Humanity has turned the entire history of its existence into a mindless war with nature. A series of photographs depicting the deforestation of sequoia trees in Canada's Humboldt County is one of the horrific testimonies of human greed. These photographs were taken by the Swedish photographer A. Erickson from the 1880s to the 1920s and are kept in the archives of the library of the State University in Humboldt.
Mass deforestation began in California when the gold rush took over adventurers and they came here in search of a better life. Wood was essential as it was the main building material. Redwoods are one of the largest trees on earth, so the timber supply from Humboldt County was soon put on stream. In 1853, nine sawmills operated here, and the forest area along the entire California coast reached about 8100 square kilometers.
In the beginning, lumberjacks used saws and axes, but the staggering pace of technological progress dictated its own rules. Soon, the felling of trees acquired an industrial scale, instead of oxen and horses, railways were laid to transport massive logs. The main problem facing the Canadian government is fraud. The lucrative industry attracted the attention of dishonest entrepreneurs, and soon most of the forests were privately owned.
For several decades, the unhindered logging of sequoias continued, and it was only in 1918 that the Save-the-Redwoods League was created. Her activities were aimed at saving the surviving centuries-old trees. As a result, several parks were created, including Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and Redwood National Park. Thanks to the efforts of natural heritage defenders, it was possible to revive about 90% of the original number of trees.
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