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9 PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

In “Tree: A New Vision of The American Forest”, renowned photographerJames Balog invites the reader on an intimate journey: an exploration ofAmerica’s most magnificent trees. Balog traversed the country in search of thelargest, oldest and strongest trees in America, capturing each in a series ofinnovative multiple-exposure photographs. When stitched together thiscollection of photographs offers a unique portrait of these champions.

The coast redwood and giant sequoia presented a special challenge. How tophotograph the tallest and most massive trees on earth? Balog teamed up with Dr. Steven Sillet and fellow redwoodscientists whose research the League has supported to adapt techniques developed to access redwood canopies in pursuitof scientific inquiry. Suspended on climbing ropes, Balog spent hours climbing up and rappelling down these redwoods.Balog has gone beyond the classic redwood photo and invites us to explore every inch of these complex trees. Many ofthe coast redwoods recorded in the book were protected through the work of the League and the support of ourmembers over the past 88 years. Balog allows us all to experience these trees anew.

[published by Barnes and Noble Books, New York. $50.00]

BOOK REVIEW

Tree: A New Vision of The American Forest

Save-the-Redwoods LeagueSpringBulletin 2005

Paragon Grove, Mill CreekPhoto by Evan Johnson

Donor HighlightSamantha Campbell’s first visit to a redwood forest was in 1995, during a drive thatbegan in her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. “I felt like I was back in aprehistoric time. I remember feeling very small, like I could hide under a fern leaf.”She couldn’t have imagined then that she would later be involved with Save-the-Redwoods League as a foundation donor. Her father started The Keith CampbellFoundation for the Environment which focuses on marine conservation in theChesapeake Bay. Samantha moved to San Francisco and expanded the reach of thefoundation to the west coast in 2003.

Recently, The Campbell Foundation made a $40,000 grant to the League’s MillCreek restoration project. The astounding $140,000 from members in response tothe League’s request for Mill Creek donations was one reason the CampbellFoundation decided to support the project. “The project benefits the runs for nativespecies of trout and endangered salmon. The health of the forest and the health ofthe rivers and creeks are intertwined, and the League recognizes this. They set a verygood example. The League has an innovative restoration plan that may serve as amodel for future work in other regions. They are approaching this project with along-sightedness and collaborative spirit that we appreciate.”

Samantha CampbellPhoto by Dean Scheben

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Letter from the Executive DirectorT he forest slopes steeply down from ridge-top to a long-

abandoned millpond. Ferns reach shoulder high. Massivefallen trees lead to the foot of an ancient monarch more than sixteenfeet in diameter. Deeply furrowed bark stretches upward past thickbranches high above, the lofty crown out of sight. The quiet of theforest amplifies the excitement: an all too-rare opportunity to protectanother grove of ancient redwoods!

Negotiations are underway, confidential untilagreement is reached. This represents the heart of theLeague’s work, the legacy that League memberscontinue to create: the bridge from the distant pastinto the unforeseeable future.

Elsewhere in the redwoods, in the Santa Cruz mountainregion, negotiations continue for purchase of severalredwood forest stands made possible by gifts fromLeague members in the closing weeks of 2004 thatexceeded the $100,000 challenge grant from the EvelynTilden Mohrhardt Fund. Identified in the League’sMaster Plan for the region, these parcels will increasethe viability of existing parks and reserves and extendprotection to privately-owned ancient redwood forests.

Today the League’s conservation strategies reachbeyond purchase of sensitive lands from willing sellersat fair market value. You will read in this Bulletin anin-depth article about continuing restoration at MillCreek. By applying careful science and professionalexperience the League and the California StateDepartment of Parks and Recreation work, often withheavy equipment, to restore complexity to these youngplantation forests: setting them on the path to recoveryand the opportunity for future generations to wonderat a towering redwood forest once more. It’s anambitious but necessary project.

But work on a human scale, is also important in forestrestoration. This winter, on League-owned land justsouth of Richardson Grove State Park, more than 45League members and local residents gathered to plant

600 young trees. The week before, crews pulledtruckloads of French and Scotch broom. These non-native plants had invaded stream banks and channels,choking out native plants that host the diversity of theredwoods’ birds and wildlife. Winter rains thefollowing week watered the seedlings, grown fromseeds collected on the property and nurtured in aLeague-supported nursery for several years by dedicatedState Park personnel.

Engagement by League members through restorationprojects such as these and through your gifts are at thevery heart of the effectiveness of the League’s work tosave the redwoods. I was recently interviewed by areporter from the San Francisco Business Journal. Itold her that one of the most inspiring aspects of mywork is the deep personal satisfaction that ourmembers and supporters get from engaging with theLeague, stemming from their connection with theredwoods.

