{"id":12095,"date":"2021-08-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sempervirens.org\/about\/press\/big-basin-future\/"},"modified":"2021-08-11T07:37:24","modified_gmt":"2021-08-11T14:37:24","slug":"big-basin-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sempervirens.org\/news\/big-basin-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Basin: Honor its Past, Build it to Last"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
\"A<\/a>

A wildfire-damaged sign welcomes visitors Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Calif. – Marcio Jose Sanchez\/Associated Press<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n

Much has changed since Big Basin became a park. From climate change and fire to population and visitor growth-the new Big Basin should reflect new realities.<\/h2>\r\n

Redwood forests are resilient and adapted to fire.\u00a0The forests will recover<\/a>\u00a0from this recent wildfire just as they have from previous fires.\u00a0Even the demise of individual trees\u00a0will\u00a0nourish\u00a0new growth.\u00a0Long dormant seeds of\u00a0fire-dependent plants,\u00a0like\u00a0shortleaf pine\u00a0and\u00a0California buckeye,\u00a0will finally have their chance to sprout.\u00a0This\u00a0fire will\u00a0hit some species harder\u00a0than others.\u00a0Endangered salmon,\u00a0and other aquatic species,\u00a0are\u00a0likely\u00a0to\u00a0face severe\u00a0impacts\u00a0from fire-related debris\u00a0and runoff that will flow into the region’s\u00a0streams with the arrival of winter rains.\u00a0But,\u00a0over time,\u00a0and with a little help here and there,\u00a0nature will return and regrow\u00a0from the ashes.<\/p>\r\n

\"Processing<\/a>

The historic Big Basin headquarters, consumed by fire. – California State Parks<\/p><\/div>\r\n

The human spirit is\u00a0as\u00a0resilient\u00a0as the redwoods,\u00a0but\u00a0human infrastructure\u00a0takes planning and investment.\u00a0The near-complete destruction of the\u00a0buildings and facilities\u00a0at Big Basin illustrates just how ill-adapted\u00a0they were\u00a0to\u00a0fire. As the fires still burned, California Governor Gavin Newsom toured Big Basin and suggested it would be at\u00a0least 12 months before it reopens<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0And as California’s first state park, and\u00a0one of the region’s most-visited parks, emotions are high for those who have spent\u00a0formative\u00a0moments in nature under\u00a0Big Basin’s\u00a0canopies and on\u00a0its\u00a0trails.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

We feel that anguish. Like you, we long to see the park reopened. 2020 was brimming with disorienting and calamitous events, and it would be a welcome respite to once again experience the balm of Big Basin’s forests.<\/p>\r\n

If you love Big Basin, please consider this:<\/strong> rebuilding Big Basin can pioneer a new model for California’s state parks, just as Big Basin accomplished more than a century ago. The founders of Sempervirens Fund, who advocated for the protection of Big Basin more than 100 years ago, were visionaries with ambitious and forward-looking ideas about the need to both preserve nature and create parks that helped people access and experience redwood forests. Equally bold and innovative thinking is needed now to usher in a new approach to park management that is responsive to the realities of a new era. The destruction of this fire was tremendous, but it also means that we can reimagine Big Basin.<\/p>\r\n

Much has changed since the period when Big Basin became a park and its core infrastructure was built. The climate is warmer and drier, leading to more extreme weather events. A century of fire suppression has created a large buildup of fuel in the forests leaving them vulnerable to intense and catastrophic fires. The regional ecosystems and landscape of the Santa Cruz Mountains are now surrounded by dense, urban development that creates indirect pressure on the park and other nearby protected lands. The number of park visitors has exploded, and how people recreate has changed. Our understanding of forest ecology has also evolved. The new Big Basin should reflect this.<\/p>\r\n