coast redwoods

Sequoia National Park.

New Initiative to Sequence the Redwood Genomes

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We are sequencing the coast redwood and giant sequoia genomes. While the first steps in this project will happen in the laboratory, the goal is to rapidly put this new understanding of redwood DNA to work for conservation. To support vigorous coast redwood and giant sequoia forests in the decades ahead, we will need to protect not only the remarkable structure of the forest, but also protect the genetic diversity that underlies it.

A National Monument for the Santa Cruz Coast?

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On the Santa Cruz coast, surrounding the picturesque town of Davenport, is a sweeping expanse of native coastal prairie and redwood forest. This beautiful landscape is special not only for what it is, a local historical and ecological treasure, but for what it could become — our next national monument.

Coast Redwood Science Symposium 2016. Photo of Redwood National Park by Michael Schweppe, Wikimedia Commons

Semi-Decadal Scientific Symposium Focuses on Iconic Coast Redwood Forest

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Coast Redwood Science Symposium 2016, hosted by the University of California. The three-day symposium will include general session speakers, concurrent presentations, poster presentations, a reception, and field trip opportunities to view current issues in redwood forest management on California’s North Coast.

Peter Frazier at the San Vicente Redwoods property.

Peter B. Frazier: Making Wise Decisions in Changing Times

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Peter B. Frazier, Save the Redwoods League Board of Directors Treasurer, comes from entrepreneurial pioneer stock. When his great grandfather was only 19 years old, he headed from Boston Harbor around Cape Horn to then-tiny town of San Francisco. Like thousands of people from around the world, he made the long journey to look for gold.

: It’s easy to see how tanoak mortality from sudden oak death can have effects on the whole forest community. This photo was taken in Marin County, CA. Image by the USFS Region 5, Flickr Creative Commons.

Sudden oak death is plaguing California forests

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Last week, Deborah Zierten introduced us to sudden oak death, a nasty fungal disease (known in scientific circles as Phytopthera ramorum) that is causing the widespread  decline and death of tanoak, one of the most common tree species found in …

Epiphytic mushrooms and moss growing on a redwood branch. Photo by Steve Sillett

Epiphyte Heaven!

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I think I first really learned the meaning of the word “epiphyte” while working in the rainforest of Ecuador. There are epiphytes all over the trees in the tropical rainforest – one of the most famous  is the orchid. But …

Sudden oak death in Marin County, California. Photo by USFS Region 5, Flickr Creative Commons

Oaks and Ashes and Chestnuts, oh my!

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A recent article in the Observer, “Die-back kills off 90% of Denmark’s ash trees,” had me both remembering my childhood and thinking ahead to the future of the redwood forest.  Growing up in Britain, I remember the scourge of Dutch …