Go to update: June 20, 2022
Go to update: November 15, 2021
Update: Since this article was published, the clearcut has become much, much bigger. More roads were cut. More trees were marked. Sequoia seedlings were bulldozed. See the update: Save the Redwoods League Continues Logging the Sequoia Forest.
8/5/21: Save the Redwoods has clear-cut a slope in the southeast corner of Alder Creek Grove. Trucks piled high with trees regularly exit the forest as the logging continues unabated. Save the Redwoods is exacerbating climate change by removing carbon as well as dramatically increasing intense heat and aridity. Further, they are destroying vital wildlife habitat. This is spotted owl territory.
Picture: Save the Redwoods clear-cut on August 5, 2021.
Save the Redwoods League has begun to commercially log their section of Alder Creek Grove. They plan to sell two million board feet from the grove that just suffered the 2020 SQF Complex / Castle Fire. Most of the SRL land was subject to light to moderate burning, with a few areas of severe burn. The fire cleared debris nicely and prepared the forest for new trees. Logging will destroy all new seedlings that have begun coming up and remove all chance of natural forest regeneration. Wind will also increase greatly in this area, leading to more severe fire in the future.
SRL has already ruined Alder Creek Grove by planting non-native sequoia seedlings. If these seedlings survive, the grove will be forever altered. Alder Creek will no longer be a natural, native sequoia grove, but a genetically modified product of human meddling. And there’s no need for it. The sequoias on SRL land are regenerating just fine all on their own.
Photo: Thinning project on SRL land completed in summer 2020 that didn’t prevent giant sequoias in the area from being killed by fire. Nothing stops severe wind-driven fire. It burns the smallest of grasses and shrubs and doesn’t need trees to do become an unstoppable inferno. It hops several lanes of highway and skips over rivers with ease. Excessive tree cutting only makes the land more hot and more dry. It also promotes wildfire by increasing wind, a critical factor that’s largely ignored. Wildfires are big business in California, with millions of dollars being made working fires as well as “restoration” efforts that are doing more harm than good. What we really need is cooler weather, more snowpack, and more moisture. We can make that happen if we choose more wisely.
About the Author:
Sue Cag is a musician, artist, writer, photographer, and nature preservationist.
All photos and video by Sue Cag. All Rights Reserved. Photos and video may not be used without permission.
