Keep Taking Action to Keep State Parks Open

Thank you to everyone who answered the call from Save the Redwoods League and its partners to contact California legislators urging them to keep California State Parks open. Many of these parks contain redwoods that our members have helped to protect. Since we sent the action alert last month, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature received more than 100,000 messages. But there is still more work to do. Faced with a budget deficit exceeding $24.3 billion, the governor’s proposal to close 223 state parks is a real threat, not a bluff. The decision on park closures is still pending, and the governor and legislators still must hear your opinion on the subject. Learn more and take action now. Photo: Big Basin Redwoods State Park, by mjmonty, Flickr Creative Commons.

437 Acres Designated As Wilderness

With Save the Redwoods League members’ support, the League, US Bureau of Land Management and Resources Legacy Fund Foundation have protected 437 acres now designated as wilderness by the US Congress. The designation adds these lands to the King Range Wilderness, ensuring that the land is protected and managed to preserve its natural character. These new acres of wilderness are in the Mattole River watershed; the Mattole is one of Northern California’s great coho salmon streams. The land also is part of the one of the League’s top priority project areas, which links the King Range National Conservation Area on the coast (pictured) to Humboldt Redwoods State Park inland.

See Submissions in Our Online Photo Contest

Check out the latest entries in Save the Redwoods League’s Walk Among Giants^SM Online Photo Contest: Just visit our Flickr Group Pool and enter “09WalkAmongGiants” in the search box. California residents: Enter your photos in the contest and help spotlight the importance of protecting majestic redwood forests now and in the future. You’ll get a chance to win great prizes. Read the rules and learn how to enter. Entries are due July 23, 2009. Public voting from August 3 to September 7, 2009, at savetheredwoods.org/contest_vote will determine the contest winners.

Send New, Free E-Cards for Father’s Day and More!

Share your love for the redwoods with your loved ones! See our new, improved gallery featuring beautiful photos of the redwoods in free e-cards for Father’s Day (Sunday, June 21), birthdays and ”just because.” Have a Web site or Facebook page? Post our widget to show you love redwoods!

Favorite Redwood Hike: Skyline to the Sea Trail in Park Headquarters Vicinity, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Santa Cruz County

In this recurring feature, our staff members and volunteers share their favorite places to experience redwoods.

Name and Title: Chris Freimuth, Outreach Assistant

Trailhead: Park Headquarters

Difficulty/Distance: All levels, various options from a 1-mile stroll to a 20-mile weekend trip.

Why I like it: The Skyline to the Sea Trail and its neighboring trails near Big Basin’s Park Headquarters offer a surprisingly comprehensive and accessible mosaic of Bay Area ecosystems. Walking north from park headquarters along Skyline to the Sea, you’ll find yourself in a mixed forest with old giants towering among predominantly second-growth redwoods and Douglas-fir. Continue on through madrones and manzanita, and soon you’ll find yourself up in the chaparral, gazing out over a gentle landscape of hills and valleys. Without much effort, you’ll get to experience the interplay between changing geologies and the ecosystems they foster. This area is good for both day hikes and longer camping trips. Photo: Big Basin Redwoods State Park, by mjmonty, Flickr Creative Commons.

Best time to visit: I appreciated a recent visit at the end of May, as I was gifted with some days of heavy fog and others of blue skies and warm sun. Experiencing diverse landscapes and weather added a rich texture to my experience.

More park information and trail map
Brochure including map

Weekend Seasonal Public Transportation is available from downtown Santa Cruz to Park Headquarters on Route 35/35A.

Featured Photo

McWay Falls plummets into the Pacific Ocean in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, in Big Sur, California. Trails on the west side of Highway 1, including the McWay Falls Overlook trail, Partington Cove and the environmental campsites, recently reopened after fires. The League has protected 238 acres in this park, which contains redwoods. Photo: eraine, Flickr Creative Commons. Add your redwood photos to the League’s Flickr pool.

Featured Favorite Redwood Memory

"I have never seen a redwood ‘in person.’  Have never even been to California—but I do hope that over the years I have been able to save at least one small limb for a future Hoosier to see and marvel at."

— Rose Marie, member since 1965

PS

• Our Executive Director, Ruskin Hartley, is featured in the June 2009 issue of Town & Country magazine, available at your local newsstand.
• Follow Save the Redwoods League on Twitter.
• 5 ways you can help save redwoods