• Photo Credits

  redwood sun image by Dennis Carrigan from Fotolia.com

Here at the Elk Meadow Cabins, I get people that ask me if I have seen a bear, lion or other wild animals.  The answer is yes.  Not all the time, but I have seen Black Bears and twice have seen a Mountain Lion (both times while I was driving).  They are not common, but it can happen.  What to do if you do see a Bear or Mountain Lion?  Consider yourself lucky! What a great thing to witness !  But there are certain precautions that you must take to ensure the safety of yourself and the animal.  Below are some suggestions from the National Park on what to do if you do encounter a wild animal while visiting Redwood National Park

BEARS

Like all mammals in our parks, bears are wild. Inviting them into your picnic or camp—on purpose or accidentally—can result in damage to your equipment, you, or the bear. Bears have great memories, so they quickly become accustomed to human foods. Once habituated to campground fare, a bear may become aggressive to humans. At that point, wildlife managers may have to destroy the bear. Help save a bear and avoid personal injury by following these precautions:

• Use the campground bear-proof lockers for food and all scented items.
• Dispose of garbage immediately in bearproof trash cans.
• Carry a bearproof canister when backpacking.
• Keep a clean camp at all times.
• Never feed bears.
• If a bear approaches or stands up, wave your arms and shout. DO NOT RUN!
• Please report any sightings to a park ranger.
• A fed bear is a dead bear.

Birding in Redwood National Park is one of the easiest and fun things to do.  Here at the Elk Meadow Cabins we get birders from all over the world to see our unique species of birds, varied bird habitats and mix of birds found here all year.

We have two wonderful bird festivals in the area, The Godwit Days and the California Redwoods Bird and Nature Festival.

Below is an article about the California Redwoods Bird and Nature Festival which was last weekend.

Nature festival draws 150

Nature events are continuing through Sunday

The Daily Triplicate/Nick Grube

About 150 people participated in last weekend’s California Redwoods Bird and Nature Festival that featured three days of eco-tourism events throughout Del Norte County and a Saturday evening fund-raising gala.

While the turnout was less than it was for a similar event in previous years, when the number of registered participants ranged from 175 to 250, organizer Rick Hiser called the festival a success and a good launch point for the future.

“It was great,” Hiser said. “It was absolutely beautiful weather, and that’s one of the reasons we changed the date.”

Before it was the California Redwoods Bird and Nature Festival, it was known as the Aleutian Goose Festival, held every March to coincide with the migration of the Aleutian cackling goose. But after organizers cancelled the festival last year due to poor economic conditions caused by the worst recession since the 1930s, they reinvented it to try and take advantage of Del Norte County’s generally nicer May weather.

According to Hiser, some of the most popular trips participants signed up for were the pelagic ocean journeys that went 20 miles out to sea, three-hour kayaking ventures in and around Crescent City’s harbor, and guided drift boat tours down the Smith River. In previous years, he said many of these trips were cancelled due to poor weather.

Hiser estimated that of the 150 participants, 90-95 percent were from within the region but outside of the local community. He said some people came from as far as way as Seattle, Portland, San Luis Obispo and San Diego.

“We actually had more people this time from farther away than I recall in the past,” Hiser said. “A nice handful of those people came at the beginning of the week and did some birding on their own (before) joining us for the festival.”

While he said it was still too early to know how much money the California Redwood Bird and Nature Festival made over its three days of events, Hiser noted that the goal is to carry over several thousand dollars into the fall to help advertise next year’s event and to use as seed money.

The California Redwoods Bird and Nature Festival was the beginning of Del Norte County’s Nature and Heritage Week. Upcoming events include:

• Rededication of Ruby Van Deventer County Park, Wednesday, 3 p.m.

• Del Norte authors book signing and sale, Wednesday, 5-7 p.m., Gallery of Arts & Culture.

• Ruby Van Deventer Wildflower Show, Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., and Saturday, May 15, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., county fairgrounds. Call (707) 457-3485 for more information.

• Crescent City Art Walk, Friday, 4-7 p.m.

• Open houses for the Del Norte County Historical Society Museum (10 a.m.-4 p.m.) and Battery Point Lighthouse (10 a.m.-1 p.m.), Sunday. Call (707) 464-3922 for more information.

• Wildflower hikes, Sunday.

• Historic Kelsey Trail hike, beginning Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Big Flat Campground. Call (707) 954-0028 for more information.

• Maritime history driving tour, Sunday, 2-4 p.m., starting in front of museum, 577 H St. Call (707) 464-8299 for more information.

