I'm pleased to open the Forum up to guest blogger Emily Limm, Ph.D, Director of Science Save the Redwoods League , who is back today to share some exciting news about the Redwoods & Climate Change Initiative.

The world's second largest tree boldly pushes through the famous yellow frame on the cover of the latest issue of National Geographic magazine. This tree is a giant sequoia called the President Tree and it has been growing for more than 3,200 years in Sequoia National Park.  Last winter, a crew from National Geographic followed researchers into this snowy Sierra Nevada Mountain forest to capture a portrait of the mammoth tree. Now the magazine shares the photographs from this expedition with the world and tells a story of how these redwood giants have survived for millennia.

The researchers who are climbing the redwoods shown in National Geographic are conducting pioneering tree research with support from Wells Fargo and other Save the Redwoods League partners. The objective of this ambitious research program, called the Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative, is to understand what the fate will be for our beloved redwood forests as climate changes.  Research shows that snow is now melting earlier during the spring then in previous decades and forecasts predict the California snowpack will shrink significantly in the decades ahead. Giant sequoia depends on snow and our researchers are thoroughly studying the trees for signs of stress associated with this climate change.

This program is an early warning system that monitors redwood health so that Save the Redwoods League and our partners will have the information needed to make decisions on how to protect giant redwoods from climate change. Learn more about the researchers online  and pick up the latest copy of National Geographic and see for yourself how beautiful these amazing trees are from forest floor to tree top.

Hello, this is Stephanie again. I just couldn't end this post without sharing that  I grew up with a bookshelf filled with yellow- spine National Geographic magazines and am more than thrilled that one of the projects we funded via our environmental grant program is showcased on the cover. I'm ecstatic about not only the level of storytelling and photography National Geographic brings to the project, but more importantly the fact that the article brings awareness about the project to a all time high. Please read the article and let us know what you think. Thank you.