TREE Executive Director Meg Lowman’s most recent op-ed, “We must act now to save trees for future generations,” appeared in the print edition of the Sarasota Herald Tribune newspaper on August 1, 2022. In her essay, Dr. Lowman highlights the threats that large trees like the redwoods in California, as well as our trees in Florida and across the globe, face in the context of climate change and intensifying droughts.
“Extreme drought, in combination with dry tinder, sets the stage for extreme fire risk. What’s happening in California could well happen here. Could you imagine if this was happening in our beloved Myakka River State Park? We must look to California now for solutions that we may well need in Florida, and sooner than we might like to think.”
“While Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is undergoing rapid reconstruction after the 2019 fire, redwoods can never be rebuilt. The restoration of a mature redwood grove will take thousands of years – if at all – because recreating the conditions for those delicate seedlings to germinate is a very complex ecosystem process.”
“I certainly hope that the world’s forests will not become strewn with sprinkler systems, but I passionately want my grandchildren to be able to look up in awe at a healthy 300-foot redwood – or walk under the gorgeous, uniquely-Florida forest canopy found at Myakka River State Park – and experience a sense of wonder for Mother Nature.”
Read the rest of Meg’s op-ed here or open this PDF: Florida’s trees deserve our attention and protection.
Want to learn more about saving America’s giant trees? Visit savetheredwoods.org