| Giant Sequoia National Monument | |
|---|---|
The Proclamation Tree, agiant sequoia under which Giant Sequoia National Monument was established. | |
| Location | Tulare /Fresno /Kern counties,California,United States |
| Nearest city | Porterville, CA |
| Coordinates | 36°2′24″N118°30′16″W / 36.04000°N 118.50444°W /36.04000; -118.50444 |
| Area | 328,315[1] acres (132,864 ha) |
| Created | April 15, 2000 (2000-04-15) |
| Governing body | U.S. Forest Service |
| Website | Giant Sequoia National Monument |
TheGiant Sequoia National Monument is a 328,315-acre (512.992 sq mi)U.S. National Monument located in the southernSierra Nevada in eastern centralCalifornia. It is administered by theU.S. Forest Service as part of theSequoia National Forest and includes 38 of the 39Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) groves that are located in the Sequoia National Forest, about half of thesequoia groves currently in existence, including one of the tenlargest Giant Sequoias, theBoole Tree, which is 269 feet (82 m) high with a base circumference of 112 feet (34 m). The forest covers 824 square miles (2,130 km2).
The monument is in two sections. The northern section surroundsGeneral Grant Grove and other parts ofKings Canyon National Park and is administered by the Hume Lake Ranger District. The southern section, which includesLong Meadow Grove, is directly south ofSequoia National Park and is administered by the Western Divide Ranger District, surrounding the eastern half of theTule River Indian Reservation.
The Giant Sequoia National Monument was created by PresidentBill Clinton inProclamation 7295 on April 15, 2000, and published as 65FR24095 on April 25.
In August 2023,gray wolves reappeared at Giant Sequoia National Monument for the first time in more than 100 years.[2]
The Giant Sequoias were found by European settlers in the mid 1800s, but were home to the Native American tribes of the region before European discovery. The Western Mono (also called Monache) lived in the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada and shared a deep connection with these trees. They relied on the giant sequoias for food, shelter, and even cultural practices. Descendants from this tribe, alongside other tribes found in the nearby areas, tend to the Sequoia land.

Presidential Proclamation 7295 required that a management plan be completed within three years. In January 2004, the Sequoia National Forest published and began implementation of the Giant Sequoia National Monument Management Plan, which provided for use by an international public as well as for the protection and restoration of 33 giant sequoia groves and their ecosystems. Subsequently, two lawsuits were brought challenging the plan. In October 2006, Federal District Court JudgeCharles Breyer found in favor of the plaintiffs and remanded the plan to theU.S. Forest Service "…so that a proper Monument Plan can be developed in accordance with the Presidential Proclamation,… and in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)…"[citation needed]
In January 2008, the Sequoia National Forest published a notice of intent in theFederal Register that they intended to prepare anenvironmental impact statement and were beginning a year-long collaborative scoping process for development of a new Giant Sequoia National Monument Management Plan.[3]
As of August 2010[update] only one location in the monument, theGenerals Highway, is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places, but the monument does have several hundred sites that are potentially eligible for the register.[citation needed]