Hyperion, the world's tallest tree, off-limits for all visitors

The incredibly tall sequoia certified by Guinness World Records as well as its national park home will be protected from tourists.

According to California's Redwood National Park announcement last week, all people going near the tree will face up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine. The decision was made after Hyperion was affected by significant degradation due to heavy tourism in the area.

The tree, an astonishing Sequoia sempervirens, is 115.92 meters tall and was officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the tallest tree in the world.

"Hyperion is located off trail through dense vegetation and requires heavy 'bushwhacking' in order to reach the tree. Despite the difficult journey, increased popularity due to bloggers, travel writers, and websites of this off-trail tree has resulted in the devastation of the habitat surrounding Hyperion.

"As a visitor, you must decide if you will be part of the preservation of this unique landscape - or will you be part of its destruction?", the official statement issued by the national park quotes.

Moreover, according to Leonel Arguello, the national park's Chief of Natural Resources, a large part of the area near the tree also has no GPS service, resulting in extremely challenging rescue operations in case hikers would get lost or suffered any accidents at the location.

The mess left behind by the tourists is also an issue for the officials.

"There was trash, and people were creating even more side trails to use the bathroom. They leave used toilet paper and human waste -- it's not a good thing," Arguello added.

Heavy tourism is not the only problem putting the world’s tallest trees in danger, as wildfires are a considerable threat to California's national parks leading the state authorities to take extreme measures to protect the environment in the area.

 

Source: edition.cnn.com