Save-the-Redwoods LeagueSpring Bulletin 2007

Hyperion, the world’s tallest living thingphoto: Phil Schermeister

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In the nine years that I have worked at the League –most recently as Conservation and Education Director– I have learned great respect for what can be achievedby a succession of dedicated individuals that maintainstheir focus for almost 90 years. It is a privilege and apleasure to be part of that mission.

Growing up in England, much of my childhood wasspent outdoors. The hedgerow between our house andour neighbors was my climbing gym, and thecoppiced woodland at the foot of the garden was mypersonal wild forest where friends and I would play forhours until summoned home. Before I left foruniversity, my family moved to the edge of AshdownForest – a large area of open space originally reservedin 1296 as a game reserve for deer – and now one ofsouthern England’s precious green spaces. It is not aforest in the typical sense but rather a heather andbracken-covered land with pockets of deciduouswoodland. Its medieval boundary is marked withancient trees and one such tree was adjacent to ourgarden — a massive beech I could climb and sitamidst spreading limbs in a green and gold roomdappled with sun.

I was reminded of climbing this ancient beech treewhen, in September, I watched Steve Sillett and hisfellow scientists ascend Hyperion – the world’s tallesttree – to determine its exact height and to record itsdimensions for scientific study. This new discovery inRedwood National Park has been reported around theworld, re-kindling interest in the redwood forest fromNew York to New Zealand to New Delhi. As you willread in this Bulletin, Hyperion was found in a smallfragment of ancient forest, less than 200 feet from aclear-cut edge.

Executive Director Ruskin Hartley.

Letter from the Executive Director

The League continues its commitment to protectingthe ancient forest through acquiring land andexpanding our parks. In this Bulletin you’ll read about20 acres of ancient redwoods, formerly owned byPacific Lumber Company, that were recently protectedin Humboldt Redwoods State Park because of Save-the-Redwoods’ work.

As Executive Director, I intend to continue thisimportant legacy, as well as explore new and innovativemethods of protecting and restoring the redwoodforest.

The Bulletin describes a project in Arcata where Save-the-Redwoods League worked with a diverse group ofpartners to support the community’s effort to protecttheir local forest from aggressive logging anddevelopment. The land will be managed as acommunity-owned working forest – producing a flowof timber income to sustain itself, while providingwildlife habitat and recreation. One-third of this forestwill be a reserve, managed toward restoring its old-forest characteristics.

It is exciting to be part of this enterprise and to be ableto employ an increasingly broad range of tools andconservation partners to ensure the redwood forestflourishes for generations to come.

You, our members, accompany us on every step of thisquest and make it possible. Thank you for yoursupport and commitment.

Ruskin K. Hartley

When, in December, the Board of Directors asked me to

become the sixth Executive Director of Save-the-Redwoods

League, my first thought of “Oh Blimey!” was rapidly replaced by a

sense of honor and awe at being asked to lead this venerable

organization – particularly following the outstanding leadership of

Kate Anderton.

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In late August, Save-the-Redwoods League sentme from San Francisco to

Jedediah Smith State Park.After seven hours of driving,I was anxious to cast a fly inthe stream nearby and shakethe strain of a long drive. Flyrod in hand, I fumbled overthe rocks to a deeper pool. Iunfastened the fly, broughtthe rod back, and let the flytouch down on the surface of the pool. I watched itfloat slowly.

Then I heard something—a creaking sound, like ahouse shifting. Startled, I looked behind me. The windblew. The redwood branches lifted and lowered andthe trees swayed back and forth. All of a sudden Ibecame aware of a group of giant redwood treesbehind me. They were flexing their trunks in the wind.I laughed at myself for being skittish. The sound of thetrees grew louder as the wind picked up. I thought of apassage in an article about a tree named Adventure.The article was written by Richard Preston aboutclimbing redwoods with Humboldt State Universitybiologist Dr. Steve Sillett:

The tree’s branches and needles began to giveoff a hissing sound. “Do you feel that?” hesaid. “We’re moving.”… Sillett watched themotion of the redwoods in silence for a littlewhile. “Despite the difficulty of doing sciencein these trees, there’s always a moment duringa climb when you can lose yourself,” he wenton. “You perceive time more clearly inredwoods. You see time’s illusory qualities….When you feel one of these trees moving, youget a sense of it as an individual.”

