You Can Help Scientists Learn about Redwoods

During BioBlitz 2014, League scientists climb and explore the tallest trees in Muir Woods for the first time ever.
During BioBlitz 2014, League scientists climb and explore the tallest trees in Muir Woods for the first time ever.

Thousands of nature enthusiasts like you recently joined Save the Redwoods League and other conservation organizations at BioBlitz to inventory the plant and animal species that live in Muir Woods National Monument and several national park sites in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Scientists found surprises in the first-ever canopy survey of redwoods at Muir Woods.

Researchers of the League’s Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative climbed two trees at Muir Woods: a 249-foot redwood and a 229-foot Douglas-fir.

One of the biggest surprises was a tiny salamander found about 10 feet up in the Douglas-fir,” said Emily Burns, League Director of Science. “We think it is an arboreal salamander, and we’re working to identify it.”

The scientists also found more than 40 lichens in the redwood and more than 55 lichens in the fir. ” Before the BioBlitz, we didn’t know that some of the species grow in Muir Woods,” Burns said.

The team also took core samples of the redwood and saw on first inspection that the recent tree rings show the growth surge found in many other old redwoods throughout the redwood range in recent decades.

About 9,000 people, including more than 2,700 schoolchildren, participated in the Golden Gate National Parks BioBlitz on March 28 and 29, 2014. We’re grateful to our partners, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, U.S. National Park Service and San Francisco Foundation.

About the author

Since 1918, Save the Redwoods League has protected and restored redwood forests and connected people with their peace and beauty so these wonders of the natural world flourish.


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