05/25/2024
We just climbed the largest tree on the planet! The General Sherman giant sequoia, located in Sequoia National Park, has never been climbed before. Our executive director, Anthony Ambrose, was the first person to climb into this iconic tree. He led our research team in climbing the General Sherman to inspect it for any evidence of bark beetle activity. Concurrently, a team of researchers from the National Park Service used drones and satellite imagery to see if they could detect the beetle activity we were seeing. Climbing trees is very labor intensive and having an alternative way to monitor bark beetles would be very useful to land managers. While both teams found some beetle activity, it was mainly attempted entry holes. The inspection determined that the General Sherman is a very healthy tree, capable of protecting itself from bark beetles.
This event was a way to raise awareness of this issue and showcase the amazing collaborative work being done by the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition, a group of 11 land management stewards, supported by other agencies and non-government affiliate organizations, including Ancient Forest Society. The mission of the Coalition is to accelerate the protection of giant sequoias and their ecosystems, in a new era of emerging threats associated with climate change and human interference of natural wildfire processes on the landscape.
Ancient Forest Society was invited to inspect the General Sherman because we have been examining bark beetles in giant sequoias since 2017, when we first discovered evidence of bark beetle attack in the crown of a living tree. A native beetle appears to have played a role in the recent death of dozens of mature sequoia trees weakened by fire and drought. There is therefore an urgent need to increase our knowledge of the ecological and physiological mechanisms underpinning sequoia tree interactions with bark beetles to develop effective conservation strategies for sequoia groves. To meet this critical need, we launched a new bark beetle study, in collaboration with scientists from Colorado State University and with funding provided by the CAL FIRE Forest Health Research Program. This two-year study will delve deeper into this issue and aims to provide land managers with information to help address this emerging threat.
Huge thanks to the AFS crew, NPS staff, and other Coalition partners!
If you would like to support this critical work, please go to our website to make a tax deductible donation!
