The area near the resort town of Guerneville on the south bank of the river between Neeley and Mays Canyon Roads contains a remarkable specimen known as the Clar Tree. It is the tallest known redwood tree in Sonoma County, reaching a height of 278 feet and a trunk girth of 16 feet. It is an anomaly because the 19th-century loggers who cut down virtually every other redwood tree in the Russian River Valley left it standing for unknown reasons.
In the 150 years since then, the forest has been filled with secondary trees, but the Clar Tree still dominates. Stump, who saw it for the first time recently, described the visit in almost spiritual terms.
“You see the living, recovering forest, and then the Clar Tree stands as a giant reminder of what once was and what will be,” he said. “In the next generation, it will return to that splendor.”
Sonoma County will eventually open the property for scientific research and public use. “I expect people will be able to go there and see this huge tree,” added Stump, whose name reflects his profession.
Although the Clar Tree was already protected as old-growth forest, the rest of the forest was slated for logging. According to Misti Arias, executive director of Sonoma County Ag + Open Space, the property was previously owned by a commercial lumber dealer whose harvest plan was approved by regulators before the sale last year.
What makes the property unique, Arias said, is the one-mile frontage on the Russian River. The terrain is also varied, with rugged sections and a less densely forested area along the riverbank. “It’s a very visitor-friendly natural feature,” she said.
Indigenous Californians are part of the project. The Russian River was traditionally home to the Pomo people, and Sonoma County Ag + Open Space is working with two tribes on cultural maintenance. “The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria have already made a financial contribution to the project,” Arias said.
Coast redwoods, which grow only in a narrow strip from extreme southwestern Oregon to Big Sur, can live up to 2,000 years. They currently occupy only about 5% of their original range.
