Ancient California redwood grove damaged by selfie-seeking visitors to get $3.5 million rescue plan

Until 20 years, ago, the immense redwood trees in the “Grove of Titans,” an ancient forest near the California-Oregon border, had never been cataloged by scientists, written about or photographed.

Now that the secret is out, the grove is being loved to death by thousands of bushwhacking hikers and explorers. But parks officials and environmental groups have a $3.5 million plan to protect the majestic trees.

In 1998, two researchers discovered the hidden grove in a remote section of Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, where trees tower 320 feet high and stretch nearly 30 feet in diameter. Rangers tried to keep the location secret, but amateur adventurers found the trees, some of the largest redwoods on Earth. They posted photos and GPS coordinates online.

The result has been thousands of selfie-snapping visitors in recent years, trampling ferns, cutting their own trails, causing erosion, leaving toilet paper and trash, and compacting the soil around the huge trees.

The new, two-year plan to safeguard the grove includes an elevated walkway, replanting damaged vegetation, rerouting trails and constructing a parking lot and bathroom area one mile away. And rather than trying to hide the trees, park rangers will showcase them, but under controlled conditions.

“We have to find that right balance,” said Sam Hodder, president of Save the Redwoods League, a San Francisco group helping lead the effort. “We have to welcome visitors to these extraordinary places but do so in a way that is protective of the delicate ecology.”

So far, the project has raised $230,000, Hodder said. Any money raised by the end of December will be matched by a donation from Josie Merck, of up to $500,000. Merck is the daughter of George W. Merck, former president of the pharmaceutical giant Merck, and a donor to Save the Redwoods League until his death in 1984.

Work is scheduled to begin in the coming months and be completed by July, 2021.

The grove is something of a legend among lovers of giant redwoods. It features about a dozen trees that have been given names like the Lost Monarch, Del Norte Titan, and Elwing and Beregond, named after characters in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” stories.

The timeless trees are believed to be at least 2,000 years old. They are not the tallest in the world. That distinction is held by a redwood tree known as Hyperion, which towers 380 feet high, and is located in an undisclosed corner of nearby Redwood National Park.

But they are taller than the 18-story tower at San Jose City Hall, which stretches 285 feet; Coit Tower in San Francisco, which is 210 feet tall; or the Statue of Liberty, which is is 305 feet tall.

The trees in Grove of Titans are also among the largest redwoods in the world by volume, due to their massive girths.

The grove was first documented when two researchers, naturalist Michael Taylor and botanist Stephen Sillett of Humboldt State University, stumbled upon it while looking for the tallest redwoods on Earth. They had trekked through a dense, wet, moss-covered landscape, including massive downed logs and thickets of ferns more than six feet high.

Their discovery was recounted in a 2007 best-selling book, “The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring.” The book, by New Yorker magazine writer Richard Preston, chronicled how Sillett and other researchers climb immense redwoods using ropes and pulleys, often at great physical risk, to discover the remote worlds atop the forest canopy.

Preston did not reveal the location of the Grove of Titans in his book.

“The exact location of the grove is known only to a handful of biologists, who climb the trees and study the ecology of the grove,” he wrote. “They guard the knowledge of its location with the jealousy of a prospector who has found a mother lode.”

But over time, intrepid amateurs began trying to find it. Eventually, in 2011, one Oregon resident posted photographs and GPS coordinates online. And the flood gates opened.

“It used to be that these places were really remote — undisturbed old growth forests,” said Brett Silver, acting sector superintendent for California’s state parks department, in Crescent City, 9 miles west of the park.

“What we see today is that a lot of ferns have been removed and trampled. The vegetation in some places is completely gone. We’re starting to see exposed roots near the base of the tree,” he said. “People have a fascination with climbing up the tree as high as they can to get their picture. You have wear and tear on the bark from climbing, compacted soils, root damage.”

Silver said on some summer days, hundreds of people have roamed off established trails to find the grove. Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, in rural Del Norte County, doesn’t have enough budget to post rangers at the grove to protect the trees, he noted.

Under the new plan, if funding is raised, crews will build a grated metal walkway near the trees, but far enough away to keep people from damaging them. The park is a rain forest, among the wettest areas in California. Wooden walkways rot away, he noted.

The park also will post interpretive signs and remove illegal trails, he said.

“This is the age of people taking selfies,” Silver said. “They want to capture the moment and share it with other people. They are well-intentioned. But it’s our responsibility to protect the resource and provide a safe way for people to view them. We have an obligation to future generations.”

To some visitors, the impact may not seem particularly glaring, like a clear-cut logging operation.

“People have asked me if this project is really necessary, because the damage may not be glaringly apparent to a casual hiker,” said Joanna Di Tommaso, development director for Redwood Parks Conservancy, a nonprofit group in Crescent City working on the project. “My answer is, yes, there is very real damage, and it will only increase over time. We have to remember that only 5 percent of the ancient redwoods remain. Any threat to any of them must be addressed.”

Contributions toward the project can be made at www.savetheredwoods.org/titans.

Share this: Print

View more on The Mercury News