Two weeks after my trip, Dr. Sillett and Save-the-Redwoods League announced that three redwoodtrees found in a remote corner of Redwood National

Park broke the record for theheight of any living thing.They have been the subjectof a segment on the NationalGeographic television show“Wild Chronicles,” a story inThe New Yorker, andnewspaper articles around the world.

The Redwood Forest“The discovery of the tall treesthis summer is reallysurprising,” said Sillett,Kenneth L. Fisher Chair inRedwood Forest Ecology at

Humboldt State University. “It’s 2006. We found thesetrees on steep slopes, in small fragments of forest, in alandscape that has been heavily logged.”

As Sillett’s surprise suggests, the redwood forest is farfrom being entirely investigated. It was only last decadethat Sillett, a renowned canopy biologist, discovered anabundance of diversity in the upper reaches of theredwood forest, a place people had previously labeled abiological desert. He found car-sized soil mats increvices of redwood limbs. For centuries they had beenaccumulating organic matter, kept moist by rainwater.Epiphytic ferns, shrubs, and fungi grew on them.Crawling in tunnels underneath their surfaces wereinsects and amphibians.

The discovery of these trees this past summer is strikingproof that important discoveries in the redwood forestare not only for scientists. The tall trees were found byexplorers—working day jobs, obsessed with redwoodforests, who spend their spare time searching for thetallest trees they can find.

The ExplorersChris Atkins is a salesman. Michael Taylor brokerssilver on eBay. Both live outside of the redwood region.However, they have two notable things in common: theenthusiasm to find record-breaking tall trees and the

Discovery:The Tallest Living Beings on Earth

Canopy biologist, Jim Sprickler, preparing for his ascent of Hyperion. photo: Phil Schermeister

by Matt Wilson

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“…monitoring of the talwith insights into the heal

Ruskin hartley, Executive Direc

environment. All other known trees ofthis height grow on nutrient richstretches of ground next to streams incanyons, where they are protectedfrom wind and draw from a steadysupply of water.

They spotted a tree that extended highabove its neighbors on a steep slope.With their laser range finders, theymeasured it at 375 feet tall—five feettaller than the tallest known tree. Inthe early evening light, they saw thecrown of this tree, lit by the sun,glowing green above the dark treesbeneath it. They decided to name itafter the Greek sun god, Helios. Sixdays later they found another tree, onethey measured at 371 feet tall. Theynamed it Icarus.

On August 25th, Atkins and Taylorfound a third tall tree. “We shot ourlaser at a steep angle but when I gotthe reading I thought, ‘Wow! That treeis way up there!’ About fifteen minuteslater Michael came over from theother side and said to me, ‘Helios isnow the second tallest tree.’”

grit to bushwhack through theredwood understory. For the past10 years these two men have spenttheir free time hunting big trees.They have covered 70% ofRedwood National Park’s oldgrowth forest and in the processhave discovered 101 of the known137 trees over 350 feet.

“I’m not in it for praise,” saysAtkins. “It’s a passion—something Ilove to do.” Atkins and Taylorsearch the forest by spreadingthemselves out as far as they canwhile keeping within earshot ofeach other. Then, moving throughthe trees, they use radios tocommunicate. “You go with yourfeeling and what you see,” saysAtkins. “You’ll get to one area andyou’ll think, ‘there’s nothing here.’Then you get to another area thatall of a sudden looks juicy with bigtrunks and tall crowns and you say,‘OK, we’ve got potential—that’swhen you get out the laser.”

To measure a redwood giant, theyposition themselves on oppositesides of the tree and shoot lightfrom laser range finders at thetopmost foliage of the tree. Laserrange finders look like binocularsand measure distance by detectinglight reflected from a surface.Atkins and Taylor measure thedistance from their standinglocation to the tip of the tree and tothe base of the tree and theirelevation above or below the base.Then they fiddle with geometry tofind its height.

On July 1st, after ten years ofsearching through RedwoodNational Park and discovering talltrees in the process, they arrived at agrove of giant redwoods high on asteep slope. The trees struck them asan anomaly: of the 137 knownredwoods over 350 feet tall, onlyeight trees grow in this

Dr. Steve Sillett at the top of Hyperion, 379.1 feet

Supporting ExplorationFor the past ten years Save-the-Redwoods League has been sup-porting scientific research thatimproves our understanding ofthe redwood forest and itsecosystems.

