Author Archives: Harry Pollack

Harry joined Save the Redwoods League’s staff in 2011 as the General Counsel. He brings over 30 years of experience in the fields of law and real estate transactions.

The League’s reaccreditation demonstrates sound finances, ethical conduct, responsible governance, and lasting land stewardship.

League Earns National Accreditation for a Second Time

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As the glow fades from the 100 candles atop our centennial birthday cake, there’s one more present we’ve yet to reveal—our renewed accreditation from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission! Save the Redwoods League achieved accredited status, for a second time, a mark of distinction and the gold standard for land trusts.

The spotted owl is another irreplaceable redwoods inhabitant. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

It’s About the Critters Too!

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The League is working to move State Parks forward to protect the many species that call the redwood forest home. As my colleague Richard Campbell wrote in his blog last week, saving old-growth redwoods is not the same as saving …

Photo by Julie Martin

It’s About the Children!

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There are so many reasons to move State Parks forward.  For me, the first reason is for our children. Remember how much fun you had in the forest as a child?  I recall digging for bugs in the dirt at …

The Coastal Trail, Last Chance section, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. Photo by David Baselt

Do You Want to Move State Parks Forward?

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Save the Redwoods League does. In this fast-changing world, we either move forward or we are left behind. California’s state parks house some of the world’s most treasured natural resources, including large portions of our beloved redwood forest.  We visit …

League Earns National Accreditation!

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Remember your excitement and pride upon receiving your first soccer trophy?  Or an award for your 5th grade science project?  Or the spelling bee? We at the League now feel that way upon being accredited by the Land Trust Alliance!  …

Strengthened Relationships Key to Conservation Success

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Stronger alliances and more collaboration are key for better protection of northern California’s farms, fish and forests for future generations.  That message resonated with the passionate conservation professionals attending the California Council of Land Trusts’ (CCLT) recent California Northern Region …

The League’s Shady Dell Work is Honored

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Save the Redwoods League’s work in preserving the Shady Dell tract on the southern end of the Lost Coast and adjacent to the Usal Redwood Forest, home of the famous candelabra trees, recently earned a special honor. The League was …

Skunk Train Stories

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There is only one place you can enjoy the last remaining “motorcar” train choo-chooing through a forest of giant, ancient redwoods: the Skunk Train in Mendocino County! Built as a logging railroad in 1885 for moving giant, felled redwoods to …

Montgomery Woods State Park. Photo by Peter Buranzon

Parks Forward Commission – Time to Reform the State Parks System

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There is a ray of hope for California’s underfunded State Parks system:  a new high-level commission is being appointed with a mandate to transform the system – soon. As those of us who work in the system know, the State …

Forest of Nisene Marks State Park.

30,000 Volunteers Help Keep California State Parks Running!

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. . . so reported Major General Anthony L. Jackson, Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), to the State Parks Commission last Friday morning.  That is a lot of volunteers! If those 30,000 volunteers were to lie …

Hiking the James Irvine Trail in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.

Redwood forests – no cell phones!

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It is all the rage! New York Times columnist Nick Bilton writes this week that a founder of Pinterest “drive[s] until cell service drops off (yes, this is possible) and spend[s] the weekend engaged with all things analog. . .”. …

Sun through the redwoods. Photo by parmsongs, Flickr Creative Commons

The Healing Power of Redwoods

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“It is like being in a cathedral.” “Ancient spirits of the Native Americans are still living among the redwoods.” “I always feel healed after a visit to the redwoods.” These are the kinds of emotions many of us experience in …

Aerial view of CEMEX Redwoods. Photo by William K. Matthias

Collaboration for Conservation

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Save the Redwoods League and our colleague land conservation organizations are tackling more sophisticated and more capital-intensive projects than ever before.  We have learned that we can do this better by collaborating. One of the League’s most exciting and successful …

Peters Creek Old-Growth Forest. Photo by Paolo Vescia

Obama’s Budget Calls for More Conservation Funding

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There was a bit of good conservation news coming from Washington, DC, last week. President Obama’s budget includes a substantial increase for Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) funding. The LWCF program has had a huge impact on land conservation …

We're trying a variety of restoration techniques at Mill Creek.

Sustainability or Resilience?

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Do you feel tension?  No, not emotional tension, the intellectual kind.  Does intellectual tension invigorate you?  It invigorates us at Save the Redwoods League.  There is a debate among conservationists:  should our goal be sustainability or resilience? At Save the …

Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana). Photo by ingridtaylar, Flickr Creative Commons

Birds Matter Too

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Audubon Magazine (March-April 2013 issue) reminds us “Why Birds Matter.”   Of course birds have intrinsic value:  to watch an eagle in flight is a thrill; to hear the whistle-like song of a marbled murrelet echo through the dark forest is …

Portola Redwoods State Park.

Hope for Our State Park System

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Crisis is turning into opportunity for our state park system. California State Parks has new, effective leadership in Major General Anthony L. Jackson, USMC (retired). And the State’s Little Hoover Commission just issued its thoughtful report, identifying many of the …

Howland Hills Road, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.

Economic Benefit of Conservation

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All you readers out there know that a day in the redwoods is good for the soul.  It is calming, inspirational, healing and fun. Whether you walk with your honey, picnic with friends or romp with your children, it is …

Founders Grove, Humboldt Redwoods State Park

Tradition. History. Healing.

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Images, encounters, and lessons in Humboldt Redwoods State Park on a grey, dry winter Saturday – March 2, 2013: Bolling Grove, the League’s first memorial grove of redwoods.  Stop #2 on the Avenue of the Giants auto tour.  Paid respects …