Fern Canyon
Fern Canyon is a canyon in the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in Humboldt County, California, United States. The park is managed in cooperation with other nearby redwoods state parks and Redwood National Park. It is named for the ferns growing on the high walls, through which runs Home Creek. Fern Canyon is an International Biosphere Reserve.
History
Fern Canyon was donated by the Pacific Lumber Company to the State to add to Prairie Creek State Park. In 1968, the US government made the redwoods, including Fern Canyon, a national park, protecting the land. In 1980, it was designated a World Heritage State and an International Biosphere Reserve. This was done to better protect land like Fern Canyon and the redwoods.Yurok people
The Yurok people are indigenous to this land, living there for many generations. The “temperate climate and abundant wildlife” provided a good place to live and natural resources. They often traveled by dugout canoes, often made out of redwood trees. However, in 1850, during the larger Gold Rush of California, gold was discovered on Yurok land, bringing a major wave of settlers invading their land. This led to about 75% of the Yurok people dying, and the remaining population was moved to the Yurok Reservation which was established in 1855. The Yurok people continued to be abused and mistreated for decades, and the land was exploited for timber.Common plants and animals
- American dipper bird or Cinclus Mexicanus
- Seep monkey flower or Erythranthe guttata
- Redwood sorrel or Oxalis oregana
- Adiantum aleuticum
- Struthiopteris spicant
- Polypodium californicum
- Polypodium glycyrrhiza
- ''Polystichum munitum''