Sequoia Sempervirens Research Articles

Microclimatic drivers of winter bat activity in coast redwood forests.

Bats are among the least well-known mammals, particularly in terms of their behavior and activity patterns during the winter. Here, we use passive acoustic monitoring to overcome some of the challenges inherent in surveying cryptic forest bats during the wet season to quantify overwintering behavior for 11 species in California coast redwood forests under varying microclimates. Because different species are active at different forest heights, we also examined the effect of acoustic detector placement (treetop or ground level). Generalized linear mixed models were used to relate acoustic detection probability for 8 species to daytime and nighttime temperature, relative humidity, water vapor pressure, and detector placement. The results indicate that daytime maximum temperature best explained variation in nightly probability of detection, and temperature threshold at which bats were predicted to be detected varied considerably across species. By using more precise species detection methods, we were able to resolve significant differences in activity patterns between Myotis yumanensis and M. californicus, 2 species with similar acoustic signatures that are often lumped together. Myotis californicus was predicted to have a 50% probability of detection at maximum daytime temperature as low as 12.5 °C, whereas M. yumanensis was not predicted to have 50% detection probability until maximum daytime temperature was at least 22 °C, suggesting that M. californicus spends less time in torpor. Also, monitoring at the top of the canopy revealed 4 migratory species to be present in the ecosystem on significantly more monitoring nights than could be observed using conventional ground-based monitoring methods. Improving winter bat survey methods provides evidence that diverse bat species are more active in redwood forests during the winter than previously documented. This finding suggests that coastal forests could provide important winter bat habitat for both resident and migratory species.

Streamflow response to drought in a managed coast redwood catchment

AbstractA 60‐year precipitation and streamflow record from the Caspar Creek Experimental Watersheds in northern California was used to explore the propagation of meteorological drought to hydrological drought. Standardized precipitation and runoff indices were calculated for the two forested catchments using integration periods of 12, 24, and 36 months. The resulting time series were used to define three severe drought events (1976–1977, 2013–2014, and 2020–2022). The earliest drought followed the 1971–1973 harvest of the 417 ha South Fork (SF) watershed, a second followed the 1989–1992 harvest of the 479 ha North Fork watershed, and a third followed the 2017–2019 reentry harvest of the SF. From these time series, we calculated drought metrics and anomalies to model differences in catchment responses in the context of climate and management. The meteorological drought in the 1977 event was more severe and extreme than the streamflow response. Both of the 21st Century droughts were hydrologically more severe than the 1977 drought. Timber harvest initially shortened and reduced streamflow drought (1977 and 2021) but prolonged and intensified the 2014 streamflow drought. Declining fall precipitation has reduced streamflows, thereby impeding salmonid migration and exacerbating impacts on native fish. Our results provide new insights into the role of climate variation, particularly long‐term and seasonal drought dynamics, in managed forests along the North American Pacific coast.

Pyotr Kostromitinov’s wood collection from Fort Ross: evidence of the early botanical exploration of northern California

Summary Systematic attribution of the wood samples collected in 1830 by Pyotr Kostromitinov, the Manager of Fort Ross, a Russian settlement on the Pacific coast of northern California, has been carried out. As some wood samples belong to the taxa that had not been described at the time of their collection, their labels provide interesting evidence for the first steps of botanical exploration of an exotic flora by the Russian colonists who were not professional naturalists. Particularly, Garrya has been recognized by them as Viburnum, Lyonothamnus as Arbutus, and Torreya as Taxus. In contrast, different species of Ceanothus have been referred not only to this genus, but also to Rhamnus and Laurus. The meanings of some Russian vernacular plant names mentioned in the published historical documents have been clarified. For instance, lavr (laurel) was used not only for California laurel Umbellularia californica, but also for some Ceanothus species (probably C. velutinus). The reference of the vernacular name chaga to Sequoia sempervirens has been confirmed. Unlike most early wood collections, Pyotr Kostromitinov’s samples are made of thin stems and branches with no conspicuous surfaces showing their wood appearance. Such pieces are hardly suitable for demonstration of aesthetic or technical properties of timber. Pyotr Kostromitinov’s samples likely represent one of the earliest cases of collecting wood as objects of particular interest for botany and, more generally, for natural history. It was an important novelty for the 1830s, as the botanical exploration of woods did not have any sufficient conceptual background in those times.

