ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



109 



The total area which must be taken for tin- 

 Highway Park, from the upper reaches of the 

 South Fork down to the mouth of Bull Creek, 

 contains about 10,000 acres in addition to the 

 Bull Creek grove. 



Bull Creek Flat belongs to the Pacific Lum- 

 ber Company, except two sections in the upper 

 part, which are the property of the Metropoli- 

 tan Lumber Company. The officials of both 

 these companies expressed their sympathy with 

 the park project so far as it relates to Bull 

 Creek Flat. This tract is said to contain one 

 enormous tree, possibly the largest Redwood and 

 the tallest tree in the world. 



Immediately opposite the mouth of Bull 

 Creek is Dyerville Flat, a triangular area be- 

 tween the two forks of the Eel River. At this 

 point is located South Fork railway station, and ' 

 it will be the natural entrance to the Park. The 

 trees have been cleared away around the station 

 to the extent of 150 or 200 yards and the Pacific 

 Lumber Company has just begun lumbering at 

 this point, in September 1919. If this cutting 

 is continued it will greatly injure the approach 

 to the proposed park. The reason given for 

 commencing lumbering operations here is the 

 shortage of man power, making it desirable to 

 log on a flat and in the immediate vicinity of the 

 railroad in order to keep the mills supplied'. 

 This cutting is the one great danger to the 

 proposed park and is a most serious situation 

 as yet unprovided for. See page 108. 



Below the junction of the South Fork, the 

 timber on the right bank of the main Eel River 

 has been entirely destroyed and the landscape 

 presents a scene comparable only to the devas- 

 tated regions of France. Few Redwoods are 

 left, but a magnificent example has been pro- 

 vided to show how the whole country will appear 

 when lumbering operations are extended to the 

 west bank. Reforestation is very slight and 

 many places show no signs of regeneration. The 

 stumps have been charred and burned, and the 

 land lies worthless. 



This cut over area on the right bank would 

 be a suitable site for reforestation experiments 

 under the present California Forestry Board. 

 The land could be acquired, and reforested at 

 nominal cost. It is only a question of time when 

 the state, for its own protection, will be forced 

 to undertake this work. 



The fundamental tragedy of the whole Red- 

 wood situation lies in the fact that these great 

 trees are nearly all in the hands of private own- 

 ers who cannot reasonably be expected to sacri- 

 fice their holdings for public benefit. The state 

 and nation, however foolish thev mav have been 



in giving away these lands, must now buy back 

 at least a large portion of them. 



On the east bank of the Eel River for many 

 miles below the Forks there are very few Red- 

 woods in sight of the river except at Fortuna, 

 where 2,300 acres of fine Redwoods have been 

 preserved temporarily and are known as the 

 Carson Woods. This grove is a mile or so east 

 nf the highway and should be preserved as a 

 local park. 



Along the lower stretches of the Eel River 

 below Scotia, the Pacific Lumber Company is 

 said to have checked reforestation by cutting 

 during successive years the sprouting saplings 

 which bravely tried to lift their heads around 

 the old stumps. This was done under the im- 

 pression that the land could be made available 

 for pasturage. It has proved a failure and the 

 only result has been to destroy in many places 

 the chance of reforestation. 



Below the forks on the left bank there is a 

 magnificent stand of trees extending from the 

 water's edge to the crest of the main slope, 

 nearly all of which belongs to the Pacific Lum- 

 ber Company. This area is some 20,000 acres 

 in extent and the highway runs through it. It 

 should be preserved, although the cost would be 

 great, because of the size of the tract and the 

 fine quality and thickness of the timber. Below 

 this forest, the land on both sides of the river 

 has been almost entirely destroyed, so far as 

 timber is concerned. 



At Eureka there was great interest shown on 

 the occasion of our visit. The citizens were 

 organizing actively to put a stop to the destruc- 

 tion of the Redwoods along the highway. Public 

 meetings were held, which developed later into 

 affirmative action to be described later. This 

 enthusiasm was due in great degree to the recent 

 visit of Secretary of Agriculture Houston and 

 Col. Graves, Chief of the L'nited States Bureau 

 of Forestry, who had aroused the people of 

 Humboldt County to the importance of protec- 

 tive measures. 



Along the coast from Eureka north about 

 twenty miles, there is little or nothing but 

 cleared country, and beyond Areata the road 

 runs between some three or four miles of charred 

 stumps which show no signs of reforestation. 

 This condition appears to be entirely due to 

 repeated fires. 



At Orick, on the Big Lagoon, we passed the 

 lower end of the Redwood Creek grove, one of 

 the very best stands of Redwood in Humboldt 

 Count v. approximately 50.000 acres in extent; 

 the lower part largely owned by the A. B. Ham- 

 mond Lumber Company and the upper part by 



