Giant sequoia issues and Kevin McCarthy
Will his ouster from the Speaker role make a difference?
Volume 2, Number 17 - Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023
Published twice a week, on Monday and Thursday
Perspective
FOR ABOUT NINE MONTHS, the congressman who represents California’s 20th District — home to a large number of giant sequoia groves — was the Speaker of the House.
His ouster on Oct. 3 was just after a government shutdown was narrowly averted, angering some representatives in the right wing of the Republican legislator’s party.
Kevin McCarthy is from Bakersfield, only about 40 miles from where I live in Tehachapi. As I imagine you know, he was barely elected to the Speaker role in January.
He also, in 2022 and earlier this year, co-sponsored the bipartisan Save Our Sequoias Act. I’ve written about the proposal to provide funding and controversy over some of the components of the bill a number of times.
There are people in McCarthy’s district who support the approach of the SOS Act, including more thinning and fuel reduction projects — and others who don’t.
I had to wonder, as the actions in the House of Representatives began to unfold, what impact the political situation might have on the SOS Act. Some might say it’s toast — and others might say it was anyway.
E&E Daily and other publications have carried articles speculating on what McCarthy’s fall might mean for environment and energy policy. You can read E&E’s article HERE. Politico has an article HERE, and here’s an excerpt:
Kevin McCarthy is not a climate advocate by any means.
But the former House speaker — ousted this week in a hard-right revolt — had left the door open, or at least ajar, to some environmental policies, like planting trees to store carbon and faster permitting for major energy projects.
Prior to the House vote that led to keeping the government open for 45 more days — and McCarthy’s ouster — I considered some of the impacts such a closure would mean, specifically from the perspective of giant sequoias.
Although many wildfires are winding down and we’ve had a pretty tame year, firefighters would still be expected to work but wouldn’t know when they would be paid. Vendors who support their efforts might continue to provide supplies but also wouldn’t know when they would be paid. National forests and parks would be closed, and many projects would come to a standstill. I’m sure others could add to this list.
We’re still just weeks away from similar peril.
I would prefer not to have to be concerned with these politics. I would like to think that we elect representatives, and they head off to Sacramento or Washington and take care of the people’s business.
Obviously, from conflicts over giant sequoia management to conflicts over just about everything else, that’s not the way things are.
This is among the reasons I’m so happy to have some work from Jim Hamerly to share with you today. Politics are what they are, but it’s great to see people can still be passionately productive.
You may recall that in June, I wrote about Hamerly’s success growing giant sequoias in an unlikely place, California’s San Diego County. You can read that piece HERE.
And now, he is sharing a paper he recently completed, which you will find below (adapted for web publication). Thanks, Jim!
The Introduction of Sequoias on Palomar Mountain, California
By Jim Hamerly
Special to Giant Sequoia News
IMAGINE YOUR great, great, …, great-grandchildren and future generations marveling at the majesty of a mature giant sequoia forest on Palomar Mountain, California. This article presents data and arguments for reintroducing sequoias in the Palomar Mountain area. Our actions today can make that possible.
On the destruction of forests on Palomar Mountain
Fires and logging reduced the number of trees of all species on Palomar Mountain starting in the late 1800s. Historical fire data show that nearly all of Palomar Mountain was burned after 1897 (Databasin, 2023), as shown in Figure 1. A 20-acre parcel I own was nearly wholly burned in 1924. The dating by ring count of more than a dozen of the largest trees on my property indicates no trees older than one hundred years, giving credence to the 1924 burn date. Furthermore, there has been some accumulated forest loss in the Palomar region in the last 20 years for numerous reasons, as shown in Figure 2.
Sequoias once grew throughout the Northern Hemisphere (The Giant Sequoia of the Sierra Nevada), and today, many of the remaining giant sequoias live in about seventy-three groves scattered along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada. Sequoias may have once been present at the higher altitudes of southern California and Palomar Mountain, but I have not yet found any confirming data.
On the introduction of sequoias
After the logging and fires, sequoias were introduced in the Palomar Mountain area by Gus Weber in the 1950s. Gus was an employee of Caltech’s Palomar Observatory and was hired for an afforestation effort. I have located and cataloged at least forty-four sequoia trees on Caltech’s property that he planted and many others in the surrounding areas that he donated to private landowners who then planted them.
