Redwoods Stand Tall in October Issue of National Geographic

Don't miss this month's issue of National Geographic and its dramatic cover story dedicated to "Redwoods: the Super Trees." (You know your head is in the canopy when that headline inspires visions of Captain Sequoia, swooping to the rescue of our climate, critters and other ecological values supported by these majestic beauties.)

Once you move past the headline, the magazine features 32 pages of glorious photos and in-depth articles about multiple facets of the redwood ecosystem, including its biology, history, forestry, climate impact and outlook for the future.

In the fall of 2007, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Mike Fay set off on an 11-month walking journey across California’s redwood forest to determine the condition of this legendary range of trees—and to see whether there is hope for a new kind of forestry that benefits the planet as well as increasing timber production. As reported in the October issue of National Geographic, and in a new Nat Geo Channel film, Fay’s expedition uncovered evidence of the big trees’ resilience, and found a hopeful new spirit of cooperation among environmentalists, loggers, and others whose livelihoods depend on the forest.

PFT president Laurie Wayburn met with Fay, who hiked through 1,800 miles of forestlands as part of the story. He and article author Joel K. Bourne, Jr., cite our Van Eck Forest Project as a model of "ecological forestry" that yields jobs, wood products, wildlife habitat and clean watersheds while serving the dual purpose of stabilizing the climate -- and earning income for doing so.

"Thanks to their phenomenal growth, resistance to disease, insects and rot, and their incredibly long lives, redwood forests are the best of all forests at capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and locking away the carbon in their wood," Bourne writes, adding that "California's voluntary market for forest landowners is among the most rigorous in the world."

The magazine's cover and centerfold feature an incredible photo that shows a composite image portrait of a giant redwood, made up of 84 shots taken with cameras rigged on a rope by canopy ecologist Jim C. Spickler.

Elements of the story and a selection of photos from the magazine are available on the National Geographic website. A documentary about the piece will run on the National Geographic channel as well.