Wildplaces plans trail restoration work

Group also will support Monument

Concerned citizens of the Giant Sequoia National Monument (GSNM) communities will gather from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday at the iconic Trail of 100 Giants to put words (and boots) into action at a historic habitat/trail restoration project.

The project will improve visitor access and safety while voicing disdain for those who are proposing to reduce the Monument by nearly 200,000 acres, remove critical protections, and usher in “take management” by logging resulting in irreparable damage to water quality, species diversity, human health, and tourism, said Mehmet Mcmillan of Wildplaces.

Volunteers are invited to meet at 9 a.m. at Redwood Campground for sequoia service projects, public lands discussion and rally, and a free lunch. Wear closed-toed shoes, long pants and bring water, snacks, and gloves.

Restoration includes repairing damaged trails within the Trail of 100 Giants. In addition, volunteers are needed to care for giant sequoias young and old by watering seedlings that were planted in recent years by volunteer youth and by building protective “barriers” around the old giants whose bark has been damaged by visitors who quite naturally want to touch and climb around the bases of the trees. This has resulted in the protective, fire resistant bark being scraped away.

“So few people have even seen one of these trees never mind actually planted or cared for them”, said Mcmillan. “Providing the people these kinds of opportunities is what we do, but the ongoing threat by Kevin Mccarthy and a few disingenuous local politicians could disrupt the giant sequoia’s delicate ecological balance plus impact our ability to get volunteers, and especially youth, into the wild. It’s absurd.”

Giant sequoias are the largest living creatures on the planet. They exist naturally in a very finite elevation band along the west slope of the Sierra with 75-plus groves located in the Tulare County. Studies confirm that sequoias mitigate climate change by holding carbon for 3,000 years or more, reducing the rate and intensity of climate impacts, most notably for Tulare County

“Planting Sequoiadendron giganteum was a life-changing experience,” says Ian Herdell, past program coordinator for Wildplaces. “It was awesome. But why are so many folks, who practically live in the shadow of these giants, not better utilizing them as a tool for self-care rather than allowing the threatening proposal to dismantle the Monument?”

Wildplaces is a nonprofit community benefits project of SEE. It envisions a balanced and diverse world ecosystem, where nature’s perfection is left untrammeled and where communities are aware of and take direct action in the long term preservation, health, and sustainability of all wild places — a nature ethic that will spread locally, regionally, and worldwide.