We read and are renewed by your stories, yourmemories, your dedication and commitment to theredwoods. Many of you recall your first visit to theredwoods as a young child with your family. Othersremember a single visit fifty years before that changedyour life. Still others have never been to the redwoodsbut take hope, “just knowing that they are there.”

Thank you for making the League and the sense ofwonder created by the redwoods an important partof your life.

Phot

o by

Fre

d M

ertz

Mill Creek Restorationn 2002, the League spearheaded the purchase of a 25,000-acre redwood

forest near the Oregon border that had been logged aggressively for fourdecades. Now, the League finds itself on the leading edge of science, andconservation, as it works with various partners to restore what was once amagnificent primeval forest.

I

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The Big PictureThe goal at Mill Creek is to support and accelerate theforest’s recovery, to approximate in one century whatwould otherwise, best case scenario, require a thousandyears or more. This experiment is so important that, ifit succeeds, it could be the key to the long-term healthof the whole redwood ecosystem.

As readers may remember, more than 95% of theoriginal coast redwood forest has been logged.Remnants of the ancient redwood forest are so few andso widely scattered that the redwood ecosystem as awhole is in danger of permanent, fundamentaltransformation involving the loss of native plant andwildlife communities and disruption of their naturalinterrelationships.

According to League Executive Director KateAnderton, fragmented patches of old forest can become“tree zoos” that are neither large enough to support

wildlife, nor resilientenough to survivechange. These patchescannot function in thesame way that anuninterrupted expanseof redwoods can. Forexample, in smallpatches, the complexlife in the canopies ofancient redwoods highabove the forest floor,only recentlydiscovered, cannotsurvive. The absence ofgiant long-lived treesinfluences the shape

and character of streams and fundamentally changesthe light and temperature of the forest. “In order topreserve the redwood forest as a living, workingsystem,” Anderton concludes, “we need to provide asmuch connection as reasonably possible, as soon asreasonably possible, among the remaining ancientgroves.”

In order to achieve this goal, the League first needs toanswer two critical questions: how to restore degradedlands, and where restoration projects should ideally belocated. Mill Creek links the pristine ancient redwoodforests of Jedediah Smith and Del Norte CoastRedwoods State Parks and the inland reserves of theKlamath-Siskiyou bioregion: ideally located to serve asa prime laboratory for discovering “how.” Lessons fromMill Creek will inform restoration at priority locationselsewhere in the redwoods, identified through the

Map by GreenInfo Network www.greeninfo.org

Photo by Evan Johnson

League’s on-going study of the twomillion acres of the redwood’s entireoriginal range. These two projectswill provide a strong scientific basisfor efforts to ensure the long-termhealth of the whole redwoodecosystem.

All Deliberate SpeedForest restoration can be extremelytime sensitive. This is because, atleast in some areas, restoration willrequire the ecological thinning oftrees. Yet thinning, as it turns out, isnot likely to succeed at Mill Creekif foresters wait more than a decadeto begin.

Most of the Mill Creek forest wasclear-cut in theforty years beforeits purchase. Eachyear after logging,young redwoodand Douglas firwere planted intidy rows. ButDouglas-fir seedsblew in, caughthold and thrivedcreating such adense tangle thatvisitors must crawlthrough many ofthese “single-aged”stands on their

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“The forest will teach us, if we listen. Listening is the key to all good science, and good conservation.”

Todd DawsonProfessor of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley

hands and knees. Because of theunnatural competition for light andnutrients, young redwood treesacross much of the Mill Creekproperty are either suppressedbeneath a dark canopy of Douglas-fir or are wispy and elongated, withminimal foliage. In a decade or sothe foliage will dwindle to a tinyflag at the top of each tree, severelydiminishing the tree’s capacity tofeed itself through photosynthesis.At that point, no amount ofthinning would help thesechronically stressed redwoods growto healthy maturity.

If thinning is to help these youngredwoods “release” into their naturalgrowth pattern, thinning must takeplace soon. This rapid timelineposes a challenge. Those working atMill Creek must act in this windowof opportunity, the science ofrestoration is still in its infancy, andmuch about the redwood ecosystemis still unknown.

Fostering Complexity,Building KnowledgeAccording to Mike Camann, anentomologist from Humboldt StateUniversity who studiesmicroorganisms in the soil ofancient forests, “The concept of anecosystem is actually quite new.”

We know a lot,Camann says,about individualflora and fauna inthe redwoodforest, especiallythose that arethreatened orendangered. “Butas for theoverarchingprocesses thatconnect all thespecies – theselargely remain amystery.”

arranges everything approximately asnature intended – complex questionsremain. Will getting the largerstructure in place automaticallyreplenish all the other elements, frombirds and beasts to ferns and lichen,which together constitute afunctioning ecosystem?

