If You Go Out in the Woods Today

In 1852, a California hunter chased a wounded bear into a stand of trees bigger than any European-American had ever seen. Thirty feet wide at the base, with trunks stretching hundreds of feet into the sky, these trees are now called giant sequoias, and they were sensational from the start. Across the country, doubters and believers alike clamored to see a specimen for themselves, prompting intrepid businessmen to descend upon the grove, armed with axes. As the big trees were felled and sliced up into worldwide traveling sideshows, the site itself became a tourist attraction, with one massive stump converted into an outdoor dance floor, wide enough for a band and 32 dancers. Meanwhile, more forward-thinking citizens worried that all the region’s big trees would soon fall to commercial interests, and after a decade of lobbying, President Lincoln signed into law the Yosemite and Big Tree Grant, which ensured that the Mariposa Big Tree Grove, as well as nearby Yosemite Valley (which Teddy Roosevelt would later expand into a national park), would forever belong to the public for “use, resort and recreation.” It was the first-ever mandate for federal protection of natural resources.