Conservation Group That Protects Santa Cruz Mountains Celebrates 125th Anniversary

CBS Bay Area

May 19, 2025

In March, President Trump issued an executive order to increase the production of lumber on federal lands, calling it a matter of national security. But conservation groups have fought hard to preserve America's forests for the future, including one that, on Sunday, was celebrating its past.

Roaring Camp in the Santa Cruz mountains is a replica of an old West mining town in the 1800s. But with tall trees towering overhead, it may not have looked exactly like that back then.

"There was clear-cut logging throughout the Santa Cruz mountains," said David Cowman, director of land stewardship for the conservation group Sempervirens Fund. "Clear-cut logging means that any tree that can be cut and sold for commercial benefit or used for a commercial benefit is cut and sold. You can look at historical photos where there are essentially no large, mature trees left in any of these locations."

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