Big trees - what a shame

[John Ziebron]

A friend recently sent me an email with a bunch of historical photos and captions. These two were among them. I would love to see these giants in person some day.

California lumberjacks work on Redwoods. Thousands of tree rings in these ancient trees - each over 1000+ years old or even much older...such a shame...irreplaceable giants.

National park treasures all gone but a few – what kind of men would do such a thing for over 100 years - destroy something they cannot ever fix or replace for 2000 years? It is an evergreen, long-lived, monoecious tree living 1200–1800 years or more. An estimated 95% or more of the original old-growth redwood forest has been cut. In 1850, old-growth redwood forest covered more than 2,000,000 acres...down to 8,100 acres by 1968, by which time nearly 90% of the original redwood trees had been logged.

[Yonak Hawkins]

It's old fashioned selfishness .. depriving our progeny of something we take for ourselves.

[Art Mann]

When those trees were cut, there were probably many square miles of such trees and it didn't seem like depriving anyone of anything. One should not assign blame or claim selfishness to the people of history who didn't realize what they were doing.

[John Ziebron]

I just said it was a shame that this happened. I wasn't blaming anyone for it. I understand the circumstances of the time. I'm sure there are things we are doing today that a hundred years from now people will say the same thing.

[Matt Day]

They didn't have the benefit of hindsight. Can't be mad at them - it was a different time and place and American used up that wood faster than it could be cut.

[Prashun Patel]

My favorite place in the world (as if I've been everywhere ) is Muir Woods outside of San Francisco.

We'll have our own set of pictures to evoke our children's pity and outrage, as they will have theirs.

[Jim Koepke]

Who was it who said, "a tree is a tree, how many more do you need to look at?"

(He is often misquoted as having said, "If you've seen one redwood, you've seen them all.")

jtk

[John K Jordan]

My favorite place in the world (as if I've been everywhere ) is Muir Woods outside of San Francisco.

Me too! I was also surprised at the "hidden" pockets of big redwoods I found while exploring the state. (I used to fly out to write software and spent the weekends driving aimlessly!)

JKJ

[Mel Fulks]

[QUOTE=Jim Koepke;2675770]Who was it who said, "a tree is a tree, how many more do you need to look

Some self effacing guy with a rope around his neck

[Pat Barry]

Did you see the size of that saw??

[michael langman]

The white man was brought up to conquer nature, not to live alongside of it.

Very sad indeed.

[Pat Barry]

Kind of ironic isn't it. A bunch of woodworkers lamenting some trees getting cut down?

[Art Mann]

The same thing is happening today to the vast rain forests in underdeveloped countries of the world. Some of the people who are clear cutting them for farm land are just trying to stay alive. I can't blame them either.

[Yonak Hawkins]

I, for one, am not willing to be so forgiving. We've known for centuries, ever since the majority of trees were cut from Europe that there are finite natural resources available to us but, when we found more resources on the other side of the ocean, we took to decimating them without reservation and without remorse. Did we listen to the natives in America who revere nature ? No .. you can't say we didn't know. We were selfish and uncaring for the people who would follow us. Now they will be deprived of the gift nature gave us. By the way, it's still happening.

[David Helm]

Those guys cut a lot of trees for sure, but the actual deforestation did not happen till the advent of the chain saw and major clear cut logging. The Redwoods and the temperate rain forests in the Northwest are mere fractions of what they once were. Replanting a single species does not make for a magnificent mixed species, mixed age forest. Monoculture has proven to never work in the long run. As for woodworkers decrying logging; I don't see a problem as long as the wood used is from sustainable harvesting done with continued health of the forest in mind. Most of what I get here in Washington is done that way. There is no logical reason to continue clearcutting the remaining ancient forests.