Here in Redwood National Park, people are so eager to talk about the trees, that it often gets over-looked that we have quite a few animals.  At the Elk Meadow Cabins, we see the Roosevelt Elk on a daily basis, but there are many other animal that are unique and easy to see.  I came across the article by Karie Fay s that reminded me that there is a great deal more to Redwood National Park than big trees and amazing views.  I hope you find this usefull.

No matter where you go in Redwood’s many and varied lands and waters, you are sure to encounter hundreds of animals. From the prairies to the shelter of the trees, and from the ocean to the streams, you will see wild and dangerous animals, beautiful and intriguing birds, and perhaps surprisingly interesting residents.

Endangered Animals

1. 
   sea lion image by Evan Meyer from Fotolia.com
   Steller’s sea lions are also called northern sea lions.

   Redwood forests and waters harbor numerous threatened or endangered species. These include the northern spotted owl, who loves the old-growth redwoods; the marbled murrelet, who is dependent on the old redwoods for nesting; the bald eagle; and the western snowy plover, a small bird preyed on by larger birds and raccoons in particular. The coho and chinook salmon can be found in and are totally protected in the park. Steelhead trout and the tidewater goby, a small fish (about 2 inches long) found only in California, also live in the park. Steller’s sea lions, which make a low roar instead of a bark, enjoy Redwood’s coast lines.

Threatened Animals

2. 
   california brown pelican image by Xavier MARCHANT from Fotolia.com
   The brown pelican is struggling to recover from endangerment.

   The brown pelican, which has been de-listed from the endangered species list due to Redwood’s conservation efforts calls the waters of Redwood home. The American Peregrine Falcon is no longer endangered, but considered threatened. Roosevelt’s elk, named after Theodore Roosevelt (who took a special interest in Redwood Park and declared it a national park), is showing significant numbers after approaching extinction with a dozen or two members in the early 1900s.

On Land

3. 
   fox image by DOLPHIN from Fotolia.com
   The gray fox is one of the few dog family members that can climb trees.

   Hundreds, if not thousands, of animal species call Redwood’s home. Some notable residents include: the bobcat, a 20-lb feline version of the domestic cat; the grey fox, one of the few canines able to climb trees, according to the National Park Service; raccoons; western gray squirrels; Sonoma chipmunks; dusky-footed wood rats, which make nests among the redwood trees; the black-tailed deer, which has a black stripe on it’s tail; and the black bear, which the National Park Service states is very shy. The Pacific giant salamander and banana slugs are among the reptiles and animal life in the park.

Redwood’s Air Residents

4. 
   colorado blue jay image by Earl Robbins from Fotolia.com
   Stellar’s Jay has a black hood for a distinct appearance.

   The lush canopy of Redwood’s trees is home to varied birds, insects and a mammal–the bat. According to Redwood National Park, since it is “cool and shady, the coniferous forests provide important habitat to the area’s many species,” of wildlife. Some of the birds that rely on the redwoods include the chestnut-backed chickadee; the winter wren; the turkey vulture, who scavenges dead and rotting animals; and Stellar’s Jay, which has a blue body with black head and throat. The Jay makes a home in the redwoods with nests of twigs and mud. Monarch butterflies travels between California and Canada, sheltering occasionally underneath the giant trees.

Redwood’s Waters

5. 
   green anemone image by Lucid_Exposure from Fotolia.com
   Green ameones are creatures with algae living inside.

   Redwood National Park encompasses shorelines, ocean waters and streams teeming with life of their own. Among the wildlife encountered in Redwood’s diverse waters are the Pacific gray whale, the common dolphin, and the surf scoter, a seldom studied black and white sea-duck. Tidepools burst with mussels, purple shore crabs and giant green anemones. Streams in Redwood host species such as coastal cutthroat trout (which are vulnerable to over-logging and poor logging practice in the redwoods), Pacific lamprey and frogs, such as the Pacific tree frog and red-legged frog.

Redwood National Park ,United States of America

World Heritage accepted in year:

1980

Redwood National and State Parks protect 45% of all remaining Coastal Redwood old-growth forests, the tallest and one of the most massive tree species on Earth. The park also contains the tallest known tree in the world at 112.1m.

The coastal redwood forest forms an unique and diverse resource: redwoods are surviving remnants of groups of trees that were once found throughout many of the moist temperate regions of the world.

