Grove of Titans

A man glancing up at Screaming Titans, one of the coastal redwood trees in the Grove of Titans

The Grove of Titans is a redwood grove in Del Norte County, Northern California, with several massive coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) trees, some of the largest known redwoods in terms of wood volume. The largest coastal redwood tree in the grove by volume is the single-stem Del Norte Titan.[1] The Lost Monarch is comparably large, but a large sprout from the ground at its base is not part of the main trunk structure.

History

The Grove of Titans (unofficially named) was discovered May 11, 1998, by Stephen Sillett, and naturalist Michael Taylor in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.[2] The discovery implies that Sillett and Taylor are the first to realize and declare the significance of the grove, not that they were the first ones ever to see it.

Approximately 2011, a person from Oregon learned of and posted the grove's geolocation online. A surge of visitors followed, trampling hundreds of native plants. The surge of boot traffic triggered problems like damage to native plants, soil compaction, difficulty for scientists, and strain on limited park resources.[3] Between 2012 and 2016, approximately 8000 sq.ft. of ferns, sorrel and other plants were destroyed by visitors. The native plant damage was most evident around a redwood called Screaming Titans. In July 2016 the parks posted a sign which states up to 3300 sq. meters impacted.[4]

May 2016, M. D. Vaden, Certified Arborist, sent a $1000 donation to Redwood National and State Parks, earmarked for helping the Grove of Titans.[5] This first contribution of $1000 was provided in case the parks develop an effective strategy. Contributions to Redwood National and State Parks[6] are handled by California Department of Parks and Recreation.[7]. In 2017, the parks revealed the need for donations far beyond the first $1000, and described a $1,000,000 boardwalk and trail plan. The parks openly went public through an interview and news writer. The article revealed that a non-profit Redwood Parks Conservancy received $300 for the grove as of February 2017. Another update at Facebook denoted $5000, far short of one million. [8] In 2016, the park posted notices about the damage in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, using before and after photos showing change over a period of several years. [9]

Flora

Names of the named largest redwoods in this grove include Lost Monarch, El Viejo del Norte, Screaming Titans, Eärendil and Elwing, Beregond, Aragorn, Sacajawea, Aldebaran, Stalagmight and Del Norte Titan.

Several abundant understory plants are California sword fern – Polystichum munitum and Redwood sorrel – Oxalis oregana.

Location

The Grove of Titans is in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park of Northern California, south of Highway 199. The closest town is Crescent City, California. The location was described by author Richard Preston as "the bottom of a hidden notch-like valley near a glade." The exact location within the park has not been revealed in this book for fear that excessive traffic will damage the grove.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gymnosperm Database
  2. ↑ Preston, Richard (2007). The Wild Trees: A Story Of Passion And Daring. Allen Lane Publishers.
  3. ↑ Lizzie Johnson (November 26, 2017). "Hard-to-find redwood grove no longer so elusive, and trees are suffering". San Francisco Chronicle.
  4. ↑ http://www.mdvaden.com/redwood_screaming_titans.shtml
  5. ↑ http://www.mdvaden.com/redwood_year_discovery.shtml
  6. ↑ https://www.nps.gov/redw/index.htm
  7. ↑ http://www.parks.ca.gov/
  8. ↑ http://www.triplicate.com/news/5120775-151/saving-titans
  9. ↑ http://www.mdvaden.com/redwood_GOT.shtml

Coordinates: 41°46′41″N 124°5′59″W / 41.77806°N 124.09972°W / 41.77806; -124.09972

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