How the California forest that was Endor in 'Return of the Jedi' was obliterated (2022)

Filming Locations and Production Choices

• Endor forest scenes were shot in privately owned redwood forests in Del Norte and Humboldt Counties, not in Muir Woods near San Francisco.
• Muir Woods (a protected National Monument) rejected the production, especially due to pyrotechnics.
• The chosen redwood tract was already slated for clear‑cut; loggers allowed extensive effects on the basis that the stand would be harvested anyway.
• Comparisons are made to other productions using sites scheduled for demolition (e.g., gas works for “Full Metal Jacket,” urban neighborhoods, factories, malls, hospitals in various films).

Tourism, Distance, and Cultural Value

• Some argue it would have been “crazy” not to preserve the Endor grove given Star Wars’ known popularity by the third film.
• Others counter that predicting long‑term tourist value of specific filming sites is hard, and most movies do not become lasting attractions.
• Debate over Humboldt’s accessibility: some say it’s “too far” to become a major tourist draw; others highlight the scenic 101 corridor and compare with far‑flung film tourism (Tunisia, New Zealand, etc.).

Logging Practices: Old-Growth vs Managed Forests

• One side portrays the clear‑cut as normal commercial harvest in a managed forest, akin to reaping a cornfield, with replanting afterward.
• Others stress these were old or near‑old‑growth redwoods that take centuries, so loss is effectively permanent on human timescales.
• Discussion notes that destructive clear‑cutting of redwoods in the region continued into the 1990s; protection is patchy and mixed between federal, state, local, and private ownership.

Forests, Carbon, and Climate Debates

• Several argue that using wood is environmentally preferable to concrete or petrochemicals and that trees “grow back.”
• Counterarguments emphasize that old‑growth forests are unique ecosystems, not equivalent to fast‑growing monoculture “tree farms.”
• There is disagreement over whether young, rapidly growing stands sequester more carbon than old forests; logging‑industry‑funded studies are viewed skeptically by some.
• Ideas surface about cutting and burying wood for carbon sequestration, but critics note practical, ecological, and lifecycle‑emissions issues.

Property Rights and Preserving Movie Locations

• One view: if governments might later buy or restrict film locations for heritage reasons, landowners should charge film crews as if they’re giving up long‑term timber value.
• Others read the article as merely suggesting the state could have considered a voluntary purchase, not expropriation or “squatter‑style” losses of property rights.

Uniqueness and Aesthetics of Forests

• Some locals say many nearby redwood forests look similar from the ground, softening the loss of that specific stand.
• Others strongly reject the idea that “forests are all the same,” stressing each configuration’s intrinsic and experiential value.

Ecological Threats

• Beyond logging, commenters highlight Sudden Oak Death (an oomycete disease) as a slow‑moving but serious threat to Coast Redwoods and other tree species in California and beyond.