I have been a property owner on Palomar Mountain since 2002, with twenty acres of forested land adjoining the Cleveland National Forest. I grow sequoias from seed and from purchased seedlings, with over seventy sequoias on my property. I also locate and catalog the known sequoia trees on the mountain, which now number over 250. Sequoias on west-facing slopes facing the ocean and above 4,000 feet thrive on Palomar, and I have observed no unhealthy trees. My property has the following climate characteristics that are very favorable to sequoias:
Altitude above 5400 feet.
Average annual temperature 52 degrees F.
Average annual humidity 56%.
Average annual rainfall is 31” per year and 26” of snowfall.
Average solar radiation of over two hundred watts/square meter (27,000 lux).
West-facing slope to the ocean with over two hundred days annually where coastal fog rolls in.
Monthly rainfall and snowfall data are displayed in Figure 3, below.
These climate characteristics compare very favorably with those of the Sequoia National Park, the location of many of the largest and oldest northern California sequoias. Sequoia National Park has a lower average temperature of 40 degrees F and slightly lower average humidity of 47% but is similar in other respects.
Assisted migration of sequoias
Afforestation and reforestation efforts are not unique to Palomar Mountain; assisted migration of sequoia trees is common and supported in popular literature (National Park Service Artificial Regeneration of the Giant Sequoias, 2009; Blogger, 2022). Assisted migration of sequoias can also be found in Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom among many other countries (Giant Sequoia News).
Palomar Mountain is typical in southern California in its sequoia reforestation initiatives; the National Forest Service sequoia plantings have been made in the San Gabriel, San Bernardino, and San Jacinto Mountains (Schmid & Schmid, 2012). A map of sequoias I have located in southern California is shown in Figure 4. The sequoias introduced in the San Jacinto Mountains are in at least two locations: the Black Mountain Trail Grove, with over 150 sequoias, and the Lake Fulmore Grove. Both sites are approximately thirty-four miles north of Palomar Mountain with similar climates and are thriving and regenerating prolifically. They are described as naturalized alien species (Schmid & Schmid, 2013).
Similarly, the San Bernardino Mountains have at least two groves, one at Oak Glen Preserve with ten older and nearly three hundred newly planted specimens and the Heaps Peak Arboretum. Figures 5 and 6 illustrate some recent photos from those groves. Both locations have populations that are naturalizing and regenerating. That these four populations are naturalizing and regenerating is compelling evidence that the sequoias can be a vibrant species in these higher altitudes of southern California. Such regeneration suggests that we should acknowledge the naturalization of this species in the state and regional floras and checklists for montane southern California.
State and commercial nurseries aid assisted migration. California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection nursery at the L.A. Moran Reforestation Center propagates trees from the seed they collect and grow in state-of-the-art greenhouses. Because growing from seed can take an entire year before the seedlings are ready to be planted, this nursery works with public and private forests to forecast where demand will be for future seasons. Many of their sequoias are reserved for Sierra reforestation, but the center has also provided seedlings for my Palomar Mountain afforestation effort. I have a request for 1,000 sequoia seedlings for spring 2025.
On the success of the introduction of sequoias on Palomar Mountain
The sequoia location map in Figure 7 and sample images in Figures 8, 9, and 10 support the success of reintroducing sequoias in the Palomar Mountain region. All are thriving; I have not observed any unhealthy sequoias of those cataloged. Furthermore, there is now evidence of regeneration of sequoias on Palomar Mountain as shown in figure 11.
Growing more sequoias on Palomar Mountain
Starting from seeds collected in the Sierras, I germinate and plant sequoias on my property and purchase seedlings from various commercial growers to provide source diversity (Sequoia suppliers). I also distribute between 50 and 100 seedlings to nearby property owners every spring. Eligible properties must be at a 4,000-foot altitude or higher and have a water supply through underground aquifers and coastal fog to increase the chances of long-term survival. Most are on west-facing properties with the ocean approximately thirty miles west. Depending upon demand, we plan to continue distributing between 50-100 seedlings each spring, with a plan for 1,000 seedlings in 2025.
