While giant sequoias are not as common in most places as they once were, they are still present in the world right now. That being said, their numbers have been declining for a few different reasons and it’s getting to the point where something has to be done to save them.
The largest privately-owned grove of these beauties is something that has been owned by the Rouch family, and according to The Guardian, since before the second world war. For quite some time now the conservation group Save the Redwoods League has been trying to get control of this land for conservation efforts and finally the Rouch family has agreed to sell. However, their price is set at $15 million which is a lot and more than the organization currently has.
The organization is working to raise this money and hopes to have it all accounted for by the end of the year and will once everything is said and done work to help make this forest resilient against the things going on in the outside world. Their public fundraising campaign has gained a lot of coverage and people are donating but every penny counts when it comes to things like this. An anonymous donor has offered to match dollar-for-dollar each donation received by December 31st up to $500,000 so if you want to donate please consider doing so.
CBS Sanfrancisco wrote as follows in regards on their website:
A San Francisco conservation group has kicked off a public fundraising campaign to buy and protect the world’s largest remaining privately owned giant sequoia forest. It just needs $15 million.
Save the Redwoods League announced Tuesday that it has reached an agreement to purchase the 530-acre property, known as Alder Creek, from the current owners if it raises the funds.
The forest is home to some massive trees, including the world’s fifth-largest, known as the Stagg Tree.
And here’s a fun fact: Giant sequoias are the third longest-lived tree species on the planet, the National Park Service says. (The oldest known tree was 3,266 years old.)
The property is located in Tulare County and is surrounded by the Giant Sequoia National Monument, the league said.
It was these kinds of massive trees that inspired the national conservation movement more than 150 years ago, beginning with the protection of Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park, President, and CEO of Save the Redwoods League Sam Hodder said.
“Today, Save the Redwoods League has the opportunity to continue this conservation legacy by permanently protecting Alder Creek and its hundreds of giant sequoia trees,” Hodder said.
Hodder calls Alder Creek Grove a “crown jewel of giant sequoia forests,” in a post on the organization’s website.
“The beauty of this place is beyond words,” Hodder wrote. “Alder Creek Grove is a suspended, mountain bowl of lush, surreal vibrancy of deep greens, of flowers of all colors, of that deep blue sierra sky that makes monstrous silhouettes of the sequoia that surround you at every turn.
Hodder is asking for the public’s help to raise the required $15.65 million by the end of the year to “fully protect this remarkable grove forever.”
“The need is urgent. If we don’t buy this property, we don’t know who will, or what they’ll do with it,” Hodder said in the post. “Walking among these trees that have been growing since the earliest human civilizations changes your understanding of the world and your place in it. We have to save this place.”
What do you think about this major conservation effort? I for one think it is marvelous and will truly benefit all of us in the future. These trees are truly beautiful and who knows what the future would be like if we merely allowed them to die off? Everything on this planet has a purpose.