Op-Ed: With climate change, we may witness sequoia forests convert to chaparral
There’s good news: Sequoia trees are a huge part of the redwoods we’re losing and recovering.
The bad news: They are the most threatened native Californian species.
When logging, roads or development damage sequoias, it destroys habitat and leads to catastrophic wildfires.
The good news: Climate change is making it worse.
Climate change has warmed a more than 1,000-year period of drought. This makes the drought conditions increasingly severe, causing more tree deaths than ever before.
The bad news: We cannot wait for climate change to make the problem worse.
That’s because we have very limited time to save the redwoods.
I recently had the opportunity to meet some young redwood diehards. These people are willing to speak out, even when they are in a precarious position
The other day I took my friend, who is about to make his college decision, on a tour of the Redwood Empire Redwoods State Park.
It was a great introduction to a great place. But it also gave me the chance to meet some young redwood diehards who are committed to saving the iconic species the way that I am committed to saving the rainforests in Borneo.
This was their first time visiting a redwood forest. The Redwood Empire is a remarkable place. Its redwoods, which include some of the tallest trees on the planet, are a part of a remarkable, rich biological and cultural landscape — the largest old-growth redwood forest in the world.
The park was founded in 1914, and the Redwood Empire was created in 1953. Both locations were designated as state parks in 1969, and we are fortunate to have both properties open to the public.
If you ever wonder whether you’ll be able to save the redwoods of America’s coastal redwood forests, look at our most urgent,
