The listing of coast redwood as endangered under the IUCN red list: lessons for conservation

Abstract

In 2013, redwood (Sequoia sempervirens (D.Don) Endl.) was listed as endangered under the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. While this listing has no political or legal consequences for the management of redwood, it could have economic consequences as land and mill owners of the redwood region have sought to link redwood to sustainable practices in the marketplace. This paper argues that the listing of redwood, however, is fundamentally flawed by the metrics of the Red List, and that the listing misses the chief conservation challenges related to redwood, which center on ecosystem functionality, not continued existence of individuals in the wild. The IUCN, which maintains the most globally comprehensive list of threatened species, and which seeks to influence conservation actions, could address this flawed listing by creating multiple lists, including a "threatened ecosystem" list.

Parent Publication

• Coast redwood science symposium—2016: Past successes and future direction

Citation

Kelly, Erin Clover. 2017. The listing of coast redwood as endangered under the IUCN red list: lessons for conservation. In: Standiford, Richard B.; Valachovic, Yana, tech cords. Coast redwood science symposium—2016: Past successes and future direction. Proceedings of a workshop. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-258. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: 361-370.