Threatened birds encountered here include the endangered brown pelican, southern bald eagle and American peregrin. Over 40 species of mammals have been documented, including the black bear, mountain lion, bobcat, beaver, river otter, black-tailed deer, elk, and coyote. Along the coastline, California Sea Lions, Steller Sea Lions and Harbor Seals live near the shore and on seastacks, rocky outcroppings forming small islands just off the coast. Dolphins and Pacific gray whales are occasionally seen offshore. Roosevelt elk are the most readily observed of the large mammals in the park.

The designated area also includes three California state parks: Jedediah Smith, Del Norte Coast and Prairie Creek Redwoods.

pics:

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Map

Satellite

Hybrid

As the clouds pass by and sun comes out, the greenery here in Redwood National Park explodes this time of year.  The ferns, trillium flowers, salmon berry plants, grass, maple trees are all bursting towards the sky in a race to to see who gets there first.  Yet, it is the Redwood Trees that truly win the race, and have been for eons. As a sun worshiper, I love the open meadows found in Redwood National Park, but when you enter the old-growth forest of the tallest trees in the world, it is a magical / spiritual /(add you own description here) place that makes you appreciate ‘the bigger picture’.  Here at the Elk Meadow Cabins, I have visitors who try and explain it to me all the time, I just smile and know that they have been touched by the magic.

Here is some great information about Redwood Trees and the places they can be found by Andrew Johnson.

It is difficult to describe the size and beauty of the Old Growth Redwoods. Reaching heights of up to 370 feet and dating back to nearly 2,000 years, these trees are beyond awe. That is, what is left of them. With the California gold rush and the western expansion, most of these trees were gobbled up as a seemingly inexhaustible lumber supply. Today, only 4% of two million acres of redwoods are left, a number that can hardly be replaced; only protected.

There are a variety of redwoods growing in the United States. The coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) towers over all other trees in the world. This tree, standing at 112.1 meters (367.8 feet), was discovered on the banks of Redwood Creek by the National Geographic Society in 1963. It was labeled the tallest known tree and called the Stratosphere Giant.  Now, groups have discovered about 135 redwoods that reach higher than 350 feet in nearby Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The tallest of three new finds is a redwood named Hyperion, which measures 378.1 feet. Next in line, Helios, standing at 376.3 feet and Icarus, the third, reaches 371.2 feet.

Taking measurements for such extensively sized trees is tricky. Scientists use hand-held lasers along with a tripod-mounted laser fitted with a remote trigger designed to eliminate human-induced wobbles. A tape is then dropped from the top of the tree to the ground.

The giant sequoias, cousins to the coast redwoods, grow larger in diameter and bulk, but not as tall. Coast redwoods survive to be over 2,000 years old’perhaps half the age of giant sequoias’and average around 500-700 years in age. The living tree has no known killing diseases, and the insects associated with it cause no significant damage. Fire is the worst natural foe, but usually to young trees that lack the thick bark protection. As with most conifers, redwoods lack a taproot, and their broad shallow root system sometimes provides inadequate support for the massive trunk. Wind topples many mature trees.

There are a handful of ways to visit these redwoods.  Most are in national or state parks as well as in California. They include:

Prairie Creek Redwood State Park - This park in California is located 50 miles north of Eureka and 25 miles south of Crescent City on Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway off of Highway 101. The land for this park was set aside in the early 1920’s. The park offers hiking, nature study, wildlife viewing, beach combing, picnicking, a visitor center with exhibits and a nature store.

Redwood National Park - This is the most popular park in California. It is located along the coast of northern California and consists of 131,983 acres. This park protects 45% of all remaining Coastal Redwoods. It boasts the tallest trees on Earth. The park wasn’t created until 1968 by which time nearly 90% of the original redwood trees had been logged.

Muir Woods National Monument - Extending from Tomales Bay in Marin County California to San Mateo County in the south, this park encompasses 59 miles of shoreline. It is one of the largest urban national parks in the world and was established in 1972. It has 240 acres of old growth Coast Redwoods for your enjoyment.

Yosemite National Park - This park is located on the eastern portion of California and covers over 761,266 acres. It reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain. This park was known for the famous Wawona Tree, also known as the Tunnel Tree. A tunnel was cut through the tree in 1881, making it a popular tourist photo attraction. The tree fell in 1969 under a heavy load of snow. It was estimated to be been 2,300 years old. Giant Sequoias typically grow in this park. These trees can reach a height of 280 feet tall and 23 feet across.

Big Basin Redwoods State Park - This is California’s oldest State Park. It was established in 1902 and is still the home of the largest continuous stand of ancient coast redwoods south of San Francisco. The park ahs over 18,000 acres of old growth and recovering redwood forest.