At present, no one is entirely sure ifrestoration can recreate the wholeecosystem, down to the deep organicsoils, microorganisms, and labyrinthsof underground fungi that help theredwoods grow. “Nature is not onlymore complex than we think,” musesnaturalist Rick Hiser, who leads toursof the restoration for California StateParks. “Nature is more complex thanwe can think.”

Todd Dawson, Professor of IntegrativeBiology at Berkeley and also amember of the League’s Board ofCouncillors, agrees that much isunknown, and perhaps never can beknown, about the redwood forest. Butthat, he says, is hardly a reason todelay the work at Mill Creek. “Thejury is still out,” Dawson admits, “onwhether strategic intervention canhelp heal a damaged ecosystem. Butas a scientist I’m comfortable withthat. We assess all the information wehave, then say, ‘let’s try this.’ That’show science advances.”

Those restoring Mill Creek, day-inand day-out, are also comfortablewith the creative tension of actingwithout knowing all the answers.Steve Horvitz, District Superintendentfor California State Parks, says that hisstaff is trained to respond to researchas it evolves. “We stay alert,” explainsHorvitz. “We constantly adjust.”

Mill Creek, in fact, has the potentialto become the laboratory in whicheveryone learns more about theredwood ecosystem. The League

What this means for Mill Creek isthat aspects of the restorationinvolving individual species aregrounded in a plethora of data.Habitat for salmon and trout willbe protected, thanks to acommitment by the CaliforniaDepartment of Parks andRecreation to remove hundreds ofmiles of old logging roads thatcontribute excessive sediment thatcould clog spawning beds in MillCreek. Other threatened andendangered species, such as thenorthern spotted owl, are carefullymonitored, and restoration activitiesmodified if stress is detected.

But restoration of the forest as awhole has propelled those workingat Mill Creek toward the periphery

of existing science. Thinning forecological reasons is a perfect example.Researchers can easily measure thenumber of trees per acre in an ancientredwood forest. And enough trees –most often commercially plantedDouglas fir – can be removed to hastenthe Mill Creek forest toward thatdensity. But those working on therestoration are challenged when it comesto recreating the complex, apparentlyrandom pattern of trees in an ancientforest. Imitating the effects of sun andshade, wind and fire, viruses, beetles,and famished young bears, all operatingover the course of centuries, is easier saidthan done. (See sidebar: Nature’s Design)

Even if thinning restores the redwoods’dominance, clears space for young treesto sprout among their elders, and

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Photo by Stephen Corley

NATURE’S DESIGN

How to mimic natural patternswhile thinning a stand of trees is amatter of debate. One technique,now being tested at Mill Creek,involves sending sawyers into testplots with a chain saw in one handand a pair of dice in another.“Humans tend toward uniformity,”explains Kevin O’Hara, Professorof Silviculture at Berkeley’s Collegeof Natural Resources, whosuggested this method. “The diceare a simple way to introducechaos into the stand.”

Forester Jim Able, another expertworking on the restoration, agreesthat humans need help imitatingthe patterns of nature: “Peoplelove square corners and thingsthat come out mathematically.Nature doesn’t.” Able emphasizesintuitive selection, a techniqueused by commercial growers thateasily adapts to serve restorationgoals. By observing the form of thetree and its place in the forest, Ablecan tell from decades of experiencewhich trees would tend to survive.He can actually see the shape ofthe natural forest. As he removes atree here, a tree there, he prunesaway everything that does notcorrespond to the quintessentialform of an ancient forest.

Both the scientist’s dice and theforester’s intuitive pruning havetheir virtues. The League islearning how to combine thesetechniques. Over time studies withrigorous controls will reveal theapproach that benefits Mill Creek.

Northern Spotted OwlPhoto by Jack Harper

Ruskin Hartley, League Staff (left) and RickSermon, retired, California Dept. of Parksand Recreation. Photo by Evan Johnson

Photo by League Staff

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Late in 2004, the Leaguecompleted the purchase of 80 acreson the southern boundary ofPfeiffer Big Sur State Park. Theseller agreed to a substantialdiscount because the League couldmake an unconditional offer tocomplete the transaction in a veryshort timeframe. This was madepossible only because of gifts fromLeague donors.

Post Creek tumbles downwardthrough the property, its banksshaded by a beautiful maturesecond growth redwood forest thatreaches upslope to the mesquiteand grass covered hills of thecentral coast. The addition of thePost Creek property to Pfeiffer BigSur, anticipated for fall 2005, willexpand the thousand-acre park andadd easy access from Highway 1immediately across from the BigSur Post Office and Café - a welcome easy opportunityfor Big Sur visitors to get out of their cars and into theredwoods.