Steve Sillett has been therecipient of three Save-the-Redwoods scientific researchgrants. By way of this funding,he and his graduate student,Greg Jennings, have explainedthe biophysical process by whichredwood tree growth slows to ahalt at great heights.

Other research supported bySave-the-Redwoods Leagueincludes investigations of howredwoods have responded tovariations in climate and levels ofsummer fog, the ancestry ofcoast redwoods, and bat use offire-scarred basal hollows in giantsequoias.

Chris Atkins and Michael Taylorhave proven that there aretremendous and invigoratingdiscoveries to be made in theredwood forest, and not only byscientists. Please take time tovisit the redwoods and makeobservations of your own. Whatgrows on the fallen redwoodlogs? Do the size and number ofredwoods change as you walkuphill? Where do the tallesttrees grow? What animal leftthat footprint?

Explorers Chris Atkins and MichaelTaylor photo: Ruskin Hartley

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llest trees can provide uslth of the redwood forest.”ctor, Save-the-Redwoods League

photo: Ruskin Hartley

Science ResearchersSteve SillettIn February of2006, Dr. SteveSillett, professorat HumboldtStateUniversity, wasnamed theKenneth L.Fisher Chair ofRedwoodForest Ecologyfor pioneeringthe field ofcanopy biology.

He has been featured in manytelevision programs, such as theDiscovery Channel’s Planet Earth,the IMAX movie “Adventures inWild California,” and an October9, 2006 New Yorker article on theHyperion climb.

Marie AntoineAs a college student at OregonState University, Marie becamefascinated with forest lichen.Eventually she completed aMaster’s study on the lichen ofOregon’s Douglas-fir forests.

Recently, she has been doingredwood canopy research withher husband Steve Sillett in aneffort to explain the factors thatlimit the height of tall trees.

Jim SpicklerJim grew up climbing Joshuatrees in Barstow. He becameinterested in climbing redwoodswhen he was asked to monitorthe endangered marbeledmurrelet, in the early 1990’s.

Now, he is the senior biologistand owner of Eco-Ascension, abiological consulting firmspecializing in canopy assessment.

Scientists MarieAntoine and SteveSillett. photo: PhilSchermeister

They named this giant Hyperion, afterthe Titan who was the father ofHelios. They estimated that Hyperionwas close to 380 feet tall.

The ClimbWhen confirmed, this preliminarymeasurement of Hyperion wouldmean the greatest increase in themaximum known height of a livingthing since 1931, when the FoundersTree in Humboldt Redwoods StatePark was measured at 364 feet. Laserrange finders, while useful formeasuring height from the ground, areonly accurate to within a few feet.Atkins and Taylor called on SteveSillett for an official measurement.

“The most accurate way to measure treeheight is to climb to the top and lower afiberglass tape with a weight straight tothe ground, have somebody on theground pull the tape tight, and get thenumber. With any survey work fromthe ground, you can’t be sure that you’rehitting the highest leaf,” said Sillett.

On September 16, 2006, Sillett, hiswife and research partner MarieAntoine, and professional canopybiology consultant Jim Spickler, setout to measure Hyperion. Save-the-Redwoods League coordinated theexpedition. The scientists were alsoaccompanied by National Park staffand Richard Preston, acclaimed talltrees writer.

Sillett was the first into the canopy ofHyperion. After an hour of climbing,he called over the radio, “This treejust seems to go on forever.” At thetop of the tree, Sillett removed hisshoes and climbed just high enoughto touch a telescoping metal pole tothe tip of the topmost leaf of thetree. He measured the length of thepole and sent a tape down. Thefinal measurement of Hyperion was379.1 feet tall—the world’s tallestliving thing.

The Pleasure in DiscoveryRuskin Hartley, executive directorof Save-the-Redwoods League,explains that the monitoring of thetallest trees can provide us withinsights into the health of theredwood forest.

“Hyperion is one tree at the centerof Steve Sillett’s study of a broadrange of the world’s tallest trees,” hesays. “By tracking the progress ofthose trees over time, we can betterunderstand how they are affected bythe changing environment.”

About the AuthorMatt Wilson was Save-the-Redwoods League’s 2006 SummerConservation Science Intern. He hasbachelor’s degrees in biology andliterature from UC Santa Barbara.

