Community News
Where the Sequoias of the Sea Once Stood
by Vikki Miller
Photo by Steve Lonhart/NOAA A diver swimming through a kelp forest, taken at Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Along the fog-draped cliffs of the Sonoma Coast, where waves strike with timeless force, a hidden forest once reached for the light. Bull kelp rose like underwater sequoias, shaping one of Earth’s most vibrant ecosystems. In just a decade, ninety-five percent of these forests have vanished from a 200-mile stretch of California’s shore, leaving divers, scientists, and coastal communities scrambling to understand the losses and fighting for recovery.
Where kelp once reached for the sun, a story of loss and resilience now rises from the depths. From the push of northern swells to shores that have shaped lives for generations, Sequoias of the Sea emerges as both warning and witness. Created by Natasha Benjamin and Ana Blanco and filmed in Fort Bragg, it will be shown at Fort Ross during the Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 18, 2025. Through striking imagery and testimony, it captures both the fragility and resilience of the ocean’s giants.
For centuries, bull kelp forests sheltered salmon, crabs, jellyfish, and countless other species, buffered coastlines from storms, and helped stabilize the climate. Through photosynthesis, kelp absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen. As Dr. Dione Deaker, Head of the Coastal Academy, explains, “Here on the coast we have the world’s two fastest-growing kelp species, bull kelp and giant kelp. Giant kelp can grow up to two feet a day. These forests capture about 20 times more carbon than forests on land.”
Beyond their climate benefits, kelp forests serve as nurseries for fish and abalone, feeding grounds for sea otters, and anchors for cultural traditions. Yet in recent years, marine heatwaves, disease, and unchecked sea urchin populations have driven a dramatic loss along California’s coast. “They can just hang in there for a really long period of time, even when there’s hardly any food,” Deaker says of the urchins, whose numbers exploded after the loss of predators.
Ian Taylor, Executive Director of Fort Ross Conservancy, frames the crisis starkly: “Kelp forests are the lungs, nurseries, and guardians of our coastline. When they vanish, it isn’t just marine life that suffers, it’s our communities, our economies, and our culture.”
Still, hope persists. Divers at Fort Ross have removed tens of thousands of pounds of purple sea urchins, creating openings where kelp can regrow. Restoration efforts on the Sonoma Coast are also supported by the Greater Farallones Association in partnership with NOAA’s Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries. Where predators like sea otters thrive, balance is naturally restored. The work is slow and labor-intensive, but its rewards ripple outward: healthier fisheries, stronger coastlines, and renewed cultural connections.
Photo by Dione Deaker
While divers and scientists labor beneath the waves, the film brings their story to the surface. Screened in partnership with the Coastal Academy, Sequoias of the Sea illuminates not only ecological collapse but the human toll. Taylor explains, “When the environment starts to degrade, and you rely on that environment, it means your way of life is about to change.” The film also highlights the role of the Kashia, whose ancestral lands embrace these waters. For thousands of years they have lived along the Sonoma Coast and today remain active partners in shaping its future.
The Harvest Festival is a fitting setting for this message. Celebrating land and sea, the day brings together food, music, and tradition, while the film screenings offer a chance for reflection and dialogue. Viewings are at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., with a noon Q&A featuring divers, researchers, and the film team.
For Taylor, the work hinges on community support. He recalls when California budget cuts threatened to close Fort Ross entirely: “If support falters, it will go away entirely. It won’t be a state park anymore.”
That urgency frames the larger question of stewardship. As Taylor told me, “Whether you know it or not, you are already part of this story. We all are. And what you choose to do — or not do — will shape the coast and the ocean for generations.”
On October 18 at Fort Ross State Historic Park, 19005 Coast Hwy. 1, Jenner, the story of kelp will surface on screen, reminding us that the future of the ocean is inseparable from our own.