Defending the Trees They Love
Activists put boots on the ground in defense of coastal redwood forests
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What happens when a species you love is threatened? These forest protectors summoned the courage to defend part of Mendocino County’s iconic redwood trees.
THE FOREST ACTIVISTS GATHERED AT 5 A.M in the pre-dawn dark, zipping up jackets against the cool coastal temperatures. They quietly entered the Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF), California's largest public "demonstration forest" at 48,652 acres, in the heart of the coastal redwood region.
These activists, some from the Mendocino Trail Stewards, blocked the logging road with their cars, somberly waiting for logging trucks and the sheriff to show up. They had been threatened with arrest and jail time on previous days.
They were there to block tree-felling operations and protest a Timber Harvest Plan (THP) called the Caspar 500. This THP would cut down over 500 acres of trees—including tall 150-year-old second-growth redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) near the town of Mendocino. The logging was going on despite significant public opposition.
This forest is managed by California's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire), the same agency that approves all timber harvest plans (THPs). The CalFire public comment period for this THP was in the spring of 2020, when all Californians were under mandatory "stay at home" rules, so the public was unaware of the proposed logging action.
This demonstration forest was meant to show that sustainable forest practices can coexist with public recreation. The preference seems to be for harvesting timber, though, as the JDSF website indicates some campsites are closed for the summer of 2021 to allow for logging.
Camping in a redwood to defend it
In a previous month, as part of the same protest, a young activist calling himself "Greasy Pete" had occupied a tall, coastal redwood nicknamed the "Mama Tree." He stayed for days on a small platform in the tree to keep it from being cut down. Others followed him.
Things came to a head for these protests in mid-June when hired tree fellers ignored safety protocols and continued felling redwood trees as close as six feet away from protestors and a passing trail cyclist. The logging operations were suspended in that part of JDSF in late June due to safety issues. CalFire also relented and unmarked the "Mama tree" redwood and a nearby "Papa tree" so they wouldn’t be cut.
Forest activists have continued rallies in the nearby town of Fort Bragg, and are asking for a two-year moratorium on logging in JDSF.
This is not the only forest activism. Locally, the Gualala River’s Dogwood Timber Harvest Plan is being contested in the courts. And up in Canada’s B.C, the Fairy Creek Blockade has made news with protests over old-growth logging on Vancouver Island. Many other timber harvest plans are causing grief for environmentalists who see forest loss as a setback to preserving species and keeping the climate crisis in check.
This story is not over yet. There is an ongoing debate between those who view forests as commodities (cutting down 97% of California's original giant coastal redwoods) and those who love those trees. Climate-aware citizens are hoping to keep the remaining second-growth redwoods standing for the environmental services they provide as well as for public recreation.
What makes people so attached to forests that they would put their lives in danger or risk jail time? Sentiment for forest preservation—especially older intact forests—seems to be growing stronger as ecological destruction is on the rise. People are witnessing the expanding effects of the climate crisis— extreme weather, mega-fires, deforestation, and dying of species—and saying "Enough!"
Whole forests/ primary forests
Whole "intact forests" or "primary forests" are areas that have had no industrial disturbance and retain a high ecological value for other species to use. They have a more complex understory of plant and animal life. These forests may be full of hundreds or even thousands of non-human species ranging from fungus to foxes and fir trees to falcons.
While California's JDSF is not a primary forest—it has been logged extensively since 1870– it does hold precious 100 to 150-year-old redwoods that are one of North America's top trees for carbon sequestration— consuming the CO2 that causes global warming.
Redwoods can live for 2,000 years or longer. Parts of this forest are on their way to becoming an intact forest if left undisturbed.
Forest advocates are now hoping to shift this publicly-owned state forest away from an emphasis on logging and lumber monetization (with six or more logging plans going in Spring 2021) and towards preserving the dwindling redwoods.
These tall and stately redwoods provide environmental services which can't be replaced after turning them into 2x4s or fence pickets. Trees take CO2 out of the air and give us back oxygen, help with climate stabilization, water conservation, and fire resistance. Logged areas become hotter, drier, and more susceptible to fires. Forests help cool a region and attract more rain.
“A typical tree will sequester (remove from the atmosphere) about 1 ton of carbon in its lifetime. A coast redwood will sequester 250 tons of carbon. Just one coast redwood has the ability to absorb as much carbon as 250 "regular" trees.”
Forbes magazine, The Best Way to Fight Climate Change, by Trevor Nace
These forests also provide homes for many other species, a valuable service in the time of Earth's 6th mass extinction event, with losses 100-1000 times higher than the background extinction rate. We need to be expanding wild habitat, not destroying it.
What progress are we making on deforestation?
Conversations about deforestation often center around preserving the tropical Amazonian forests. There needs to be an acknowledgment that deforestation is also a problem in North America and other Northern latitudes.
How is deforestation defined? It's when a forest or stand of trees is removed and converted to a different land use.
But what happens when a forest is clear-cut and left to regrow over decades or small seedling trees are planted between the stumps? In the narrow definition above, those scenarios are not counted as deforestation since there is no conversion to different land use. GlobalForestWatch.org tracks tree cover in the world. It shows a small net loss of tree cover in the U.S. in the last 20 years.
California signed onto the national 30 x 30 goal of protecting 30% of its lands by 2030. Putting plans on paper is good, but it has to be followed up with action if we are to make any progress. Maybe a good place to start is with protecting areas such as Jackson State Forest.
This is no longer a “business as usual” time. We need responsible, far-sighted leaders who will do whatever it takes to bring our world back to a safer place for life forms. Biodiversity and climate are interrelated systems.
During times of crisis, with heightened losses in the natural world and increased risks for us, our actions must be for the highest good of all. Our definition of all needs to expand to include the millions of species who inhabit this unique planet with us and keep us alive.
Forest protection is climate protection.
Did you miss the last article? It’s here- What the Songbirds Know
Coming soon: The enchantment of old forests— how medieval tales “planted” forests into our psyche— and what that means for our future.
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