Controlled and regulated visits, entrance ticket anyone limit access Some of the measures put on the table by the Cabezón de la Sal City Council (Cantabria): “save” the redwood forestthreatened by Embracing more than 200,000 visitors yearly. Popularity of Sequoia Natural Monument on social networks Monte CabezonAs it is known, this forest caused overcrowding of this natural area, especially after the pandemic.
In the same networks, Constantly shared photos are causing the tradition of hugging redwoods to become increasingly widespread.A tradition that visibly damages their bark and endangers the health of these trees.
“They are getting weaker because the people who come hug the trees, their bark is damaged, some even take them away.” souvenir shell pieces“, Óscar López, mayor of Cabezón de la Sal, complains in a telephone conversation with Efe. “Hugging trees harms their health.”
In addition to being “stripped”, most of its roots 840 redwoods Part of this forest also remains visible due to “erosion caused by stepping on it”.
Avoid overcrowding
For this reason, the Cabezón de la Sal City Council was called to a meeting together with the Department of Tourism and Rural Development. “give me a change” To prevent overcrowding of visitors to this area.
Right now, There is no express prohibition on touching trees.As the Cabezonense councilor warned, “in some cases the ban cannot stop them from hugging trees because there is no oversight.”
There is a request from the Parliament to limit the trees in some way. walkways that prevent them from passing through the floors And damage the rootsand regulates access.
“Probably Guided visitsTo visit in a controlled manner, by reservation,” explains López, who does not rule out arranging a ticket and charging for entry both day and night surveillance. “This is one of the options,” he notes.
However, he emphasizes that the measures taken to open the area to tourism are also important.Or do they aim to “gain economic benefit”?. “What we want to protect is the park,” he says.
These trees, which are not native to Cantabria, were planted in 1940 to benefit from their wood, as in species such as eucalyptus, and their height reaches up to 50 meters. They have become an increasingly well-known and popular tourist attraction in recent years.
These Cabezón de la Sal redwoods cover an area of 2.5 hectares and were declared a natural monument in Cantabria in 2003 as a “very rare species” and with the aim of “protecting this special place”.
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Contact address of the environmental department:[email protected]