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The Largest Privately Owned Sequoia Grove in the World Is for Sale

California News National Parks
by Eben Diskin Sep 24, 2019

A mostly untouched forest is for sale in California, and it’s filled with red and white fir trees, ponderosa pines, and hundreds of giant sequoias.

Alder Creek, a 530-acre plot of land along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, has been privately owned but now it’s up for sale. And, in a wonderful turn of events, it’s the Save the Redwoods League conservation group that is attempting to raise the $15.6 million needed to purchase the land, and ultimately turn it over to the US Forest Service.

The group is asking the public for donations, hoping to raise the money by December 31, 2019. Reportedly, donations amounting to $7 million have already been made, but there’s still a little ways to go to reach the appropriate amount.

The group explained, “Our plan is to eventually transfer [Alder Creek] to the Giant Sequoia National Monument so that this place will belong to all of us — for recreation, education, and inspiration.”

Alder Creek has been owned by the Rouch family since the end of World War II, and though they purchased the area for logging and cut down many of the pines and firs, the sequoias remained largely untouched.

They decided to sell the property to secure its future once the family is no longer able to take care of it. A conservation-minded buyer like Save the Redwoods League is, no doubt, among the best options to protect the majestic trees of Alder Creek.

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