There are other smaller parks with redwoods, but if your time is limited and you are seeking the beauty of the redwoods only these parks are your best bet.

North America’s northwestern coast seems to be a whole treasure trove when it comes to trees as most of the world’s tallest (and oldest) can be found here. We’ve focused on the world’s tallest, measured from top to bottom, rather than the stoutest trees, measured by girth. Here in Redwood National Park, we have the tallest and most massive trees in the world.  They are all with in a short drive from the Elk Meadow Cabins.

6. Giant Sequoia - 94.8 m (311 ft)

Our first candidate is a Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum). These trees are also called Sierra redwoods or Wellingtonians and reach average heights of 50–85 m (165–280 ft). The oldest known Giant Sequoia is 3,500 years old and the tallest one grows at Redwood Mountain Grove in California’s King’s Canyon National Park.

A Giant Sequoia in California’s Mariposa Big Trees Park:

Giant sequoias regenerate through seeds and a large tree can be expected to have thousands of seeds at any given point in time – around 11,000 cones. Their natural distribution is limited to the western Sierra Nevada and their conservation status has been determined as vulnerable.

5. The Carmanah Giant and other Sitka Spruces - 96 m (315 ft)

The Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) is the third tallest conifer species in the world (after the Coast Redwood and Coast Douglas-fir), growing 50–70 m (165–231 ft) tall and occasionally up to 100 m tall. It is a native of North America’s west coast and can be found as far up north as Alaska’s Kodiak Island – its name pointing to these roots from the community of Sitka in Alaska.

A dead Sitka Spruce on Lake Quinault, still standing:

The tallest specimens are the Carmanah Giant at 96 m (315 ft) in Canada’s Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park on Vancouver Island, British Columbia and two unnamed trees in California’s Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park that at 96.7 m (317.3 ft) are just a bit over 96 m tall.

The Carmanah Giant is Canada’s tallest tree:

4. Doerner Fir – 99.4 m (326.1 ft)

Our next tall candidate is just 20 cm (0.7 ft) shorter than No. 3. It is a Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) that can be found in Brummit Creek, Coos County, Oregon. This evergreen conifer is a native of the coastal stretch from west-central British Columbia to central California. Coast Douglas-firs reach maximum heights ranging from 100 m (330 ft) to 120 m (390 ft) and average ages of between 500 and occasionally 1,000 years. If Douglas Firs seem strangely familiar to you, then it may be because they became popular through the 1990’s TV-series Twin Peaks and later the X-Files.

Coast Douglas-firs at Anacortes Community Forest Lands, Washington:

3. Centurion Mountain Ash - 99.6 m (326.8 ft)

This Mountain Ash, also called Victorian Ash, Swamp or Stringy Gum, or Tasmanian Oak belongs to the Eucalyptus species (Eucalyptus regnans) native to southeastern Australia and Tasmania. With specimens reaching heights of over 90 m, this is one of the world’s tallest tree species. This particular tree named Centurion measures 99.6 m (326.8 ft) and grows south of Hobart in Tasmania. The tallest Eucalyptus specimens encountered by early European settlers in Tasmania have either been felled, fallen victim to bushfires or simply died of advanced age – their average life span being 400 years.

Tasmania’s El Grande, a 280-ft tall Eucalyptus regnans, was accidentally killed in 2002:

A Mountain Ash in Sherbrooke Forest, Victoria, Australia:

2. Stratosphere Giant – 112.83 m (370.5 ft)

This Coast Redwood in Humboldt Redwoods State Park was at 112.83 m (370.5 ft) the world’s tallest until the discovery of No. 1. Though it is still growing, two trees in the same forest have been discovered since that are taller than the Stratosphere Giant. However, little is know about them and like the Stratosphere Giant and No. 1, their exact locations have not been disclosed for fear of damage through tourism.

Sequoia sempervirens reaching for the sky:

Vertigo-inducing redwoods at Muir Woods National Monument:

Coast Redwoods are native to a narrow strip of land only 750 km (470 miles) in length along the coast of California and southwestern Oregon. Sequoias belong to the subfamily of Sequoioideau in the cypress family of Cupressaceae and their conservation status is classified as vulnerable. They get their common name from the fact that their thick bark takes on a bright reddish brown colour when freshly exposed that becomes darker with weathering.