Long-term protection of sequoias on Palomar Mountain
For sequoias to continue to thrive, legal and fire protection is essential. Caltech will likely continue providing legal protection for the sequoias at Palomar Observatory to prevent them from being logged or harvested. I am considering placing my property in a conservation easement that would protect my sequoias in perpetuity, and I am encouraging other private landowners to do the same.
Since sequoias tend to live in fire-prone regions, fire prevention is essential, especially when the trees are young. Protecting sequoias from a fire can be helped in at least three ways:
Maintain a minimum distance between sequoias, typically 50-100 feet, and any other taller growth that might ignite the sequoia’s crown in a fire.
Trimming or “limbing up” the lower 12-20 feet of the sequoias and any neighboring trees to reduce the chance of lower limb ignition.
Clearing underbrush regularly to reduce underbrush or grass fires from igniting the tree. Once established, giant sequoias can protect themselves against natural threats, allowing them to survive for thousands of years. They are too massive to be blown over in the wind, and their bark is thick and rich in tannins, which protect them against fire and insect damage. Further, evidence of regeneration in the southern mountain ranges at higher elevations can lead to successful re-propagation of the groves.
Conclusion
Over 750 sequoias have been cataloged and are growing at higher elevations in southern California and specifically the elevated regions of Palomar Mountain. However, logging and fires burned many trees after 1897, much like other areas of the Northern Hemisphere. The introduction of sequoias resulted in the prolific regeneration of at least five groves in southern California. The introduction of sequoias in the Palomar Mountain area was done in the 1950s and was restarted in the early 2000s. The high-altitude climate, generous rainfall and snowfall, and coastal fog have resulted in over 250 sequoias thriving in the area. I will continue championing more sequoia planting and encourage local landowners and regional forestry personnel to join me.
References
Databasin. (2023). [Dataset]. Conservation Biology Institute. https://databasin.org/
Giant Sequoia News. (n.d.). Giant Sequoia News. https://giantsequoias.substack.com/
Global Forest Watch. (n.d.). [Dataset]. https://www.globalforestwatch.org/
The Giant Sequoia of the Sierra Nevada. (n.d.). https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/science/hartesveldt/index.htm
Libby, W. (2016). Why Are Coast Redwood And Giant Sequoia Not Where They Are Not? In Proceedings of the Coast Redwood Science Symposium.
National Park Service Artificial Regeneration of the Giant Sequoias. (2009). National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/cook/sec10.htm
Schmid, R., & Schmid, M. (2012). Naturalization of Sequoiadendron Giganteum in montane Southern California. Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Aliso, 30(1). Pp. 19–32.
Schmid, R., & Schmid, M. (2013). Sequoiadendron giganteum at Lake Fulmor, Riverside County, California. Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany, 30(2), 5.
Blogger, G. (2022). To Save Giant Sequoia Trees, Maybe It’s Time to Plant Backups. https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2021/03/15/save-giant-sequoias-plant-backups/
You can reach Hamerly by email: hamerly@gmail.com. He can provide resources for giant sequoia seedlings. Hamerly has also started a petition at change.org to raise awareness for his efforts to have Cleveland National Forest agree to plant giant sequoias, as San Bernardino and San Jacinto national forests have done, and to have Save the Redwoods League acknowledge and list the five regenerating sequoia groves in southern California. You can review his petition HERE.
Wildfire, water & weather update
Yes, temperatures are heading upwards in Central California, but the forecast for the mountains is still pretty pleasant, with no red flag warnings or precipitation coming up. The best Sierra Nevada weather forecasts can be found at NWS Hanford, HERE, and NWS Sacramento, HERE.
Wildfire update: The Redwood Fire in Sequoia National Park — at 1,957 acres on Sept. 30, and there has been no update since — and the Quarry Fire on Stanislaus National Forest — at 5,557 acres yesterday with 13% containment — continue to be the only two large wildfires burning in Central California.
Prescribed burning of various types continues at many locations in the Sierra Nevada.
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Giant sequoias in the news
More news on Monday!
Giant sequoia around the world
A recent SFGate article discusses how giant sequoia trees came to be planted in England and calls the trees “Queen Victoria’s status symbol.” According to the author, more than 10,000 giant sequoias are believed to be growing in Europe. The oldest are about 170 years old. You can read more (and see a few photos) HERE.
Thanks for reading!