Politics and giant sequoias

And the beat goes on ...

Volume 1, Number 17 - Monday, Nov. 28, 2022

President Bill Clinton signs a presidential proclamation creating Giant Sequoia National Monument on April 15, 2000. —William Vasta and White House Photograph Office via Clinton Presidential Library

Perspective

WHEN I HAD A CHANCE to visit my friend Gary Adest at River Ridge Ranch in Springville recently, we chatted briefly about giant sequoias and he reminded me about two presidents who made proclamations intended to protect the trees.

In 1992, President George H.W. Bush visited the Freeman Creek Grove to sign a presidential proclamation that, among other protections, determined that Giant Sequoia groves within the Sequoia, Sierra and Tahoe National Forests were not to be managed for timber production and not be included in the land base used to establish the allowable sale quantities for the affected national forests.

Many people believed this was sufficient protection as it added presidential power to the Mediated Settlement Agreement of 1990. 

Politics being what they are, there was a continued push by the Sierra Club and others for something more, and on April 15, 2000, President Bill Clinton was in the Long Meadow Grove to sign another presidential proclamation — this one creating Giant Sequoia National Monument.

You can watch and listen to the president here, on this video posted on the Clinton Presidential Center’s Facebook page. Sadly, the Facebook post indicates that on April 15, 2000, the president signed a proclamation creating Sequoia National Park! Nope, the national park was established in 1890. More than four dozen comments on the post (until mine), didn’t make note of that error.

Which is, among other things, part of the problem with politicians and giant sequoia trees. Most of them show up for the photo opp, but don’t really have a clue what’s going on.

I can’t remember the exact year, but sometime in the early 2000s, I met the entourage of Sen. Dianne Feinstein near Camp Nelson where the senator from California was said to be seeing giant sequoia trees for the first time in her life. She had supported the Clinton proclamation and enthused that the new national monument would be good for the local economy — and was a senator from California — but apparently had never previously visited a giant sequoia grove.

But, back to presidents. Bush, the elder, and Clinton were not the first presidents to take action to protect giant sequoias. That honor goes to President Benjamin Harrison, who signed the legislation creating Sequoia National Park. It was, in fact, the first national park formed to protect a living organism.

As I’ve written earlier, the Save Our Sequoia Act was introduced in the House earlier this year by Rep. Kevin McCarthy and others. A Senate version was introduced by Feinstein and Senator Alex Padilla. A number of environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club, came out in opposition. Now McCarthy seems poised to become Speaker of the House and Arkansas Republican Rep. Bruce Westerman will be chair of the House Natural Resources Committee.

In an interview earlier this month, The Hill said Westerman “named forestry as an area of potential common ground, referencing the Save Our Sequoias Act introduced by himself and California Reps. Kevin McCarthy (R) and Scott Peters (D). Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate by California Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D) and Alex Padilla (D).”

If some version of the legislation is ultimately passed, a signature on the bill by President Joe Biden may be added to presidential protections of giant sequoias.

I have to wonder, if this comes to pass might yet another president travel west to see the giant marvels of our Sierra Nevada forests? 

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Giant sequoias in the news

• LX News, part of NBC, recently produced an informative video that you can watch here. The headline is eye-catching: “Giant Sequoias Have Survived Thousands of Years, but They May Not Last Much Longer,” but among those interviewed is Gretchen Fitzgerald, ecosystem staff officer for Sequoia National Forest, who said she has a lot of hope that the emergency work underway can make a difference.

• A CBS report out of Michigan here tells the story of efforts of the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive to collect samples from sequoias and redwoods, clone them, then replant them in places that need to be reforested.

• I had a chance to get to know the venerable Douglas fir when I lived in Oregon for six years. These are impressive trees and their image is featured on the state’s license plates. So I was surprised to read here that a giant sequoia tree has been planted in front of the Douglas County, Oregon, courthouse in Roseville to become the community Christmas tree. From the report: “In 2020, Douglas County Commissioners brought a living 20-foot giant sequoia tree, a hardier species than the Douglas fir, to the courthouse lawn. The tree is expected to grow and delight Douglas County residents for many generations to come. The tree has been named the Douglas County Heritage Christmas Tree.”

Historic photo of the week

Here’s a new feature I hope you will enjoy.

Howard Stagner, Giant Forest Village, Sequoia National Park

This photo, from around 1949, shows vehicles in the snow in front of a group of giant sequoia trees called the Three Graces, in Sequoia National Park.

Giant sequoias around the world

Every week I search for interesting stories about giant sequoia trees living outside their natural range. Here’s one about a tree in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Not only has it been growing there (elevation about 7,199 feet) for 80 or more years, but in November 2019 the 70-foot tall tree was transplanted to another location in downtown Santa Fe. By July 2020, the tree was showing signs of stress but was believed to have survived. The tree and two ponderosa pines growing nearby were moved to make room for an underground parking lot. I’m hoping to get some more up to date information on how the tree is doing.

Want more?

GIANTSEQUOIANEWS.COM is also a website where you can find more information about giant sequoia trees, wildfire, the public land management conundrum and more.

Thanks for reading!