Tall giants at California’s Redwood National Park:

Beautiful redwood, also at Muir Woods:

1. Hyperion Coast Redwood - 115.56 m (379.1 ft)

Finally, the world’s tallest tree: On September 8, 2006, this Sequoia or California Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) was discovered in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, a remote California forest. At 115.56 m (379.1 ft) and nine feet taller than its neighbour, the Stratosphere Giant, it was determined to be the world’s tallest tree. Hyperion is not only the world’s tallest tree but also the world’s tallest living thing. And it might also be one of the world’s oldest, given that redwoods live for up to 2,200 years – that’s older than our modern calculation of time.

Don’t miss this video of tree doctor Jim Spickler climbing the world’s tallest tree:

Here’s a mind-boggling fact to close this post with: Did you know that fires do not kill sequoias but simply remove competing thin-barked species, therefore actually aiding sequoia regeneration? That’s one hell of a cool tree, literally!

Try burning that, sucker:

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The Yurok Tribe will receive federal funds to perform a feasibility study to determine if a transit system could be used in Redwood National Park.

Written by Triplicate Staff April 13, 2010 03:34 pm

Last week, the Federal Transit Administration announced $24.8 million will go to national parks, forests and wildlife refuges in 20 states to help implement public transportation systems within those areas.

The funds come from the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks Program, which was created by Congress to help reduce traffic congestion in parks, increase visitor accessibility and conserve natural and cultural resources. The program specifically looks to fund capital improvement and planning expenses for alternative transportation, like buses and bicycle routes, in public lands and parks.

“As Franklin Roosevelt said, ‘There is nothing so American as our national parks,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement announcing the awards. “The national parks are American treasures and Transit in Parks funding will make these national treasures more accessible and enjoyable to everyone.”

The Yurok Tribe will receive $120,000 to perform its transit system feasibility study for Redwood National Park. There were a total of 46 projects that were awarded the $24.8 million in Transit in Parks funds, with the largest allocation, $2.8 million, going to the National Park Service to build passenger ferry dock facilities at Fort Pickens in Florida in the Gulf Island National Seashore.

Save the Redwoods League in January 2010 was able to protect 5.6 acres and help buffer a sensitive lagoon ecosystem near Redwood National Park. Had the League not bought the $370,000 property, it is likely that a private buyer would have developed it. Just west of Redwood National Park near the town of Orick, the parcel affords gorgeous views of Freshwater Lagoon and the Pacific Ocean. This land is a critical part of the League’s efforts to protect the lagoon ecosystem in a narrow corridor of private land between Redwood National Park and Humboldt Lagoons State Park.

The Humboldt Lagoons project has long been a priority for the League, which has transferred to government agencies at least 319 acres in this area since 2000.  Save the Redwoods League will be working to transfer the property to Redwood National Park. Since the  establishment of Save the Redwoods League in 1918, they have protected more than 181,000 acres of redwood forest and associated land and created 59 redwood parks and reserves for everyone to enjoy.

I HAVE SEEN THE NAME, BUT DID NOT REALLY KNOW THE STORY.

The Newton B. Drury Park road is just 2 mi north of the Elk Meadow Cabins.  It is the old HWY 101 that runs through the middle of  the most spectacular Old Growth Redwood stands left in the world.  I tell people all the time to take that route, instead of the HWY 101 by-pass.  The name is hard to pronounce ‘Drury’ like ‘jury’, but too many consonants.  I end up usually saying - remember ‘fig newton’ and it is the next exit on the left.

Redwood National and State Parks will celebrate the legacy of Newton B. Drury on April 10 with a variety of events. Drury is a fitting symbol of the continuing partnership between the National Park Service, the California State Parks, and the Save-the-Redwoods League, serving as the director of all three organizations during his 60-year career, according to organizers.

At 5:30 pm, a 1945 portrait of  Drury by famed photographer Ansel Adams will be unveiled in the lobby of the Crescent City Information Center, also known as the Newton B. Drury Center. A short program will be followed by refreshments.  The Information Center is located at 1111 Second St.

On Saturday two special interpretive walks will be offered at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.  The walks begin at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. from the Big Tree Wayside parking area, one mile north of the Prairie Creek Visitor Center on the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. The walks are about a mile long and will last approximately one hour.  Organizers invite the public to learn more about Drury’s efforts as director of Save the Redwoods League and explore some amazing redwoods along the way

Also Saturday interested parties can follow the lead of Newton Drury and take an active role in helping to protect the parks by joining park staff in planting redwood seedlings as part of the park’s watershed restoration program in Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. Those interested can meet at 10 a.m. at the entrance gate to the Mill Creek Day Use Area on Hamilton Road, three miles south of Crescent City off Hwy 101. Attendees should bring lunches and dress for weather.