A biologist emphasizes the tragedy of Converse Basin Grove, in which a company has chopped over 8,000 giant trees

The Converse Basin Grove Is a prominent giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) Habitat in the Sierra Nevada in Fresno County, California, about five miles north of General Grant Grove, just outside the Kings Canyon National Park.

With around 4,600 hectares, the densest population of huge sequoias on Earth, with the trunks reached a diameter of over 20 feet and crowns floated over 250 feet.

Until the late 19th century, however, the untouched forest of old growth stood an unprecedented exploitation.

From 1892, the Kings River Lumber Company, which was later reorganized as Sanger Lumber Company, began a decades of campaign of clear cutting in a so -called “largest orgy of the destructive lumberjack in the history of the world”.

The removal of these keystone organisms destroyed the structure, the ground composition and the hydrology of the grove and effectively broke the entire ecosystem of old growth. And today, over a century after the remedy in 1918, Converse Basin Grove remains a patchwork of young needle tree plantations and open meadows with massive stumps.

Registration at the Sanger Lumber Company

Between 1892 and 1918, the Sanger Lumber Company carried out extensive, clear -cut in the Converse Basin Grove, which aimed at the largest and oldest sequoias for wood.

Over about a decade, Approximately 8,000 huge sequoias -Inigen aged over 2,000 years were felled with cross-cut saws, axles, steam endors and sophisticated flower systems that transported tribes into distant mills. This harvest in industry in the industrial sector only left 60 to 100 of the original tire giants in the pool and triggered a cascade of ecological consequences.

((Sidebar: While the huge sequoia is the largest tree in the world, it is not the oldest. This title belongs to another tree from California born in front of the pyramids – Read about it here.))

The loss of the roof covered the microclimate and increased the sun's rays or temperature fluctuations in the soil. The soil erosion reinforced when the root nets had fallen and the power channels were clogged with sawdust and rubble and were disturbed water habitats.

In addition, the elimination of the fire -resistant structure of the sequoias made the pool susceptible to subsequent high average.

The public outcry on the destruction of the giants of the Converse basin helped the galvanization of the early nature conservation movement and contributed to the establishment of national parks and promoted the reforms of forest policy.

Despite this heritage, the Grove remained in private hands until 1935 when the federal government finally acquired the country and integrated it into Sequoia National Forest.

The restoration efforts have recorded mixed success

After the federal government's acquisition in 1935, the managers tried to rehabilitate the exposed pool. Early efforts concentrated on planting plantations with a single piece of mainly white firs and ponderosa pine pine to build up the landscape quickly.

At the same time, fire exclusion guidelines were aimed at protecting young stands, but accidentally led to an unnatural fuel accumulation among regenerating trees. The unintentional result was an increased risk of forest fire. And in 1955 the McGee fire burned through a large part of the conversation, consumed second sequoias in second growth and demonstrated the dangers of suppression of all fires.

Decades later, the rough fire from 2015 newly burned parts of the pelvis became newly burned parts of the pelvis, although the most remarkable specimens were spared as the Boole tree. These forest fires have destructive, but also gave researchers insight into the huge sequoia ecology and show that burns can stimulate the release of seeds and generate favorable germ conditions.

Despite more than 80 years of restoration work, the conditions for old growth have not returned. Young stands remain uneven in the age and composition, and soil and hydrological processes remain reflected in previous disorders.

Despite the setbacks, Converse Basin now serves as Living Laboratory to investigate the resistance of the forestLeadership of adaptive management strategies, the prescribed burns, mechanical thinning and plantings include mixed species in order to better imitate the dynamics of the regeneration dynamics of the giants.

The Giant Sequoia National Monument

One of the greater victories in the fight for the preservation of these majestic trees came in the form of President Bill Clinton's proclamation of the Giant Sequoia National Monument on April 15, 2000.

This term comprised 328,315 ACRES in the Sequoia National Forest and brought 33 of the Waldhainen-inch, a uniform manner of a uniform administrative framework with the protection of the remains of old growth, to restore the disassembled stands and to facilitate scientific research.

The monument is divided into two sections: The northern part, managed by the Hume Lake Lake Ranger district, comprises parts of the King Canyon National Park and Grove such as General Grant and Converse Basin. The southern part, which is located next to the Sequoia National Park, includes Grove such as Freeman Creek and Belknap.

Visitors can hike interpretative paths like the BOOLE TREE and Chicago blind loopsWitness of the inheritance of the wood strike and the continued journey of the forest restoration.

Today, the Giant Sequoia National Monument not only protects these old trees, but also promotes public education and scientific examination and at the same time promotes resistant Sequoia ecosystems that will take until after thousands of years.

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