For more information aboutHyperion see our websitewww.savetheredwoods.org

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With a grant from Save-the-Redwoods League,Californians now have a new place to enjoy,

thanks to the recent addition of the 175-acre SunnyBrae property to Arcata Community Forest. TheLeague partnered with Trust for Public Land andseveral other national, state and local organizations tomake this purchase possible.

The Arcata Community Forest is owned by the City ofArcata and is managed for multiple uses includinghiking, picnicking, cycling and sustainable timberharvest.The Forest is managed to attain characteristicsof an ancient redwood forest, and is owned by one ofthe greenest cities in the nation. The Forest has becomea model for community forests around the world.

The property owner, had a timber harvest plan filedallowing aggressive logging that could lead todevelopment given the property’s proximity to the City.Facing a funding shortfall with the closing dateapproaching, the City found it might lose theopportunity to expand the Forest. Using fundsprovided by League donors, the League stepped in tooffer a challenge grant of $150,000. The grantgalvanized neighbors and environmental supporters tocollect funds, and by the closing date, the full purchaseprice had been raised.

The League’s involvement in this project guaranteesthat 35% of the forest will be maintained as aredwood forest reserve in perpetuity, ensuring thatold growth characteristics are developed for futuregenerations to enjoy.

The City of Arcata will remove invasive plants,correct erosion problems and decommission unusedlogging roads. The City also plans to enhance therecreational and educational capacity of the propertyby adding over four miles of trails for use by outdoorenthusiasts.

Adding to Humboldt Redwoods State ParkThe League recently completed the transfer of 27acres from the Pacific Lumber Company to CaliforniaState Parks. Highly visible along Highway 101, thissmall stand of ancient redwoods is adjacent to thenorthern stem of Humboldt Redwoods State Park.In 2004, a pending timber harvest plan triggered

numerous calls to League offices from environmentalsupporters and other members of the public. TheLeague promptly entered into negotiations withPacific Lumber that led to the land’s purchase. Theparties completed the transaction in fall of 2006,permanently protecting these ancient trees and theskyline of the park.

More Additions to State ParksThe League and State Parks are working togetherclosely to gain the approval from California’sDepartment of General Services and the State PublicWorks Board to accept three of the League’s propertiesinto the State Park system. With approval in January,the League is poised to transfer the 93-acre “ParagonGrove” of ancient redwoods to California State Parksfor addition to Mill Creek—one of only two oldgrowth groves in Mill Creek. In March, the Leagueexpects to receive final approval from the Public WorksBoard to add 307 acres of redwood forest and raresandhill habitat to Henry Cowell Redwoods StatePark, protecting both majestic redwoods and tinyendangered species such as the Mt. Hermon Junebeetle and the Zayante band-winged grasshopper. Atthe same time, the League should receive authorizationto transfer a half-acre in-holding to the Forest ofNisene Marks State Park.

Challenge Grant Expands Forest

ArcataCommunity

Forest

Arcata Bay

Arcata

HumboldtState

University

Parks and Reserves

City of Arcata

Humboldt StateRange ofHistoric Redwoods

Arcata CommunityForest Addition

Map by GreenInfo Network www.greeninfo.org

With less than 5% of the ancient redwood forestremaining, protecting and restoring the delicaterelationships between plants, animals and theirenvironment is one of the League’s conservationpriorities. The redwood forest offers one of the bestopportunities in the world to test principles ofconservation and restoration because in many areas, theforest still contains many of its requisite parts.

The Mill Creek Project is a restoration experiment on agrand scale that is intended to help answer thequestion: will an ecosystem recover on its own or areintentional forest restoration actions needed to assistrecovery? Ideally located next to old-growth reserves,this young, logged forest is the perfect laboratory tostudy forest recovery. And salamanders, because of theirsensitivity to environmental change, may provide agood indication of a recovering forest’s conditionthrough time.

Studying Mill Creek’s young forests and old-growthforests, scientists from the Redwood Sciences Lab setout to explore a simple albeit highly relevant question:are salamander communities in logged forests differentfrom those found in nearby old-growth reserves?

Supported by a research grant from Save-the-RedwoodsLeague, researchers Dr. Hartwell Welsh and Garth

Hodgson have unearthed some fascinating initialresults. Their findings demonstrate that older forestssupport both a higher density and a higher diversity ofsalamanders than the young, previously logged forest.Even more intriguing, the researchers note that byusing their understanding of how certain salamanderspecies tolerate disturbance relative to other species,they can use patterns in salamander abundance as anindicator of forest recovery.