Pfeiffer Big Sur was created in 1933 when the Pfeifferfamily made a discounted sale of their ranch to theState. Matching public funds were available from theState’s first Park Bond passed in 1927 – a campaignspearheaded by the League. Post Creek joins the BigSur River which runs for several miles through the park

sheltered by redwoods, cottonwoods,big leaf maples, sycamore and oaks.

The Post Creek addition is thesecond in recent years undertaken bythe League. In the late 1990’s, theLeague purchased and donated 155acres to extend the Park northwardto include a beautiful stand of oldgrowth redwoods running along BigSur River and a sunny meadow. Parkstaff recently identified six newgroves in this area that are nowavailable for dedication through theLeague’s Memorial Grove Program.League donors interested indesignating a grove through a gift tothe League ensure that the beautyand grandeur of the redwoods willcontinue to inspire futuregenerations. More information onthe program is available bycontacting Angela Dugan (415-362-2352, ext. 303) at the

League’s offices.

Pfeiffer Big Sur is one of the area’s most popular parks.Its campgrounds fill early. Its trails and swimmingholes make it a particularly popular summerdestination. Since re-introduction of the CaliforniaCondor several years ago, birds can often be seen inwinter in the redwoods near the Big Sur Lodge in thepark. Make plans now to visit Pfeiffer Big Sur this year!(www.parks.ca.gov)

League’s Purchase Expands Park

Post Creek Photo by Fred Mertz

Looking northwest from the Post Creek purchasePhoto by Fred Mertz

envisions a comprehensiveinquiry involving a teamof hydrologists,geologists, biologists, andforesters who can togetherproduce integratedresearch on the flora,fauna, soil, climate, andwaterways of the MillCreek property, withfunding stable enough tolast for several decades.“That is the only way,”says League ExecutiveDirector Kate Anderton,“we will ever begin tounderstand the whole array of organisms and processes that make a redwood forest aredwood forest.” And that, in turn, is the only way we can continue to learn how torestore this ecosystem.

Listening to the ForestNot only is Mill Creek a priceless opportunity to advance the understanding of forestrestoration; it is also a lesson in humility. It was heedless human action, in the firstplace, that caused the conversion of an infinitely complex ancient forest into asimplified tree farm. It is important to make sure that heedless, single-mindedness nottake over the delicate sensitivity required for successful restoration. For even the most well-meaning biologists can blunder in their efforts to help natureheal. Experts in aquatic habitat, for example, spent decades urging landowners tosweep salmon streams of all woody debris in order to ease the passage of spawningfish – only to discover that resulting increased water velocity destroyed spawningpools and devastated the species they were so eager to protect.

Years ago, physician Lewis Thomas wrote that if he were given the choice betweenpiloting a 747 to an emergency landing, or trying to run his own liver for thirtyseconds, he would choose the 747 hands down. “For I am,” he admitted,“considerably less intelligent than my liver.”

That, in a nutshell, is the League’sattitude toward the forest at MillCreek. No one has any idea, truly,how to “run” the redwood ecosystem,toward healing or any other goal.Those involved in the restoration canonly stand humbly before the forest,poised to learn. In the words ofecologist and League Councillor ToddDawson, “The forest will teach us, ifwe listen.” For, as Dawson puts it,“listening is the key to all goodscience, and good conservation.”

(continued from page 5)TOUR MILL CREEKThis summer, take advantage ofa rare opportunity to tour theMill Creek restoration withnaturalists knowledgeable aboutthe flora, fauna, history, andfuture of the redwood ecosystem.For details or to make areservation, call our office at(415) 362-2352.

While you are in the area, do notmiss out on the various state andnational parks near the MillCreek property. Since it may bedifficult for travelers to chooseamong all the tempting naturalsites in this area, League staffmember, Dan Porter, has agreedto reveal his favorite spot:

The Damnation Creek Trail inDel Norte Coast Redwoods StatePark is my new favorite! It is asteep 1.2 - 1.5 mile trail that

dives off the first ocean bluffthrough mixed redwood/Douglasfir forests, descends into pureredwood groves and wind-tattered spruce forests, then endsin coastal bluff scrub habitatwhere Damnation Creek spillsinto the Pacific. It is a wildportion of our remarkable NorthCoast that appears to be lightlytraveled, despite its easy accessoff of Highway 101.

For more information, seewww.parks.ca.gov

Excavators and bulldozers work in tandem to remove logging roads.Photo by League Staff

Recently de-commissioned logging road; forest of thefuture is on its way.Photo by League Staff

Map by GreenInfo Network www.greeninfo.org

Dan Porter, Staff Forest EcologistPhoto by League Staff