Investigation concludes Sequoia logging was legal A nine-month investigation has found that the logging of 300-year-old sugar pines and other trees in the Giant Sequoia National Monument was done properly. Last year congressional Democrats asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspector General to investigate the allegations of illegal logging in the 328,000-acre preserve that is part of the Sequoia National Forest in Central California. The USDA investigators say the felling of the dying trees was to "improve public safety," adding that the U.S. Forest Service followed proper environmental requirements. Conservation groups had complained the Forest Service cut more than 200 trees between 2004 and 2005, when the protected area was hidden from public view.