Why salamander communities reflect the forests’disturbance history is still a matter of somespeculation. We do know that salamanders inhabit theuppermost layer of recently discarded leaves on theforest floor and that timber management temporarilyreduces or eliminates this habitat. But what happens asthe litter layer recovers? Will the salamanders return?Researchers Welsh and Hodgson intend to delve deeperinto this and other fundamental questions this comingspring with continued support from the League.

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Salamander,Ensatinaeschscholtziiphoto: WilliamLeonard

Salamanders and Forest RecoveryFocus on Redwood Science

Growing Up RedwoodMelinda Thomas grew up without a jungle gym, a sandbox, or even aswingset in the backyard of her childhood home in Palo Alto. But shedoesn’t ask for sympathy – after all, she had a giant redwood tree.

“I was always in that tree,” Melinda says. “The branches were like aladder, and it became a rite of passage in our childhood to be able toclimb to the top of the tree and look out at the San Francisco Bay.Whenever I ran away from home, my parents knew that they could find me there.”

She doesn’t climb them anymore, but redwoods still offer Melinda an escape from an often chaotic world. Herprofound respect for the trees led her to join Save-the-Redwoods League in 2001. Today, Melinda is a member of theLeadership Society and the Legacy Circle and she volunteers her time as a member of the Board of Directors.

“Save-the-Redwoods League is working carefully and effectively to ensure our ancient forests are protected so thatwhen people visit California they can forever experience the profound impact these trees can have on one’s life.”

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To receive email updates about our work, send your email address to membership@savetheredwoods.org

Save-the-Redwoods League 114 Sansome Street • Suite 1200 • San Francisco • CA • 94104(415) 362-2352 voice • (415) 362-7017 fax • www.savetheredwoods.org

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Join the EvergreenSociety

You are invited to join theEvergreen Society, the League’smonthly giving program. TheSociety is composed of people wholike the ease of automatic creditcard donations and the knowledgethat they are providing a steadysource of revenue for Save-the-Redwoods League that is highlycost effective.

As a member of the EvergreenSociety, you will receive theLeague’s Spring and Fall Bulletins,information on our current forestprotection projects, andrecognition in our annual report.

Please contact our Membershipstaff at 1-888-836-0005, ormembership@savetheredwoods.orgfor more details.

Thank you for your generositywhich enables us to continue ourwork to protect this treasured partof our global heritage.

Earlier this fall, the League dedicatedits 1,000th redwood grove. The SmithFamily Grove in Pfeiffer Big Sur StatePark is located near the banks of theBig Sur River and contains some ofthe most beautiful redwoods in thepark, including a spectacular stand oftrees that formed after a giantredwood was destroyed in a fire.Today, the charred remains of theparent tree still stand, and its sproutshave created a beautiful “fairy ring” ofredwoods that shape the centerpiecefor this grove.

Benjamin and Ellen Smith have been members of the League since 1992.When Ellen was diagnosed with cancer last year, the couple decided to maketheir grove a reality. Before she passed away in November, Ellen said, “Weknow we won’t be able to be on this earth forever. But we also know that, likethese trees, our love will never die.”

With the dedication of their grove, Benjamin and Ellen joined a select groupof League supporters who have named groves in California State Parks. Likethe Smith Family Grove, some groves honor the everlasting love sharedbetween two individuals or an extended family. Other groves are established inrecognition of a special birthday or anniversary, or to acknowledge the work ofa favorite group or organization.

Regardless of the reason for the dedication of a redwood grove, the individuals,families and organizations that have named these lands have played animportant role in both the history of the League and the State of California.

For information about dedicating a redwood grove,contact Andrea Tyler at 415-362-2352 x328

Photo: 1,000 redwood groves have beennamed in the League’s 89-year history. Themilestone was marked by the dedication of agrove to honor the love shared by membersBenjamin and Ellen Smith.

Here are someways that youcan support thepreservation ofthe redwoods

1. VISIT the redwood forest with friendsand family as often as you can!

2. EXPLORE volunteer opportunities.3. TALK to your friends about our work

protecting redwood forests and aboutwhy you’re a member.

4. LET YOUR ELECTEDREPRESENTATIVES KNOW thatyou want them to help you supportand protect the parks and the ancientforests. Take every opportunity tospeak for the trees.

5. DONATE to the League by visiting usonline: www.savetheredwoods.org.

1000th Grove Dedicated