Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks: One Hundred Years Of

and Sequoia Kings Canyon National Parks: One Hundred Years of Preservation and Resource Management by LaryM. Dilsaver and Douglas H. Strong In 1990,when Sequoia National Park marks its scarlet fever, and measles devastated the Indians. centennial, Kings Canyon National Park will The survivors retreated into the high mountains celebrate its fiftiethbirthday. These contiguous and crossed the Sierra to the east. The Indians of one same parks in the southern Sierra Nevada constitute Kings Canyon met the fate.3 of the nation's finest wilderness regions. The his Soon sheepherders, prospectors, and lumber a suc tory of their establishment represents major men in pursuit of their trades entered the Kings cess in east story in preservation efforts in the United Kern-Kaweah watersheds the Sierra of States, and the account of their management adds Fresno and Visalia. Following the great California a to valuable chapter the history of the National floods and drought of 1862-1864, sheepherders Park Service.1 from the southern San Joaquin Valley drove their come Such success did not easily. The creation flocks north and east into the highest mountains of Sequoia resulted primarily from thedetermined in search of grazing land. Unfortunately, sheep a at a efforts of few San Joaquin Valley residents, and herding practices that time, combined with over use the expansion of the park and establishment of complete lack of governmental control the came battles of resulted in to Kings Canyon only after extended public land, widespread damage and compromises. The history of their manage the mountain watersheds. When sheep entered as snow ment reveals the transiency of policies that depend the mountains the melted each spring, on and their hoofs cut into the moist changing public awareness, lobby groups, sharp deeply soil, the meadows. leadership. severely damaging Sheepherders' Between 1772,when Europeans firstsighted the fires, set in the fall to clear away brush and dead at ran unchecked over the mountain Sierra Nevada, and the discovery of gold Sutter's fall, slopes.4 some mill in 1848, fewwhite people set foot in the Sierra Fires and overgrazing alarmed explorers of Nevada.2 Not until 1858 did cattlemanHale Tharp the Sierra. In 1873, Clarence King noted that the make the firstknown visit by a white person to the Kern Plateau, which had numerous meadows and he now mountainous area east of the central San Joaquin lush grass when had visited earlier, ap as a sea Valley thatbecame Sequoia National Park. Guided peared "gray of rolling granite ridges."5 to Giant one Muir the by local Indians, he traveled Forest, Two years later, John vividly described to He of the finest concentrations of giant sequoias, threat Kings Canyon's fragile beauty. urged so where he later established a summer cattle camp. that the forests be protected the spring run-off sure Although the Indians appealed toTharp toprotect would be to provide enough water for the San the summer months. In their land, nothing could prevent the increasing Joaquin Valley during dry a influxof settlers into the Sierra foothills.Smallpox, Muir's opinion, "sheepmen's fires" did great 98 CALIFORNIA HISTORY The General Sherman Tree inGiant Forest is the largest living thing on earth. Courtesy Sequoia National Park Archives. SUMMER 1990 99 more axes or Mountains was no other of tree came deal damage than lumbermen's mill older, species even fires.6 close to matching the giant sequoia in sheer in bulk and Prospectors also participated the early explo grandeur. ration and utilization of the Kings-Kern-Kaweah In the 1860s lumbermen entered the forests of came At lumber watersheds. Their extensive prospecting to the Kings and Kaweah watersheds. first one but the com little except for strike at Mineral King. The mills served only local communities, discovery of silver in 1873 touched offa rush to this pletion of theSouthern PacificRailroad line through high mountain valley. With the completion of a the San Joaquin Valley in themid-1870s opened more road into the isolated mining camp by the end of distant markets. Although pine and fir trees most the decade, Mineral King reached its peak of devel provided of the lumber, many giant sequoias soon were cut to and opment. The boom ended, however. With provide shakes, fence posts, grape was come. the failure of themines, the toll road passed into stakes. The worst yet to Log flumes, in a in the hands of the county and became public high troduced 1889, opened previously inaccessible way. A few summer tourists, attracted by the cool timberlands to loggers. Perhaps the finest stand of mountain air, built cabins and continued to visit giant sequoias, in the Converse Basin, fell quickly. to the General Grant Grove first stimu the valley each year.7 Danger interest in of In the meantime, discovery of the big trees else lated protection of the giant sequoias as where in the Sierra Nevada had attracted world the Kings-Kaweah watersheds. As early 1864 a wide attention. In 1852, hunter named A.T. the Brewer expedition, in its report to the state of a on Dowd, tracking wounded