this, it has long been established that the
tribes, such as the Miwok, did influence the fire regime within the
Coastal Redwood forests, most likely for clearing land to aid in the
hunting of large mammals (Fritz, 1931; Brown & Baxter, 2003;
Anderson, 2005). Native peoples are also known to have used Coast
Redwood trees in the construction of shacks and canoes, though their
use was purely for subsistence and will have had a negligible impact
on the ecosystem (Timbrook, 1990). Prior to European influence,
Native Americans were generally very well adapted to their
environment, and there are still a number of communities of native’s
who continue to live in reservations within the redwood groves (U.S
National Park Service, 2016).
European Settlers
The arrival of European colonists saw the first significant
anthropogenic environmental impacts in North America’s history.
The key environmental indicators of increased anthropogenic activity
are lake sediment records and dendrochronological records, which
show marked changes in atmospheric pollution levels, soil erosion
rates and the fire regime, amongst other variables. Given their age,
Coast Redwood trees hold excellent dendrochronological records
which can be used to see how the fire regime has changed over time,
indicating changes in temperature, as well as changes in human
activity. For example, Figure 1 from Swetnam et al. (2009) shows
how in the 300 years leading up to 2000, fire frequency decreased as
fire suppression policies were implemented by European colonists.
Figure 1 – 25-year non-overlapping fire frequencies and means of
summer temperature; showing that fire frequency has decreased since
~1700 when European colonists arrived in California (Swetnam, et
al., 2009)
Fire suppression had the effect of lessening the fire frequency, though
it increased intensity due to a greater build-up of dry wood fuel. This
has placed pressures on even the Sequoia - which are renowned for
being fire resistant - as the greater intensity fires have killed younger
redwood trees at a greater rate than ever before. Zierten (2013) notes
that there is still no official management strategy when it comes to
fires and dry fuel in the redwood state parks, though we should
perhaps look to the Native American approach and burn-off
understorey debris every 10-15 years to prevent fuel build-up.
The Redwood “Discovery” & the ‘Second California Gold-rush’
Though Native American tribes such as the Miwok had been living
alongside Coast Redwoods for thousands of years, a hunter from the
San Francisco first encountered the trees while chasing a bear into a
pristine redwood grove. Within weeks of the “discovery”, the first
tree had been felled; a 300ft tall, 1,244-year-old tree named “The
Mammoth”. A cross section went on display in New York and another
in London at Crystal Palace, which rallied great intrigue and saw
entrepreneurs descend upon the redwood forests (Hickman, 2013). It
quickly became apparent to businessmen from the east coast and
Europe that the trees were an easy source of riches: slightly red-
coloured, straight grained and rot-resistant wood made for high
demand and an exponential increase in production. This led to Coast
Redwood forests almost completely disappearing around San
Francisco. By the late 1880s, over 400 sawmills were operating in
northern California, felling redwood trees acquired for just $2.50 an
acre, and producing massive profits (Bourne, 2009). The redwood
timber industry quickly became the largest on the west coast.
In 1906, the San Francisco earthquake destroyed over 80% of San
Francisco, killing 3,000 and leaving 200,000 homeless: half of the
city’s residents (National Archives, 2016). This led to a surge in
redwood logging which continued; in 1925, less than 100 years after
logging began, only 67% of the redwoods remained. WWII saw
another leap in demand for redwood. Throughout the 60s, production
peaked at around 1bn board-feet of redwood per year, and has since
been in decline owing to greater protection. Now, less than 5% of
original old-growth Coast Redwood forest remains, and 95% of the
remaining forest is protected in state and national parks (Barbour, et
al., 2001); Coast Redwoods are also not afforded any state or federal
protection outside of designated parks (Sempervirens Fund, 2016).
However, despite the great losses that the species has suffered,
Yaryan (2002) writes “redwoods [are] in no danger of extinction at
the present time, despite the diminishment of old-growth trees by
logging, the redwood is the most productive of all known trees”.