New Zealand's planted forests–Carbon stocks and yield in fast growing exotic tree plantations of the Southern Hemisphere

Every year New Zealand measures 1/5th of the permanent sample plots of the National Planted Forest Inventory administered by the Ministry for the Environment (MFE). This means that all plots are measured once during a five-year cycle to provide the full inventory, while each measurement year in its own right provides a random nationally-representative sample of New Zealand's plantation forests.Land-use change and planted forest area are highly dynamic in New Zealand compared to forests in many northern hemisphere countries and every year new plots are added to the inventory due to new afforestation areas. Over time, old plot data representing stands that have been recently harvested will be replaced with measurements of the new forests growing on these sites or will drop out altogether due to improvements in mapping or deforestation. This means that estimates from a single year's plot measurements can give different results from the previous year due to the changes that the plantation forest estate experiences from year to year.In this paper we analyse results for the latest measurement cycle (Panels 2016 - 2020) and identify any issues or trends in carbon stocks. We use all panel data plus data from previous periodic forest inventories to generate a fully representative yield table for all plantation forests in the sub-categories of Kyoto Protocol-compliant afforestation and other planted forests (“non-Kyoto”). Furthermore, we use an imputation approach to provide a statistically accurate representation of stock changes over time. The yield tables generated are used in MFE's Land Use Carbon Analysis System (LUCAS) to generate estimates of carbon stocks and stock changes for international reporting.The estimated mean carbon sequestration rate over the typical rotation for New Zealand's dominant plantation species is higher than the default range provided by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Predicted carbon sequestration in non-Kyoto planted forests (10.5 tC ha−1 yr−1) exceeds the estimated carbon sequestration in Kyoto-compliant planted forests (9.8 tC ha−1 yr−1) with both at the upper range of estimates for temperate plantation forests (IPCC). Current mean carbon stocks are significantly larger in Kyoto-compliant plantation forests (169 tC ha−1) than in non-Kyoto planted forests (108 tC ha−1) across New Zealand, largely because they are on average five years older. Estimated Mean annual increment, m3 ha−1 yr−1 expressed as a comparable index (“300Index”) indicates that Kyoto-compliant forest land has slightly higher productivity than non-Kyoto planted forests, but because the latter are composed of younger stands, greater carbon sequestration rates but lower current stocks are estimated. Plots with slower growing tree species such as Douglas-fir, cypresses and coastal redwood are now an increasing part of the Kyoto-compliant estate, reducing the overall sequestration rates for this forest type.

Book Review: Bourgon, L. Tree Thieves: Crime and Survival in North America’s Woods; Little Brown Spark: New York, NY, USA, 2022; ISBN: 978-0316497442

When considering individuals who illegally harvest trees from public lands, author Lyndsie Bourgon “wonder(s) how someone who lives surrounded by the crushing beauty of a redwood forest can simultaneously love it and kill it [...]

Carbon sequestration potential of plantation forests in New Zealand - no single tree species is universally best

BackgroundPlantation forests are a nature-based solution to sequester atmospheric carbon and, therefore, mitigate anthropogenic climate change. The choice of tree species for afforestation is subject to debate within New Zealand. Two key issues are whether to use (1) exotic plantation species versus indigenous forest species and (2) fast growing short-rotation species versus slower growing species. In addition, there is a lack of scientific knowledge about the carbon sequestration capabilities of different plantation tree species, which hinders the choice of species for optimal carbon sequestration. We contribute to this discussion by simulating carbon sequestration of five plantation forest species, Pinus radiata, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Eucalyptus fastigata, Sequoia sempervirens and Podocarpus totara, across three sites and two silvicultural regimes by using the 3-PG an ecophysiological model.ResultsThe model simulations showed that carbon sequestration potential varies among the species, sites and silvicultural regimes. Indigenous Podocarpus totara or exotic Sequoia sempervirens can provide plausible options for long-term carbon sequestration. In contrast, short term rapid carbon sequestration can be obtained by planting exotic Pinus radiata, Pseudotsuga menziesii and Eucalyptus fastigata.ConclusionNo single species was universally better at sequestering carbon on all sites we tested. In general, the results of this study suggest a robust framework for ranking and testing candidate afforestation species with regard to carbon sequestration potential at a given site. Hence, this study could help towards more efficient decision-making for carbon forestry.

Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the UK: carbon storage potential and growth rates.

Giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) are some of the UK's largest trees, despite only being introduced in the mid-nineteenth century. There are an estimated half a million giant sequoias and closely related coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) in the UK. Given the recent interest in planting more trees, partly due to their carbon sequestration potential and also their undoubted public appeal, an understanding of their growth capability is important. However, little is known about their growth and carbon uptake under UK conditions. Here, we focus on S. giganteum and use three-dimensional terrestrial laser scanning to perform detailed structural measurements of 97 individuals at three sites covering a range of different conditions, to estimate aboveground biomass (AGB) and annual biomass accumulation rates. We show that UK-grown S. giganteum can sequester carbon at a rate of 85 kg yr-1, varying with climate, management and age. We develop new UK-specific allometric models for S. giganteum that fit the observed AGB with r 2 > 0.93 and bias < 2% and can be used to estimate S. giganteum biomass more generally. This study provides the first estimate of the growth and carbon sequestration of UK open-grown S. giganteum and provides a baseline for estimating their longer-term carbon sequestration capacity.

SOIL CARBON STOCKS NOT LINKED TO ABOVEGROUND LITTER INPUT AND CHEMISTRY OF OLD-GROWTH FOREST AND ADJACENT PRAIRIE

ABSTRACT The long-standing assumption that aboveground plant litter inputs have a substantial influence on soil organic carbon storage (SOC) and dynamics has been challenged by a new paradigm for SOC formation and persistence. We tested the importance of plant litter chemistry on SOC storage, distribution, composition, and age by comparing two highly contrasting ecosystems: an old-growth coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forest, with highly aromatic litter, and an adjacent coastal prairie, with more easily decomposed litter. We hypothesized that if plant litter chemistry was the primary driver, redwood would store more and older SOC that was less microbially processed than prairie. Total soil carbon stocks to 110 cm depth were higher in prairie (35 kg C m−2) than redwood (28 kg C m−2). Radiocarbon values indicated shorter SOC residence times in redwood than prairie throughout the profile. Higher amounts of pyrogenic carbon and a higher degree of microbial processing of SOC appear to be instrumental for soil carbon storage and persistence in prairie, while differences in fine-root carbon inputs likely contribute to younger SOC in redwood. We conclude that at these sites fire residues, root inputs, and soil properties influence soil carbon dynamics to a greater degree than the properties of aboveground litter.

Financial Comparison of Continuous-Cover Forestry, Rotational Forest Management and Permanent Carbon Forest Regimes for Redwood within New Zealand

Continuous-cover forestry (CCF), which maintains a relatively intact forest cover through selective harvesting, has emerged over the last few decades as a popular alternative to rotational forest management (RFM). Coast redwood, which is native to the western United States, grows rapidly in New Zealand and is well suited to CCF as it has high shade tolerance, an ability to coppice from the cut stem, and resistance to pests, diseases, wind and fire. A forest estate model was used to compare the carbon sequestration, timber production and profitability of redwood CCF, RFM and permanent carbon forestry (PCF) regimes at a regional level within New Zealand. Through linear programming, this model optimised carbon accumulation and harvesting decisions across a large forest to meet a series of constraints associated with each regime. All three regimes represented good investment decisions, but CCF had the highest soil expectation value (SEV) within most North Island regions while PCF had a slightly higher SEV within the South Island regions. Under the transitional CCF (CCFt), revenue from carbon initially increased before levelling out at 40 years, after which time a sustainable harvest of high-value timber commenced in perpetuity without additional revenue from carbon. The CCFt regime transitioned to a steady-state condition, with a uniform age class distribution from year 150 onwards (CCFs), after which time a very high SEV was attained that exceeded that of CCFt by four-fold in the North Island (NZD 136,126/ha vs. NZD 34,430/ha) and seven-fold (NZD 44,714 vs. NZD 6267/ha) in the South Island. This study highlights the profitability of managing redwood under CCF and how initial carbon revenue can be used to finance the transition of the forest to a steady-state condition that produces a stream of valuable timber with a very high rate of return.

Three Censuses of a Mapped Plot in Coastal California Mixed-Evergreen and Redwood Forest

Large, mapped forest research plots are important sources of data to understand spatial and temporal changes in forest communities in the context of global change. Here, we describe the data from the first three censuses of the 16-ha UC Santa Cruz Forest Ecology Research Plot, located in the Mediterranean-climate forest on the central coast of California, USA. The forest includes both mixed-evergreen forest and redwood-dominated forest and is recovering from significant logging disturbances in the early 20th century. Each woody stem with a diameter ≥ 1 cm at 1.3 m was mapped, tagged, identified, and measured, with censuses performed at ~5-year intervals. The first census included just 6 ha (previously described), and the area was then expanded to 16 ha in the second census. We describe the temporal dynamics of the forest in the original 6 ha, as well as the structure and temporal dynamics of the full 16 ha. The community includes 34 woody species, including 4 gymnosperm and 9 angiosperm tree species, 18 species of shrubs, and 3 species of lianas. The community includes eight non-native species, representing less than 0.5% of the stems. More than half the species show greater rates of mortality than recruitments, reflective of a dynamic forest community. Over a decade, the number of living woody stems has declined, but the basal area has increased, reflecting a self-thinning process.

:The Ghost Forest: Racists, Radicals, and Real Estate in the California Redwoods

:<i>The Ghost Forest: Racists, Radicals, and Real Estate in the California Redwoods</i>

After fire, coast redwoods use decades-old carbon reserves to recover.

After fire, coast redwoods use decades-old carbon reserves to recover.

Some Features of the Shoot Systems in Representatives of the Tribe Sequoiae, Cultivated in Russia

The article focuses on the growth rates of three extant species belonging to the tribe Sequoiaceae: Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Sequoia sempervirens and Sequoiadendron giganteum. The material was collected from botanical garden collections on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus and Crimea. During a long growing season, all three species form shoot systems of varying complexity: from unbranched shoots consisting of a single elementary shoot to sylleptically branched multi-axial systems. In S. giganteum, the shoot systems formed during an extra-bud growth period are similar to those of other Cupressaceae species and partly to those of Pinaceae. In Metasequoia glyptostroboides and Sequoia sempervirens, sylleptically branched shoot systems are differentiated into several variants: on orthotropic shoots in the upper part of the growth, plagiotropic branches are sylleptic and continue to grow after the orthotropic part of the shoot system has stopped growing. Plagiotropic sylleptic lateral shoots continue to branch into second-order lateral shoots. Similar structures are found in Araucaria and archaic fossil conifers. M. glyptostroboides and S. sempervirens have phyllomorphic branches of the same appearance as those described for Tsuga canadensis. Plagiotropic lateral sylleptic shoots continue to branch into second-order lateral shoots. Similar structures are known in Araucaria and fossil archaic conifers. M. glyptostroboides and S. sempervirens have phyllomorphic branches of the same appearance as described for Tsuga canadensis. These species are also characterized by buds formed serially below the sylleptically growing shoot. In M. glyptostroboides, the phyllomorphic branches fall off annually, and their perennial bases form a growing, basisympodially shortened shoot. The renewal bud is not located under the bark, as in Taxodium distichum.

Old reserves and ancient buds fuel regrowth of coast redwood after catastrophic fire.

For long-lived organisms, investment in insurance strategies such as reserve energy storage can enable resilience to resource deficits, stress or catastrophic disturbance. Recent fire in California damaged coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) groves, consuming all foliage on some of the tallest and oldest trees on Earth. Burned trees recovered through resprouting from roots, trunk and branches, necessarily supported by nonstructural carbon reserves. Nonstructural carbon reserves can be many years old, but direct use of old carbon has rarely been documented and never in such large, old trees. We found some sprouts contained the oldest carbon ever observed to be remobilized for growth. For certain trees, simulations estimate up to half of sprout carbon was acquired in photosynthesis more than 57 years prior, and direct observations in sapwood show trees can access reserves at least as old. Sprouts also emerged from ancient buds-dormant under bark for centuries. For organisms with millennial lifespans, traits enabling survival of infrequent but catastrophic events may represent an important energy sink. Remobilization of decades-old photosynthate after disturbance demonstrates substantial amounts of nonstructural carbon within ancient trees cycles on slow, multidecadal timescales.

