SAVING THE REDWOODS 



531 



North of Garberville there was much 

 lumbering for railroad ties and grape 

 stakes during the summer of 1919. The 

 cutting was in every case done along the 

 east bank of theJSouth Fork of the Eel 

 River and on the very edge of the high- 

 way, and while the devastation was ap- 

 palling, the damage, if stopped now, can 

 ultimately be minimized. 



Farther north the cutting begins to ap- 

 pear at scattered points, but one of the 

 finest groves, a tract of 700 acres be- 

 longing to the Hammond Lumber Com- 

 pany, has been left untouched. 



A little farther north there is a fine 

 stand of timber owned by the University 

 of Minnesota, and it is to be hoped that 

 this educational institution will cooperate 

 in preserving these trees. From here on 

 there has been much destruction at vari- 

 ous points along the road. 



After these scenes of devastation and 

 threats of worse, the traveler reaches 

 Bull Creek Flat, perhaps the finest forest 

 in the world. Bull Creek enters the South 

 Fork of the Eel just above Dyerville, 

 and here is a magnificent stand of trees, 

 some 10,000 acres in extent. 



If all the forested area needed in con- 

 nection with the State highway be taken 

 from the upper reaches of the South Fork 

 down to the mouth of Bull Creek, the res- 

 ervation will contain about 10,000 acres. 

 Bull Creek Flat, with the grove opposite, 

 at Dyerville. will add 10.000 acres, mak- 

 ing a total of from 20.000 to 25,000 acres, 

 the minimum for a State park, which in 

 point of fact should be larger and extend 

 northward along the west bank of the 

 main Eel River. 



Bull Creek Flat belongs to the Pacific 

 Lumber Company, except two sections 

 in the upper part, which are the property 

 of the Metropolitan Lumber Company. 

 The officials of both these companies 

 have 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. 



STATE AND NATION MUST BUY BACK 

 THEIR GIETS 



The fundamental tragedy of the whole 

 redwood situation lies in the fact that 

 the great trees are nearly all in the hands 

 of private owners, who cannot reasonably 



be expected to sacrifice their holdings for 

 public benefit. The State and nation, 

 having given away these lands in the past, 

 must now buy back at least a large por- 

 tion of them. 



On the east bank of the Eel River, for 

 many miles below the forks, there are 

 very few redwoods within sight of the 

 highway except at Fortuna, where 2,300 

 acres of fine trees have been preserved 

 temporarily and are known as the Carson 

 Woods. This grove is a mile or so east 

 of the highway and should be preserved 

 as a local park. 



SPROUTING SAPLINGS HAVE BEEN 

 DESTROYED 



Along the lower stretches of the Eel 

 River below Scotia a lumber company is 

 said to have checked reforestation by cut- 

 ting, during successive years, the sprout- 

 ing saplings which bravely tried to lift 

 their heads around the old stumps. This 

 was done under the impression that the 

 land could be made available for pastur- 

 age. It has proved a failure, and the 

 only result has been to destroy in many 

 places the chance of the forest recovering. 



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 Lumber 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 tim- 

 ber. Below this forest the timber on 

 both sides of the river has been almost 

 entirely destroyed. 



At Orick, on the Big Lagoon, the high- 

 way passes through the lower end of the 

 Redwood Creek grove, one of the very 

 best stands of redwood in Humboldt 

 County, approximately 50,000 acres in 

 extent. The redwoods are largely mixed 

 with spruce and the ground is carpeted 

 with ferns of great abundance and va- 

 riety. This stand is as yet untouched 

 and should be saved for a national park, 

 because the timber, being inaccessible, 

 can be acquired at a relatively small cost. 



One of the most conspicuous features 

 of these redwood forests, especially in 

 Del Norte County and the northern por- 

 tions of Humboldt, is the profusion of 