The Conservation Movement
The value of the Coast Redwoods as a natural wonder was understood
from the moment that the species were discovered. The public’s
reaction of outrage and disgust toward the felling of The Mammoth
was reported in San Francisco’s Placer Times & Transcript in 1853,

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stating how people were “dreadfully shocked at the vandalism and
barbarity of flaying that giant of the woods, and depriving California
of its greatest growing exponent” (Hickman, 2013). However, the
felling of The Mammoth was justified as having a lasting benefit to
science, given that people around the world could marvel at the
sections of trunk that were being sent to New York and London. Local
pride surpassed the feelings of sadness at the loss of this tree, and
before long commercial logging had begun in the forests around San
Francisco. However, many were still displeased with what had
happened, and in 1864, John Conness, senator for California,
proposed a bill to establish Yosemite National Park; referencing the
felling of The Mammoth directly in his speech to the house as a case
for protecting part of the wilderness and making it “inalienable
forever” (Congressional Globe, 1864). The bill was passed and the
first US national park was established in 1872. The park protected
groves of Sequoia giganteum, or Giant Sequoia, though appreciation
was growing for other Sequoia species, including the sempervirens.
By the late 1890s people were becoming greatly concerned for the
Coast Redwoods, with one group in Santa Cruz planning to purchase
an area of redwood forest from a timber company, though they
wanted to use public money rather than private, because an earlier
land acquisition with the intent of preservation had ended in a sale to
a logging company (Yaryan, 2002). They ran a campaign in 1900
titled “SAVE THE TREES” which aimed to convince the public of
the significance of redwoods, and aimed to show politicians and
logging companies of the value of the trees in tourist dollars, rather
than timber dollars. This campaign captured the hearts and minds of
the public and stakeholders, and led to the formation of the
‘Sempervirens Fund’ in 1900, an organisation which aimed to
conserve a redwood grove in the Santa Cruz mountains. The
campaign has had many high profile supporters throughout its history,
including author John Steinbeck, who wrote of the redwoods: “once
seen, [they] leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you
always. No one has ever successfully painted or photographed a
redwood tree. The feeling they produce is not transferable. From
them comes silence and awe…They are ambassadors from another
time.”. At the time of writing the Sempervirens Fund protects some
53 sq. miles of redwood forest, though it is hoped that this will
ultimately cover 195 sq. miles of public & private land (Sempervirens
Fund, 2016). Today, 578 sq. miles of redwood forest are protected by
public and private agencies along the 500-mile stretch of California
coast where they are found (California State Parks, 2014).
Tourism
From the very beginning of their discovery, the redwoods had a
tourism industry built around them. People came from the east coast
and western Europe to marvel at the spectacles that were the giant
trees.
Figure 2 – a tea-dance held on the stump of The Mammoth; later
named the “Discovery Stump” (Nagel, et al., 1862)
People came to watch trees fall, and hotels were established around
the sites of the largest so that tourists could inspect the impressive
stumps for themselves. In some cases, tea-dances were held on
stumps; see Figure 2. Euro-American’s and European visitors were
not familiar with such spectacles as these enormous trees, and so the
early tourism industry was a money-spinner, though the quick gain
profits from commercial logging quickly became a priority for
entrepreneurs.
In recent times, the value of the redwood forests is appreciated much
more by the general public. According to a 2014 National Parks
Service report, tourism in Redwood National Park, CA supports 428
jobs and generates direct visitor spending of approx. $26.5m per year.
Figure 3 shows how visitor expenditure is split throughout different
industries. The total economic output, through visitor spending, staff
wages and value added, is calculated to be almost $33m per year to
the California economy (Thomas, et al., 2014). This report does not
account for the visitor spending within the 49 state parks.
Figure 3 – visitor spending by expenditure category (Thomas, et al.,
2014)
However, there is some concern over the future of the tourism
industry in parts of California. Areas that had been dependent on
tourism to the redwood groves throughout the 80s and 90s are starting
to diversify their economic mix. Ewers (2012) states that as of 2010,
following the diversification, the average salary in California’s
northern Redwood Coast is now $30,000; though the average salary
within the tourism industry is just $13,500. While this may be good
for locals, and will inevitably increase sustainability within the local
economy, the sustainability of redwood conservation may be cast into
some degree of doubt (Ewes, 2012).
Stewart (2007) details how the tourism industry in California will
always be dominated by the coast, rather than the forests, and
discusses why this is proving challenging for future planning.
California state redwood parks are now logging visitor numbers in
visitor centres to check them against visitor admission statistics to
determine whether it is viable to maintain visitor centres across all
parks. Not only does this threaten the tourism experience, but it also
hampers education and maintenance opportunities within the parks
should there be any visitor centre closures.
Ecological Importance
Though impressive spectacles, Coast Redwood forests were once
thought to be “ecological deserts”, made up of just a handful of
different plant and animal species. Coast Redwoods grow so high and
so densely that they shield all but a small amount of light from
reaching the forest floor – the term “darkness at noon” is often used
to describe this phenomenon. This means that little can grow on the
forest floor, and all but the tallest species of trees and the hardiest of
shrubs and ferns are able to germinate in the dry and dark conditions.
