Ancient Sequoia Forests and The Fight to Save Them
Over the past half-century or so, there has been a lot of talk about saving ancient Sequoia, or redwood, forests. But why is this issue so important?
Many activists feel the need to protect these great trees because they, like our rainforests, are one of the natural wonders in the world. Found mostly on the west coast of the United States (in places like central and northern California and southern Oregon), these trees can reach up to heights of 360 feet, and are known to live for thousands of years. Because of their longevity, the Sequoia forests are what are known as “old growth forests”, and have thus gained unique ecological characteristics, including “large trees and standing dead trees, multi-layered canopies with gaps resulting from the deaths of individual trees, and coarse woody debris on the forest floor”. And of course, just like all forests, these forests are home to many nonhuman animal species.
Unfortunately, redwoods face certain threats today, mostly from the logging industry. It has been said that of all the redwoods on the West Coast, 95% have been logged as of now. There were once 2,000,oo0 acres of redwoods. Today, there are fewer than 106,000 left.
So what has been done to save these trees? Some activists, such as those in Earth First!, have gone as far as taking part in tree-sitting, an act of civil disobedience in activists literally sit in trees that are set to be cut down, refusing to leave until the trees are spared. One such activist, Julia Butterfly Hill, performed a tree sit that last two years.
But obviously, not everyone can make it to the West Coast to sit in a redwood, so what can the rest of us do? I often talk about the value of educating people who may not be in the know so that they become aware of the issues affecting our planet. I can’t stress the importance of this enough. Get the word out to everyone you know, especially if you or your friends or relatives live on the West Coast and can get active for these trees. You don’t have to sit in the trees, but even organizing a demonstration and getting loud can be helpful.
Come on people, let’s save the redwoods!
