The giant Sequoia tree is endangered as longer fire seasons and droughts continue to play a part in its decline.
Now, the Wilbur D. May Arboretum acts as a place where a few of these trees can stay safe from wildfires.
The trees arrived when the arboretum opened nearly 40 years ago.
The plan is that if Sequoias in the Sierra Nevada are wiped out by fires, these ones will be used to bring them back.
"It's important that they are genetically pure. They're specific to Kings Canyon in case there is a wildfire, so they have a place to come to gain seeds for the reseeding of that area if a forest fire were to hit that area," says Frances Munoz, Executive Director for the May Arboretum Society.
Munoz says that these trees are crucial because they hold large amounts of carbon, which maintains our current fossil fuel program.
They are kept here because it's very unlikely that a wildfire could make its way to the arboretum.
Reno was chosen as the spot to keep these trees because they thrive in high elevations.
