SAVING THE REDWOODS 



529 



result was the establishment of small 

 lumber camps that are destroying the 

 trees along- its edge. Not only are the 

 trees along the road cut down, but the 

 highway itself in many cases has been 

 injured. 



These great trees, with their hundreds 

 of feet of clear timber, have, among other 

 valuable qualities, the unfortunate char- 

 acteristic of easy cleavage or splitting, 

 and so they are in special demand for rail- 

 road ties, for shakes or shingles, and for 

 grape stakes. These superb trees are 

 sacrificed to supply the stakes to support 

 vines because of the practically inde- 

 structible character of the wood, which 

 will stand in the ground almost indefi- 

 nitely without rotting. 



THE CALIFORNIA STATE HIGHWAY RUNS 



THROUGH THE REDWOOD 



DISTRICT 



In going to the redwood country from 

 San Francisco, the first important group 

 of trees encountered is the Montgomery 

 grove, which lies a few miles west of the 

 highway north of Ukiah, but about fifty 

 miles north of Willits the redwoods be- 

 gin to appear along the highway in small 

 and scattered groups. 



The beauty of the roadway could be 

 greatly enhanced by saving these small 

 groves and scattered trees. Their ulti- 

 mate preservation, however, will depend 

 entirely on the ability of the California 

 Highway Commission to secure a right 

 of way of sufficient width. This has not 

 been done as yet, and farther north, in 

 an effort to avoid expense, the Commis- 

 sion actually purchased a right of way 

 subject to the condition that the owners 

 should remove the timber from it. In 

 other words, a highway was planned 

 through the redwoods to carry visitors 

 to see the trees, and then arrangements 

 were made to have the timber removed. 

 This action was largely taken owing to the 

 widespread, but mistaken, belief that it is 

 impossible to save a strip of timber if the 

 protecting trees on either side are re- 

 moved. However, California is awaken- 

 ing to the necessity of employing land- 

 scape engineers, who will prevent all 

 unnecessary vandalism. 



The first important redwood groves 

 are at Hicks' Camp and about twelve 

 miles south of Garberville, at the Stern's 



Camp grove, the latter comprising some 

 ten acres on a fine level bottom about 

 300 yards wide. At this point one is 

 forced to recognize the fact that any 

 State park in connection with the high- 

 way must include the entire erosion val- 

 ley of the South Fork of the Eel from 

 crest to crest. The skyline, with its su- 

 perb trees, is as essential as the bottom 

 flat and much more important than the 

 intermediate area. 



The river valley is narrow — in fact, 

 little more than a wide gorge with a level 

 bottom — and the timber on the slopes has 

 less commercial value than that upon the 

 flat. If the timber along the highway is 

 to be preserved, a relatively small amount 

 of additional cost would protect the en- 

 tire valley. 



At Red Mountain there is a fine grove 

 of redwoods, and to the north of that the 

 first cutting was made in 1919. From 

 this point on it becomes evident that the 

 right of way, 100 yards wide, acquired 

 by the California Highway Commission, 

 is not only insufficient, but has actually 

 served to invite logging operations. 

 ^ The contour of the South Fork of the 

 Eel is such that the highway, with a 

 strip of timber on each side, can be pre- 

 served easily without danger of destruc- 

 tion from winds, if due consideration is 

 given to the topography of the ground. 



THE WORK OF CENTURIES DESTROYED FOR 

 GRAPE STAKES 



It is scarcely necessary to dwell on the 

 need to put an end to the destruction of 

 the oldest and tallest trees on earth. 

 The cutting of a Sequoia for grape stakes 

 or railroad ties (and an eighteen-foot 

 tree along the new State highway was 

 cut a few months ago for that purpose) 

 is like breaking up one's grandfather's 

 clock for kindling to save the trouble of 

 splitting logs at the woodpile, or lighting 

 one's pipe with a Greek manuscript to 

 save the trouble of reaching for the 

 matches. 



After the fall of the Roman Empire 

 the priceless works of classic art were 

 "needed" for lime, and statues by Phidias 

 and Praxiteles were slaked down for 

 this purpose ; but the men who did it are 

 today rightly regarded as "vandals and 

 barbarians." 



