Poor General Sherman

I came across this in the book Stewards of Access Custodians of Choice and thought it described perfectly the need for education on responsible outdoor recreation. I'm basically just typing it right out of the book:

On the western slop of California's Sierra Nevada stands the largest liing thing on Earth. The General Sherman Tree, known formall as Sequia gigantic, ismonumental both in its size and in its effect on those who visit it. The great tree has a diameter of more than 30 feet at the base. Rising skyward to a height of 120 feet, its truck is still 17 feet thick. Nearly 130 feet from the ground, the first large limb is almost seven feet in diameter. Finally, 272 feet abou the forest floor, is the top of its crown.

Standing beneath this giant sequoia, one is struck by its seemingly impregnable nature. Other trees are taller than the General Sherman, but none matches its volume. Moreover, its 1,385 tons bear down heavily on the observer. it is, in the words of Freeman Tilden, a "prodigious club." Having withstood the test of time )more than 2,500 years), the General Sherman Tree is a symbol of strength and security, a living fortress unto the ages.

How puzzling, the, that a young National Park Service naturalist should be toting bag after bag of ground cover to the base of this monarch. She explains that the root system of a giant sequoia penetrates only six feet into the earth, and that almost two feet of that soil have been worn away by the footsteps of admiring recreationists. Wanting to be photographed by the General Sherman Tree, to touch it, perhaps for a moment even to be fused with its greatness, well-meaning people inadvertently have removed one third of the big tree's foundation.

Millions of people, each year, flock to outdoor destinations in hopes of enjoying their splendor. As an individual, your footprint around the giant sequoia won't do much to threaten it. Times your footprint by the near million people that visit General Sherman and you get the sad tale above.

This tree, this giant tree that has withstood fires and storms since the ancient Greek philosophers were just starting to put out theories that would shape the Western world, is in threat of people loving it to death. And General Sherman isn't the only nature landmark in this predicament, many of our southern Utah areas are being loved to death.

So, that is where the Recreate Responsibly Day at SUU comes in. These great treasures all around us are meant to be enjoyed, but we have to be smart about what we are doing. We are planning on having many land management agencies (BLM, Forest Service, NPS, State Parks, etc.) and organizations or businesses who guide, outfit, or promote outdoor recreation on the Multipurpose Quad to help the southern Utah and SUU community learn what there is to do here and how to ... Recreate Responsibly.

The times to come are from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm on April 18th. We'll have a major giveaway of some SWEET outdoor gear and hourly giveaways of some smaller (but equally as AWESOME) gear. Most importantly you'll learn some great information on how to be smart while in the outdoors. You'll learn to not love our public lands to death.