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Sierra Club Exhibit Format Series #6
The Last Redwoods and the Parkland of Redwood Creek
Photographs by James Rose, et al. Introduction by Edgar and Peggy Wayburn
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 2, 2023
Written in 1969, this is a passionate argument for doing all we can to save the last Redwood forests.
"If through indolence, indifference or misguided economy we fail to make the most of this opportunity, our generation, which has already allowed the sacrifice of so much natural beauty to the false gods of growth and progress, will go down in history as the one that allowed the last of the virgin redwoods to be sold down the Eel and the Klamath rivers and Redwood Creek, and converted into commercial products for which substitutes were on hand" (133).
After reading this book, I headed over to the Redwood National Forest site and found that, since 1969, much progress has been made in saving what remains of the Redwoods as well as their watershed. Within the park boundaries, old logged-over land is now green, but beyond the boundaries, the bare-ground scars of logging are evident on ariel maps.
"If through indolence, indifference or misguided economy we fail to make the most of this opportunity, our generation, which has already allowed the sacrifice of so much natural beauty to the false gods of growth and progress, will go down in history as the one that allowed the last of the virgin redwoods to be sold down the Eel and the Klamath rivers and Redwood Creek, and converted into commercial products for which substitutes were on hand" (133).
After reading this book, I headed over to the Redwood National Forest site and found that, since 1969, much progress has been made in saving what remains of the Redwoods as well as their watershed. Within the park boundaries, old logged-over land is now green, but beyond the boundaries, the bare-ground scars of logging are evident on ariel maps.
August 15, 2022
A very sad book but enlightening me about the rape of the redwoods of the Northern California coast. Cause me to join the Sierra Club.
May 19, 2024
Although this edition was published in 1969, with much of it previously published in 1963, it is still as relevant and powerful today as it was 55 years ago as an argument for continuing to fight to preserve the ancient redwood forests in their natural state and in such a way as to keep them in that state in perpetuity.
The book begins with a publisher’s note by then Sierra Club Vice President Edgar Wayburn lamenting how much of the primeval, virgin coast redwood forests early settlers of California had decimated. He argues that the Redwood National Park set up by Congress the previous year was not adequate and the logging taking place would forever destroy the remaining privately owned primeval redwood forests by 1980.
Each chapter of the book examines the coast redwoods from a different perspective. One of the most powerful to me is the first chapter, “Life of an Immortal,” which traces the entire life of one coast redwood from seed to “death,” a span of 2,200 years. In that time the tree grows through all manner of destructive natural conditions including multiple floods, droughts, and wildfires. Coast redwoods are unique in that in addition to sprouting from seeds they also spring up from the roots of fallen trees, hence the name “sempervirens,” meaning “ever-living.”
The following chapters cover the general history of coast redwoods as a species, man’s often destructive relationship with the trees, and the movement to preserve the redwoods for future generations.
The book contains a multitude of color photographs, the most powerful being the “before” and “after” photos of areas of virgin forest that were logged.
An interesting chapter entitled “How Safe Are the ‘Saved’?” presents the cautionary tale of Bull Creek Flat in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Bull Creek Flat, one of the finest stands of virgin coast redwoods, was purchased in 1931 with the help of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and the area named Rockefeller Forest. The problem was the purchased land was downslope of the rest of Bull Creek basin, which was still owned by private timber companies. “These loggers stripped the steep slopes, gutted the canyons, gouged the hills with skid trails and roads. The soil, denuded of its protective trees, reverted to its basic instability, and became easy prey to the winter downpours.” Inevitably, biblically heavy rains came in 1955 and again in 1964 and the resulting destruction in the publicly held Bull Creek Flat devastated the watershed and forest, taking hundreds of giant redwoods down. The lesson learned is that future preservation efforts should take into account entire watersheds as a single ecosystem, not just individual groves of trees.
Having the gift of hindsight reading this in 2024, it would be easy to dismiss the title of the final chapter “Epilogue-Or Epitaph” as somewhat overly dramatic. After all, the coast redwoods we have in our public parks today are much the same as they were when this book was published 55 years ago. But as we saw in the battle over Headwaters in the 1980s and 90s, the fight for these ancient forests continues.
A quote in the book from Save the Redeoods League co-founder Madison Grant that I love:
“It is scarcely necessary to dwell on the crime involved in the destruction of the oldest trees on earth. The cutting of a sequoia for grape stakes or railroad ties is like breaking up one’s grandfather’s clock for kindling to save the trouble of splitting logs at the woodpile, or lighting one’s pipe with a Greek manuscript to save the trouble of reaching for the matches.”
