Redwood National Park protects old redwoods and their habitat, with 45% of all internationally protected old-growth coastal redwoods. The park is made up of four separate parks and protects a variety of animal life. The redwoods depend on their biological habitat for growth and logging has caused devastation to the forests.
Redwood National Park is a 130,000-acre federal recreation area located along the Northern California coast. Created to protect the old redwoods and their natural habitat, the park currently protects over 37 miles of pristine shoreline, open prairies, old redwood groves, and two major state rivers. The park’s woodlands make up 45 percent of all internationally protected old-growth coastal redwoods.
Four separate parks combine to form this area: Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, and Redwood National Park itself. The three original state parks were created in the early 1900s by the Save the Redwoods League, which sought to end the devastating logging that had occurred in Northern California during the previous 100 years. The United States Congress created Redwood National Park to protect the land between three separate state parks and finally decided in 1994 to manage all four as a unified national park.
The redwood trees in the park can reach a height of 367 feet (111.86 m) and have an average life span of at least 600 years. Some trees are over 2,000 years old. They reach about 22 feet (6.70 m) wide at their base and have a thick, leafy canopy and heavy bark, which naturally protects them from heat and insect damage. Diseases are often rare among these trees due to their high tannin levels. New trees are formed from basal roots or gnarled protrusions on the side of old redwood stumps that result from naturally falling trees, fire damage, or logging.
Redwood groves depend on their biological habitat for continued growth. The park typically receives over 100 inches (254 cm) of rain annually, which decreases the natural nutrient content of the soil. Instead, the soil is enriched by the decaying and fallen redwoods that remain on the forest floor. These nutrients soak back into the soil, which then feeds new trees. Logging has caused great devastation to these forests, due to the removal of old trees from the woodlands because it has prevented the creation of natural compost. The redwoods also benefit from the mixed growth of Douglas fir, western hemlock, tanoak, leafy fern, moss and wild mushrooms, which enrich the soil and improve the overall health of the grove.
Redwood National Park also protects a variety of animal life that lives within its borders. Visitors can catch a glimpse of sea lions and gray whales along the shoreline, elk cruising the grasslands, and black bears and mountain lions frolicking through the trees. These animals, as well as several endangered species, rely on the protected natural habitat the park provides, just like the trees themselves. Nearly all parts of the park, aside from the designated road systems, do not allow the use of motor vehicles in order to prevent damage and erosion of the natural ecosystem, upon which the native species rely. Inside the Park, hunting and fishing are prohibited, with the exception of specially designated aquatic areas, to allow the propagation and continuation of all the species that live there.
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