bear, stumbled the California, noted that big trees to thewest of the now as were cut for fence Israel Gamlin stand of giant sequoias known the Calaveras grove being posts. trees. established a claim to of the Grove of big Together with Yosemite Valley, squatter's part grove the enormous trees became a mecca for tourists. in 1872 and completed a rough road tohaul timber a While the coastal redwood reached greater height to the valley below. Three years later, within the and the bristlecone pine of California's White very shadow of the General Grant tree, two men Lumbermen BillMills (left)and S.D. Phips stand before theMark Twain Tree in the area of modern Grant Grove inKings Canyon National Park. They felled the tree in 1891 to provide exhibition sections for New York and London. Photograph byC.C. Curtis. Courtesy Sequoia National Park Archives. 100 CALIFORNIA HISTORY ' s -i'S i^%< %ife ^ê, ^ m The Kaweah Colony celebrates completion of their access road to the plateau of Giant Forest with a picnic in * ' 1890. Soon thereafter ""J? their land ownership were claims suspended and Sequoia National Park created. Photo by C.C. Curtis. Courtesy Sequoia National Park Archives. nine to fell an enormous tree and a took days then of founding Utopian community, filed ownership set fire to its stump. Two 16-foot sections were cut claims on extensive tracts of land in Giant Forest intosections thatcould be shipped and reassembled under theTimber and Stone Act. They next sought in East. But visitors at next a a the the exhibit the year capital for railroad to connect with road they was a a thought the whole thing hoax. How could planned to build from the foothills to the forest treebe thatbig? Beginning in 1878, editorials in the lands. When the railroad plan failed, they formed a Visalia Delta criticized the destruction of the for joint stock company, the Kaweah Cooperative an ests, including the cutting of giant sequoias for Commonwealth Company, and constructed exhibit.8 18-mile road through rugged country to the edge of a saw In 1880Theodore Wagner, theUnited States Sur Giant Forest.10 After setting up portable wrote to a veyor General for California, the registrar mill, the colonists produced small amount of of theUnited States Land Office inVisalia to request lumber. a that four sections in the Grant Grove be suspended While government land agent examined the from entry, temporarily prohibiting anyone from Kaweah Company's land claims, local residents was claiming the land under existing land laws. He in Tulare County initiated a determined drive to to the concerns of of responding Secretary the protect the Sierra forests by having Congress per a Interior Carl Schurz, several scientists, and grow manently withdraw large tracts of land from the citizens were ing number of local who advocated protec market. There precedents for such action. tionof thebig trees. In the following year, General Congress had granted Yosemite Valley to Califor F. into John Miller of California introduced Con nia in 1864 for "public use, resort and recreation." the first bill to establish a The measure Itwas the area in gress park.9 first the country specifically set in to died committee, however, perhaps because the aside be preserved for all future generations. As was so and would be proposed park large opposed such, Yosemite marked the real beginning of the timber and interests. even by grazing national park system, though Yellowstone, In 1885 fiftymembers of the Cooperative Land created in 1872,was the firstofficially designated and Colonization Association, with the intention national park. Yosemite did not achieve this status SUMMER 1990 101 ^^S^B^^^^^^K??^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^? Thetwo ?fl^HH^^^^^^B^^^^^^^ÎB^^^^^^^^^^H importantindividuals ^^^^9^^^^^B|H^^^^^Hn|^^^^^^^^^H tnehistory of H^^^^^^^^^HglSfi^^^^^^Ô^^^^^^^^^^H SequoiaNational Park B^^H|^^^^7 m^^^^^^^^H^^^^^^^^^^^H beforea ^^m^^^^^^H^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H George ^HHH^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H^^^^^^^H the tocreate the H^HH^^^^^^^^^^^^^Î^H^^^^^^^^^^^H White as hH^^^^^^^^^^Î^^^^^Î for fl^^fl^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^l the ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ H 1920to1947 H^B^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H Photo Hh^HH^^^^^^^^^^^^H^^^^|^^^^^^^H|H fcn/Lindley Eddy. ^^Bj^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B?^?^B?^B^^?Bk Courtesy 9H^|^^^^^|^|^^^H^^H^^H|^^^^^HH| National H^|H^^^^^H^^^^^^^BB?B^SB|^^^^9^B Archives. until 1890, and the valley actually remained under When Stewart and Tipton Lindsey, former receiver a state management until 1906. of the U.S. Land Office, drew map of the proposed Farmers in the San Joaquin Valley wanted to reservation, they expanded it to include the entire on western protect thewatershed which theydepended for slope of the Sierra from the present Yosem irrigation, and they also wished to preserve the ite National Park in the north to the southern end owner groves of giant sequoia remaining in public of the forestbelt inKern County.

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