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by Barry Boulton
Over the weekend of July 26 and 27, a group of LP Chapter activists visited the Giant Sequoia National Monument to view how the Forest Service manages the sequoia groves, and to understand the long-term prospects for those ancient sequoias.
Our trip leader and expert was the legendary Martin Litton from Portola Valley, long-time friend of David Brower and previous Director on the Sierra Club's Board. Martin has spent many years advocating for protection of the sequoia groves. In his single-engine plane, he has piloted Congress people and activists over the monument to show how the area has been damaged. This was what we wanted to see and understand for ourselves.
As you may know, the sequoia groves in Sequoia National Forest were declared a National Monument during the Clinton Administration. Unfortunately, while the Monument is nominally under the National Park Service (NPS), the Forest Service manages it. The Forest Service's addiction to logging has resulted in disastrous consequences in the Monument. Therefore, the Sierra Club is seeking to have the Monument managed by the NPS, which would begin to undo the disastrous management regime of the Forest Service.
On our visit, we viewed areas that had been heavily logged, and were able to contrast those areas with regions that have experienced no significant logging.
In the areas never logged, the forest exhibited expected conditions, with giant sequoias growing in proximity to sugar pines. The two tree species appear to enjoy some form of symbiosis. There appears to be extensive interaction and exchange of nutrients between them and in combination with the underground fungi (mycorrrhizae) that are essential to the health of the trees.
Also in the non-logged areas, the forest floor is relatively free of undergrowth and small trees because of the shade afforded by the sequoias and sugar pines. Almost every sequoia tree exhibits some form of fire damage because in a fire-dependent environment, trees living 2,000 years or longer will have experienced many fires. The sequoia is not only remarkably fire-resistant, but it requires fire to open its seed-bearing cones, and to prepare open soil for seed germination.
The situation in the heavily logged areas is dramatically different. While the giant sequoia is not commercially valuable due to its brittleness and tendency to break, its partner the sugar pine is commercially a very attractive species. Given this, the Forest Service allows the logging of sugar pines, even though they are important components of sequoia groves. The Forest Service proudly proclaims that they do not allow logging of the sequoias themselves, but their logging practices leave groves with nothing but giant sequoias standing. That might seem to be beneficial (no competition for the sequoias, all resources dedicated only to sequoias, and moreover, we humans can actually see them in full outline since the forest doesn't hide them!), but this one-dimensional view doesn't adequately capture the full dynamics of the sequoia groves. A giant sequoia may have a root structure extending for over an acre, enabling it to extract nutrients over a large area. Yet the structure is only four to five feet deep, which means that its physical stability is not great, and it is subject to "wind throw"--the effect of a tree being blown over by winds.
Normally a forest protects most of its trees from high winds by virtue of mutual cover within the forest, but clear-cut logging opens up individual trees to local wind effects. In Giant Sequoia National Monument, where extensive logging has occurred, the remaining sequoias are now open to the full force of the environment and are vulnerable.
The photo at right shows a sequoia stand known as the "Three Sisters" completely exposed in an area that was heavily logged (effectively clear-cut except for the sequoias) in the mid-1980s. The trees are completely exposed on a steep slope in which their shallow root structure is not well equipped to sustain them. Forest Service logging practices effectively sentence these trees to death.
The photo also shows that 20 years after logging, the sequoias are surrounded not by trees but by very thick undergrowth. The Forest Service has tried unsuccessfully to re-grow sugar pines in this area, but only dense brush has established itself. The brush is so thick that even if a sequoia seed breaks out of its cone, it will not be able to grow in these conditions. Long-term replacement of the Three Sisters is not likely without a fire to expose the earth and allow germination.
From our visit, we concluded that the unlogged portions of the sequoia groves need to remain unlogged so that the natural patterns of growth and succession can continue. Furthermore, the already logged areas need to be left alone to return to their natural growth patterns. This will require time, probably hundreds of years, to accomplish. For this pattern of management to occur, the Park Service, not the Forest Service, should manage the Monument. This is where you can participate. Please write your Congressional Representative and request that management be turned over to the Park Service.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Please call or write Senators Boxer and Feinstein and express your concerns about logging the Giant Sequoia National Monument. They can be phoned at the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202/224-3121 or write to U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510.
2. For more information, contact Valerie Cassity, Programs Director, Sequoia ForestKeeper at 760/376-4434 or Karen Maki, chair of the Loma Prieta Chapter's Forest Protection Committee at 650/366-0577.
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