Conservation Strategies in the Redwoods

Abstract

Conservation Strategies in the Redwoods Thomas R. Vale* CONTROVERSY inevitably permeates questions of land use in the United States. Disagreements usually involve traditional economic utilization of the land versus the maintenance of areas in an undeveloped condition, but the lack of accord does not end here. Finer subtleties of viewpoint frequently develop, and the trend toward greater refinement of goals may become more pronounced as society's affluence and complexity are reflected by diverse pressure groups with conflicting outlooks.1 Diversity within the conservation movement which confutes its characterization as a monolithic power block was strikingly revealed in the controversy during the mid-1960's over creating a redwood national park in northwestern California . In that decade there was, to be sure, the usual difference between the "landscape converting" group, represented by the forest products industry and affiliated local people, and the "landscape conserving" group of conservation organizations. However, the two principal conservation groups, the Save-theRedwoods League and the Sierra Club, were themselves virtual adversaries whose lack of accord was instrumental in delaying the outcome and perhaps swaying it from conservationist objectives that might have been attained had those groups maintained a common front. The differing outlooks of the league * Dr. Vale is Assistant Professor of Geography at University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706. 1 On this matter see Daniel B. Luten, "Empty Land, Füll Land, Poor Folk, Rich Folk," Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, Vol. 31 ( 1969) , pp. 79-89. 103 104ASSOCIATION OF PACIFIC COAST GEOGRAPHERS and the club and their contrasting strategies toward achieving a common ultimate goal of redwood "conservation" are the foci of this paper. Background and Setting As nearly all redwood lands had passed into private ownership in the give-away era of national land policy, creation of reserves has required extensive purchases. By the 1960's most of the pristine forests had already been logged or otherwise disturbed so that opportunity for true wilderness preservation was limited. Conservationist attention focused on old-growth redwood forest which occupied scattered sites in the two northwesternmost counties of California. Most of the larger stands in this region are near, or are readily accessible to, a major north-south highway which has physically harmed some trees and has improved logging access, but which has also brought travelers seeking preservation of the forest. Most national forest land in the region is confined to areas east of the redwood forest belt, despite agitation for expansion. However, 65,000 acres of state parks have been established in the two counties, encompassing four major redwood stands in whole or in part (Figure 1), but leaving other major groves entirely in private hands. Evolution of a national park proposal in the 1960's involved consideration of numerous sites and various schemes for integrating federal and state reserves. In its final stages, the question of park size and location centered upon an area between Eureka and Crescent City containing three state parks that together formed a discontinuous belt along or near the coast. The Mill Creek and Redwood Creek Park Proposals Within the area noted, the Save-the-Redwoods League supported a 43,000-acre park that was to include two extant state parks plus 25,000 acres of adjacent, privately owned land along the Smith River, its tributary Mill Creek, and a small YEARBOOK VOLUME 36 1974 105 OREGON [:??*G?'?t CiIy National Park Proposal favored by the Save-the-Redwoods League Piairie Creek?\~\-----Redwoods , Slate Park ¡ National Park Proposal > favored by the Sierra Club the north coast ofCALIFORNIA Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park k DELNORTE COUNTY De/ Norte Coast ' Redwoods [_ State Park / Eureka BuK Humboldt Redwoods State Park Figure 1. Locale of Redwood National Park. The park boundary authorized in 1968 encompasses three state parks, intervening lands, and segments in the vicinity of Mill and Redwood creeks within the outlined area. 106ASSOCIATION OF PACIFIC COAST GEOGRAPHERS acreage on Redwood Creek. By contrast, the Sierra Club advocated a 90,000-acre park that was to encompass a third state park and 77,000 acres on Redwood Creek and adjacent watersheds . Both proposals thus involved a large nucleus of already existing public reserves, plus considerable seacoast, riverine, and mountain...