However, recent work in the forest canopy has uncovered a “lost
world” of life, which was long hypothesised to be impossible to exist.
Sillett (1999) documents thick deposits of canopy soils which has
developed amongst the redwood branches; soil that is able to support
vascular plants, including other smaller tree species. Later studies
showed just how complex the crown level of the Coast Redwoods
really is (Sillett & Van Pelt, 2000), with Preston (2008) describing
the Redwoods as “fractal forests”. The redwood canopy was found
to support life that one would not expect to find, such as salamander
(Spickler, et al., 2006) and oceanic crustacean (Jones, 2005).

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Modern Day Issues facing Redwoods
Though the redwood state and national parks in California are
afforded “total protection” under federal law (U.N WCMC, 1992),
there are many issues that still threaten the species today, both inside
and outside of these protected areas.
Soil Erosion
Almost 200 years of logging in and around redwood groves has led
to large-scale soil destabilisation. The sheer height of the redwood
trees means that they require deep soils for their root systems to take
hold, and in some areas, high rates of soil erosion are making it
difficult for second-growth redwood trees to grow; this includes in
state and national parks, which have been protected for many decades,
though the legacy of the logging trade lives on (Lewis, 1998). As a
result, some groves now have patches within them which will not be
able to sustain new-growth redwood trees, thus slowing the rate of
recovery from logging.
For areas still undergoing logging, the effects of almost two centuries
of intensive clearing on soil erosion rates will undoubtedly have
devastating impacts on the long-term localised sustainability of the
species. However, Coast Redwoods even within the Redwood
National Park, along with Douglas Fir and other trees, are under threat
from state government and CalTrans for the expansion of CA
Highway 101, which cuts through the national park. The highway
expansion would see the removal of 54 trees, and the partial
excavation of shallow root systems from a further 66 (Henn, 2011).
Public opposition, backed by politicians saw CalTrans drop plans for
the highway expansion in 2014, pending further investigation and
environmental surveys (DeLapp, 2014).
Climate Change
Though Yaryan (2002) describes the Coast Redwoods as “being in
no danger of extinction”, his statement does depend on the current
climate being maintained. Most specifically, the cool climate that
exists within the coastal mountainous regions where fog is able to
form frequently and supply the redwoods with one of their main
sources of water.
There are fears that coastal fog in California could be decreasing, with
one study suggesting a decrease in fog occurrence of 30% during the
past 60 years (Johnstone & Dawson, 2010). This reduction in fog,
coupled with an overall reduction in water supply from rain and
groundwater, is causing stress in Coast Redwoods, which may
potentially stunt their growth, limit their productivity, or ultimately
lead to their deaths (Ambrose, et al., 2015).
Conclusion
Despite dominating forests over the past 160 million years, the largest
organisms on Earth have not been immune to human interference
during the last 200 years. It is clear that the Coast Redwood forests in
California have suffered great pressures since the arrival of European
colonists in the 18th
and 19th
centuries saw mass logging and the near-
extinction of the species from its natural habitat. The significance that
these giant trees have on their ecosystem is unarguable – they prevent
extensive life on the forest floor, yet promote a strange and well
developed ecosystem high up in their canopies, which was
undiscovered until the turn of the millennium.
The cultural significance of the trees is enormous too. Throughout
history Native American tribes lived amongst them, using their wood
for hunting, transport and building. Their destruction in the mid-
1800s then ultimately led to the formation of the first National Park
in the United States, brought about by public outcry against the
destruction of what was termed “a wonder of the world” (Hickman,
2013). These great forests are now of great pride to California and are
celebrated as the official tree symbol for the state (California State
Law, 1943).
The Coast Redwoods also hold an important part in the history of
California’s industry. Throughout the late 1800s and into the mid-
1900s, redwood logging dominated California as the main industrial
activity. The wood from redwood forests also rebuilt San Francisco
following the 1906 earthquake. The resource may have been
obscenely over-exploited, but a vast amount of remaining redwood
groves have now received protection from Government and charitable
organisations, allowing for preservation, conservation and education
of the redwood forests for generations to come.
People were aware of the devastation from the very beginning, and
recent California history has been dominated by redwood
conservation efforts. Now research can continue within the protected
groves, to try and ensure that these trees remain for many years to
come, and are not threatened by new anthropogenic changes.
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