The book begins with a publisher’s note by then Sierra Club Vice President Edgar Wayburn lamenting how much of the primeval, virgin coast redwood forests early settlers of California had decimated. He argues that the Redwood National Park set up by Congress the previous year was not adequate and the logging taking place would forever destroy the remaining privately owned primeval redwood forests by 1980.
Each chapter of the book examines the coast redwoods from a different perspective. One of the most powerful to me is the first chapter, “Life of an Immortal,” which traces the entire life of one coast redwood from seed to “death,” a span of 2,200 years. In that time the tree grows through all manner of destructive natural conditions including multiple floods, droughts, and wildfires. Coast redwoods are unique in that in addition to sprouting from seeds they also spring up from the roots of fallen trees, hence the name “sempervirens,” meaning “ever-living.”
The following chapters cover the general history of coast redwoods as a species, man’s often destructive relationship with the trees, and the movement to preserve the redwoods for future generations.
The book contains a multitude of color photographs, the most powerful being the “before” and “after” photos of areas of virgin forest that were logged.
An interesting chapter entitled “How Safe Are the ‘Saved’?” presents the cautionary tale of Bull Creek Flat in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Bull Creek Flat, one of the finest stands of virgin coast redwoods, was purchased in 1931 with the help of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and the area named Rockefeller Forest. The problem was the purchased land was downslope of the rest of Bull Creek basin, which was still owned by private timber companies. “These loggers stripped the steep slopes, gutted the canyons, gouged the hills with skid trails and roads. The soil, denuded of its protective trees, reverted to its basic instability, and became easy prey to the winter downpours.” Inevitably, biblically heavy rains came in 1955 and again in 1964 and the resulting destruction in the publicly held Bull Creek Flat devastated the watershed and forest, taking hundreds of giant redwoods down. The lesson learned is that future preservation efforts should take into account entire watersheds as a single ecosystem, not just individual groves of trees.
Having the gift of hindsight reading this in 2024, it would be easy to dismiss the title of the final chapter “Epilogue-Or Epitaph” as somewhat overly dramatic. After all, the coast redwoods we have in our public parks today are much the same as they were when this book was published 55 years ago. But as we saw in the battle over Headwaters in the 1980s and 90s, the fight for these ancient forests continues.
A quote in the book from Save the Redeoods League co-founder Madison Grant that I love:
“It is scarcely necessary to dwell on the crime involved in the destruction of the oldest trees on earth. The cutting of a sequoia for grape stakes or railroad ties is like breaking up one’s grandfather’s clock for kindling to save the trouble of splitting logs at the woodpile, or lighting one’s pipe with a Greek manuscript to save the trouble of reaching for the matches.”
August 22, 2019
I enjoyed this short book even though it's a bit heartbreaking. This was a Sierra Club book written and published 50 years ago now. It was a call to save the last of the virgin Redwood forests. Some areas had been saved already but not nearly enough to really save the trees.
There are full page color photographs taken of the forests. There's a few of the areas after a clear cut as well. There are more of the ferns and other plants than of the actual trees themselves, which surprised me, but all (excepting the clear-cuts) the photographs are beautiful.
I did learn some interesting aspects about the trees, such as their range used to be much wider than just the Western Coast of California and Oregon. Way wider, nearly across the globe. There is also still (well at least 50 years ago) a stand of Redwoods in China.
A previous version of this book published in 1963 did wonders to help establish some parks and saved some groves. I haven't looked further into the park boundaries and areas of redwoods, but I hope this book also made a lasting impression and help the conservation efforts. I do know we still have redwood trees, but how viable the forests are that we have so far saved, that I don't know. These trees take so much time to grow and too quick to chop down. I hope they remain and can survive in our warmer climate that's coming our way. That was one part not addressed in this book, as it wasn't known at the time.
There are full page color photographs taken of the forests. There's a few of the areas after a clear cut as well. There are more of the ferns and other plants than of the actual trees themselves, which surprised me, but all (excepting the clear-cuts) the photographs are beautiful.
I did learn some interesting aspects about the trees, such as their range used to be much wider than just the Western Coast of California and Oregon. Way wider, nearly across the globe. There is also still (well at least 50 years ago) a stand of Redwoods in China.
A previous version of this book published in 1963 did wonders to help establish some parks and saved some groves. I haven't looked further into the park boundaries and areas of redwoods, but I hope this book also made a lasting impression and help the conservation efforts. I do know we still have redwood trees, but how viable the forests are that we have so far saved, that I don't know. These trees take so much time to grow and too quick to chop down. I hope they remain and can survive in our warmer climate that's coming our way. That was one part not addressed in this book, as it wasn't known at the time.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews