Ancient Redwoods Show Calif. Wildfires Who's Boss
Most giant trees in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, including 'Mother of the Forest,' survive blazes
(Newser) - When a massive wildfire swept through California's oldest state park last week, it was feared many trees in a grove of old-growth redwoods, some of them 2,000 years old and among the tallest living things on Earth, may finally have succumbed. But an AP reporter and photographer hiked...
Man Killed by Falling Redwood in California
200ft tree fell on Christmas Eve hiker
(Newser) - A hiker from Minnesota was killed on Christmas Eve by one of the world's most majestic trees. Authorities say 28-year-old Edina resident Subhradeep Dutta was killed by a falling redwood tree in California's Muir Woods National Monument at around 4:40pm on Tuesday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports....
Tallest Redwood in Muir Woods Not So Old After All
Ring analysis shows Tree 76 is a mere 777 years old—not 1,500
(Newser) - You had us all fooled, Tree 76. Up til now, scientists believed that the tallest redwood in California's Muir Woods was about 1,500 years old, the Los Angeles Times notes. But the 249-foot-tall giant—or, as the San Francisco Chronicle now refers to it, "a puerile sprig...
Redwoods Growing at Fastest Rate Ever
And we may have climate change to thank
(Newser) - Not a phrase you typically see associated with climate change: "a wonderful, happy surprise." But that's what the science director at the Save the Redwoods League had to say to the Los Angeles Times about the news that coast redwoods and giant sequoias have grown at their...
Redwoods Felled a Century Ago to Live On
Clones being replanted today in effort to fight climate change
(Newser) - A new weapon in the fight against climate change: 18-inch-tall redwood clones. The laboratory-produced trees are genetic duplicates of three giants that were cut down in northern California more than a century ago. Remarkably, shoots still emerge from the stumps, including one known as the Fieldbrook Stump, which measures 35...
Now Vintners Want Redwoods Razed
Environmentalists irate over razing request by wineries
(Newser) - Giant redwoods have lots of enemies. First it was Pacific Lumber. Now, it's the growing horde of vintners who are demanding rights to raze the trees to make way for Pinot Noir vineyards and mansions. Two large wineries in northern California are petitioning the state for the right to...
Good Luck Finding the World's Tallest Tree
It's somewhere in California, but no one will say where
(Newser) - Nine years ago, the world's tallest known tree was 369 feet high—roughly twice the size of the Statue of Liberty. But after holding that title for four years, a 379-foot tree was discovered in California's Redwood National Park. That tree, nicknamed "Hyperion," and the old...
Thinning Fog Hurts Calif. Redwoods
Iconic shroud down about a third, but it's not climate change
(Newser) - The fog that famously shrouds the northern California coast has thinned by about a third in the past century—terrible news for the state's famous redwood trees, which are nourished by the moisture. Cool air coastside and warm air inland create the fog, and scientists say a less dramatic...
Calif. Scientists Trim Forest, Create 'Carbon Bank'
Researchers look for the most efficient way to store emissions
(Newser) - Researchers in California are perfecting the science of carbon dioxide "banking"—tweaking a forest to store the maximum amount of the gas. In Big River forest, scientists have cleared some undergrowth, leaving the state's iconic redwoods to grow bigger thanks to lack of competition. The idea is that...
Calif. Branches Into Forests to Fight Climate Change
(Newser) - The California government is preparing to enter into the "forest bank" business in a bid to save woodlands and battle carbon pollution and climate change, reports the Los Angeles Times. The state is expected to roll out a California "cabon market" that may be expanded elsewhere in the...
UCSC Tree-Sitters Hold Their Perches
Protesters refuse to budge, despite truce with UC Berkeley
(Newser) - UC Berkeley's tree-sitters may have surrendered their perches earlier this week, but demonstrators at UC Santa Cruz are not ready to give up their redwood-saving fight. The activists, nearing the 1-year anniversary of their protest, suspect the university will cut down trees before classes begin in two weeks, but...
Berkeley Tree-Sitters Finally Climb Down
Last protesters climb down as university erects scaffold around redwood
(Newser) - The last four tree-sitters climbed down from their perches at UC Berkeley today, ending a 2-year vigil to protest the university's plans to cut down a grove of trees and build a sports facility, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The university will build the facility, but it agreed to set...
Fires Threaten Big Sur
California smokeaters stretched thin with 700 blazes
(Newser) - Firefighters rushed to guard historic buildings in the scenic coastal town of Big Sur yesterday as a lightning-sparked wildfire blazed through a national forest in California, AP reports. The fire, only 3% contained, has burned 42 square miles of redwoods and destroyed 16 homes since Saturday. With 700 fires blazing...