New Maps Issued Today Show More Than 93% of Giant Sequoia and 55% of Coast Redwood Ranges in Extreme-to-Exceptional Drought Conditions

San Francisco, Calif. (June 22, 2021)—Save the Redwoods League released new drought severity maps that show most of the coast redwood and giant sequoia forests—the world’s tallest and largest trees—are experiencing extreme to exceptional drought conditions. These are potentially dangerous, dry conditions for these iconic forests.

• More than 93% of the giant sequoia in the Sierra Nevada are in Exceptional Drought, the most severe category.
• More than 55% of the coast redwood range is in either Extreme or Exceptional drought.

The biggest threat to these forests is the unnatural overgrowth of vegetation due to decades of fire suppression. This overgrowth coupled with extremely dry conditions means a high risk of intense wildfires in both the coast redwood and giant sequoia ranges.

The National Park Service estimates that 10-14.5% of the world’s giant sequoia died because of the 2020 SQF Complex fire in the Sierra Nevada.

WHAT TO DO:

Immediate action must be taken. These forests need state and federal support to help us build resilience back into California’s iconic forests.

• Readers may contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the U.S. Forest Service, to call for immediate action to protect giant sequoia.
• People are also invited to donate to the Save the Redwoods League, who has established a Wildfire Fund which will fund important measures to protect our coast redwood and giant sequoia forests and make them more resilient in a time of future wildfires.

WHERE:

The coast redwood range extends from Big Sur up the coast to the Oregon border. The giant sequoia range occupies just 73 groves along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada.

New Maps:

By overlaying drought maps provided by the U.S. Drought Monitor with maps of the coast redwood and giant sequoia ranges, the League illustrates that huge swaths of these natural treasures are in potentially dangerous dry conditions.

Map of drought severity in coast redwood range

Map of drought severity in giant sequoia range