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California Redwoods, Giant Sequoias Cloned; Ready To Be Planted

BERKELEY (CBS/AP) - A Michigan nurseryman and his team of tree climbers and horticulturists have cloned the world's biggest redwoods and giant sequoias, including some cut down more than a century ago.

Starting Tuesday, they plan to start planting 250 of them—all gathered in California—on a ranch on the southern Oregon Coast.

David Milarch, co-founder of the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, says the trees planted outside Port Orford, Ore., will be the start of a campaign to establish some of the world's fastest-growing trees around the globe to combat global warming.

Bill Libby, professor emeritus of forestry and genetics at the University of California at Berkeley, said the project will also help demonstrate how much genetics has to do with whether a tree gets really big.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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