Residual Stand Structure and Topography Predict Initial Survival and Animal Browsing of Redwood and Douglas-Fir Seedlings Planted in Coastal Forests of Northern California

Successful regeneration of commercial species is central to the long-term sustainability of forests managed for wood production. We studied two species of tree seedlings planted after group selection and single-tree selection harvesting in a 20 ha replicated silviculture experiment in stands dominated by coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens (D.Don) Endl.). Treatments consisted of complete harvest in 1 ha group selection opening (GS), low-density dispersed retention (LD), aggregated high-density retention (HA), and dispersed high-density retention (HD). One year after planting, seedlings planted on a southwest aspect had the lowest survival rate, while northeast aspects had nearly complete survival rates. As expected, redwood had a higher survival rate than coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var menziesii (Mirb.) Franco). Survival rates exhibited a rise-peak-fall pattern with stand density, most notably on southwest-facing slopes, ranking LD &gt; HA ≈ HD &gt; GS treatments. Deer browsing of planted seedlings was a pervasive problem where Douglas-fir were preferentially browsed over redwood. In treatments with higher retention densities, browsing was less likely, ranking GS &gt; LD &gt; HA &gt; HD treatments. Further from watercourses at higher elevation, the probability of browsing diminished. Overall, dispersed treatments outperformed aggregated and GS treatments by simultaneously maximizing survival and minimizing browsing of planted seedlings. We did not perform site preparation or herbicide treatment of re-sprouting hardwoods following harvest, and therefore recommend testing the effectiveness of understory vegetation management to enhance seedling survival. Consideration could also be given to planting more seedlings in anticipation of lower survival rates, and/or implementing seedling protection measures when and where heavy browsing is expected.

Financial Comparison of Afforestation Using Redwood and Radiata Pine within New Zealand for Regimes That Derive Value from Timber and Carbon

Carbon sequestration has become an important source of supplementary revenue from forest plantations. Although there are many financial comparisons of species based on timber revenue, there have been few regional comparisons that integrate revenue from carbon. Within New Zealand, radiata pine is the most widely planted species, but there has been a recent upsurge in planting rates for coast redwood. Under New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme, areas that are newly afforested under clear-fell rotational forestry receive carbon payments up to a set age, intended to represent the long-term average under successive rotations. Using growth models for both species, the objectives of this research were to regionally quantify (i) how the rotation length and the carbon averaging age influenced the profitability of growing redwood and (ii) compare carbon, timber yields, and profitability between radiata pine and redwood. The results showed the legislated carbon averaging age of 22 years for redwood underestimated the actual mid-points of carbon accumulation, which averaged 26, 28, and 31 years across rotation lengths of 40, 45, and 50 years, respectively. The optimal rotation length for redwood varied markedly by region and carbon price but was most often 40 years, increasing to 50 years at higher carbon prices, particularly for southern regions. Under regimes where revenue was only derived from timber, the redwood internal rate of return (IRR) exceeded that of radiata pine for eight of the nine New Zealand regions. When revenue was received from carbon and timber, redwood had a higher IRR than radiata pine up to carbon prices ranging from 29 to 50 NZD/tonne CO2 for the North Island and 23 to 34 NZD/tonne CO2 in all South Island regions apart from Otago. The IRR of radiata pine exceeded that of redwood at carbon prices above these values for the eight regions and at all carbon prices within the cold, dry Otago region.

Temperate food forest soil and dead organic matter carbon content relative to adjacent land

AbstractSoil is identified as the terrestrial carbon (C) pool with the highest potential for C sequestration. This study therefore examined the soil organic carbon (SOC) under four different but adjacent land‐use systems in the temperate climate zone: a food forest, redwood forest, pasture land and agricultural field in Dartington, UK. Soil samples were collected at 0‐ to 20‐cm and 20‐ to 40‐cm depth at all four sites. Two soil fractionation methodologies were applied as well as analysis for C content. Additionally, carbon content from dead organic matter (DOM) was estimated from the woody and non‐woody litter in the food forest and redwood forest. Similar total SOC was found between all four systems. However, due to the difference in turnover rates of C in different soil fractions, the food forest soil exhibited a similar long‐term storage of C as the redwood forest, while pasture land and agricultural field stored less C in the long term. The redwood forest exhibited a higher non‐woody litter C content than the food forest, but similar amounts of coarse and fine woody litter.

