Giant Forest Lodge Historic District

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Former Cabin A of the Giant Forest Lodge.

The Giant Forest Lodge Historic District in Sequoia National Park encompasses the remnants of what was once an extensive tourist complex for visitors to the park. Giant Forest Lodge was listed as a Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places on May 5, 1978 . The facility was located in the Giant Forest , a forest of giant sequoia trees , but it was almost completely demolished by the National Park Service in order to minimize its influence on the growth of the giant trees.

Development

The first development of the Giant Forest took place in 1899 when a tent camp was set up in the forest. A road was built in 1903 and subsequent development measures were of a more permanent nature. The first lodge was built in 1915. In 1921, the Sequoia and General Grant National Parks Company established the first log house settlement near Round Meadow. This was finally named "Giant Forest Lodge". In the same year, Camp Kaweah was established to provide additional accommodation. As early as 1926, a study by the National Park Service found that the development of the park had a negative effect on the growth of trees. The following year, the chief park ranger, Colonel John White, recommended that the development be reversed for the first time. However, the concessionaire intervened with the director of the National Park Service and White was overruled. However, he was able to set an upper limit for the number of visitors staying in the park, the first time such a measure was enforced in a national park. Two reports in 1962 and 1965 indicated that the area's hydrology was adversely affected by the development. The fire prevention measures required by the proximity of the buildings had also created unfavorable conditions for the trees to regrow. In addition, the Leopold Report on the development of the national parks, which was written by the conservationist Aldo Leopold , criticized the development of the Giant Forest in particular. The general plan of the national park administration called for a reduction in human impact on the Giant Forest as early as 1971. A consensus to relocate the recreational facilities was reached in 1980.

Dismantling

Giant Forest Amphitheater, the picture shows the proximity to the giant trees

During the 1990s, the National Park Service decided to remove the earlier development structures; The demolition began in 1990. It was completed in 2000 when the buildings, roads and infrastructure of the Giant Forest Lodge were removed. The development work has now been concentrated around the Gilbert Stanley Underwood Giant Forest Village Market in nearby Camp Kaweah, where the Giant Forest Museum was also located in 2001. The facility is connected to the Giant Forest by a shuttle bus.

The accommodation for the visitors has been replaced by the Wuksachi Village , which is located about eight kilometers further north at a sufficient distance from the giant trees.

The demolition of the infrastructure in the Giant Forest is noteworthy in that it illustrates the conflict of interests into which the National Park Service has entered as the role of the custodian of natural treasures on the one hand and as the institution responsible for the preservation of the objects listed on the National Register of Historic Places on the other, since he had to decide which interest was more important.

See also

Web links

Commons : Giant Forest Lodge Historic District  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Entry in the National Register Information System . National Park Service , accessed May 21, 2016
  2. ↑ History of Giant Forest Development ( English ) In: Giant Forest Restoration . National Park Service. December 5, 2008. Accessed December 31, 2010.
  3. ↑ The Impact of Science ( English ) In: Giant Forest Restoration . National Park Service. December 12, 2008. Accessed December 31, 2010.
  4. ↑ Planning and the Public ( English ) In: Giant Forest Restoration . National Park Service. December 5, 2008. Accessed December 31, 2010.
  5. ^ New Visitor Facilities ( English ) In: Giant Forest Restoration . National Park Service. December 5, 2008. Accessed December 31, 2010.
  6. ↑ Giant Forest Museum ( English ) In: Giant Forest Restoration . National Park Service. December 5, 2008. Accessed December 31, 2010.
  7. ↑ Wuksachi Village ( English ) In: Giant Forest Restoration . National Park Service. December 5, 2008. Archived from the original on May 21, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 12, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hscl.cr.nps.gov

Coordinates: 36 ° 33 ′ 56 "  N , 118 ° 45 ′ 58"  W.