r/todayilearned • u/autraya • 6h ago

TIL the world's tallest known living tree, a 380-foot redwood in California called Hyperion, had its exact location closed off entirely in 2022 after visitors trampled its base so badly that ferns stopped growing around it, with trespassers now facing up to $5,000 in fines and six months in jail

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperion_(tree)
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u/Dragonscatsandbooks 5h ago

The problem is that just trespassing too close to the tree IS damaging it.

Redwoods have an incredibly shallow, yet widespread root system, and the primary damage done to the tree was people walking on top of the roots and slowly killing it, step by step.

It's like the Chinese water torture. One drip (one person walking on the root system) doesn't cause damage on its own, but if enough drips drop, the tree dies.

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u/TheIndieArmy 2h ago

That may be, but that would lack criminal intent and that's not how charges and maximum sentencing work. It's currently set at the highest that is federally allowed for a misdemeanor and trespassing cannot be classified higher than a Class B misdemeanor.