A Quantitatively Divided Approach for the Vertical Belt of Vegetation Based on NDVI and DEM—An Analysis of Taibai Mountain

Vertical vegetation differentiation is the most important form of spatial pattern in mountainous areas. It is of great significance to accurately divide vegetation into vertical zones for the study of mountain ecosystems and ecological protection. In order to accurately divide the vertical zone of mountain vegetation and determine the spatial distribution of mountain vegetation, the relationship between the vegetation index of various vegetation types and altitude was examined using remote sensing and geographic information technology. Taking Taibai Mountain, the main peak of the Qinling Mountains in China, as the study area, based on the difference in NDVI between summer and autumn (DNSA), this work constructed a DEM-NDVI scatter plot and quantified the boundary of the vertical zone by the half-peak width calculation method. The findings showed that: (1) the vertical distribution pattern of mountain vegetation may very well be reflected in the scatterplot that NDSA and DEM created; (2) Six vertical belts could be accurately identified to the meter level on Taibai Mountain’s south slope. Up to the altitude, the oak forest zone from the bottom of the mountain to the elevation of 1919 m, the pine-oak mixed forest zone is distributed in 1919–2331 m, the birch forest is distributed in 2115–2585 m, the fir forest is distributed in 2516–3150 m, the redwood forest is distributed in 3109–3551 m, and the alpine scrub meadow is distributed in 3551 m to the peak. On the north slope, 1053–2087 m above sea level is oak forest, 2087–2693 is birch forest, 2562–3006 is fir forest, 2987–3513 m is redwood forest, and 3513 to the top of the mountain is alpine scrub meadow; and (3) the distribution pattern of the vegetation vertical belt on the DEM-NDVI scatter plot was essentially compatible with the vegetation classification results derived from remote sensing images. The DEM-NDVI scatter plot can reflect the average distribution of vegetation population and can more accurately express the characteristics of vegetation vertical zone changes with altitude.

Financial comparison of afforestation using redwood and radiata pine under carbon regimes within New Zealand

The accurate regional characterisation of the quantity and value of carbon for key plantation species is important for both forest owners and governments. New Zealand is committed to reaching carbon net zero by 2050 and forests are currently dominated by the fast growing species radiata pine (Pinus radiata) which comprises 90% of all plantations. However, coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is a promising alternative species, that is particularly suited to permanent carbon regimes, as the species is capable of rapid growth over hundreds of years. Recent increases in the carbon price have stimulated afforestation rates within New Zealand and permanent forests now comprise almost one-quarter of new plantings. Using growth models to predict carbon over a 100 year period, the objective of this study was to regionally compare carbon yields and net present value (NPV) for radiata pine and redwood carbon regimes.Model predictions show that by age 100 years, total carbon for redwood exceeded that of radiata pine within eight of the nine regions within New Zealand. Gains were greatest in the North Island, where redwood carbon exceeded that of radiata pine by on average 74%, with differences reaching up to 85% (5,203 vs. 2,808 tonnes CO2/ha at age 100 years). Under a flat baseline real carbon price of $80/tonne CO2, the NPV for redwood was very similar to that of radiata pine within four of the five North Island regions. This similarity between species was maintained across the examined carbon price range which included 26 real carbon values ranging from $35 to $160/tonne CO2. However, NPV for radiata pine exceeded that of redwood within all South Island regions as growth rates for radiata pine were greater over the first 50 years and these earlier returns have higher weighting in discounted cashflow analysis. There was marked divergence in NPV between species across all four South Island regions with increasing carbon price. The establishment of a large permanent redwood resource over the next few decades in the North Island could greatly assist New Zealand to meet its carbon obligations over both the medium to long term.

Change on the North Coast

Victor Bjelajac, District Superintendent of the North Coast Redwoods District State Parks, tells of his efforts not only on the Madison Grant monument but also on renaming another state park and bringing Yurok and other Indigenous tribes into the park system as keepers of their ancestral lands. Bjelajac contemplates the meaning and possibilities of social justice work in government agencies. He points out, among many other things, the momentum that came to the effort to rename some parks following the George Floyd moment in American history.