LAND ACQUISITION PROGRAM

Since 1918, Save the Redwoods League has saved ancient redwood forests and landscapes that support them to ensure that current and future generations can feel the awe and peace that these precious natural wonders inspire. We also save redwoods because they are rare – their natural range is only in central and northern California and southern Oregon – and because they are Earth’s tallest and some of the oldest and most massive living things.

After 150 years of logging and real-estate development, approximately 5% of the original 2 million acre coast redwood forest remains — along the central and northern California coast and in southern Oregon.

Save the Redwoods has also saved the coast redwood's relative, the giant sequoia. This species can live more than 3,200 years and is Earth's largest tree by volume, with trunks as wide as 30 feet. Also known as the Sierra redwood, the giant sequoia's natural range is only in 75 groves on California's Sierra Nevada.

Even though they have survived for millennia, these giants still can be cut down for lumber or to make room for poorly planned residential and commercial real estate development.

Since our establishment more than 90 years ago, with our members' and partners' support, we have protected more than 181,000 acres and helped develop 59 redwood parks and reserves for everybody to enjoy.

The main way Save the Redwoods League saves redwoods is by purchasing forests and the landscapes that support them from willing sellers, collaborating with landowners, government agencies, and local partners. We donate or sell this land to California State Parks or other government agencies.

Help us save more forests. You can make your gift in memory or honor of an individual or organization.

The Often Long Process of Acquiring and Transferring Land

The Land Acquisition Process
The process of buying redwood forestland and supporting landscapes can often take Save the Redwoods League eight months to two years. We follow a procedure to determine the land’s condition, legal accessibility, fair market value, suitability for our conservation programs, and to negotiate a fair price with the landowner.

Land acquisition steps often include:

• mapping the property, evaluating it for consistency with our science-based Master Plan and identifying a permanent steward
• conducting environmental studies of the property and historical uses of the property
• examining title reports and property condition to determine the project’s feasibility
• presenting the acquisition plan to our Board of Directors for approval
• identifying any stewardship concerns or cleanup needed
• contracting for an appraisal to determine fair market value
• contracting for surveys if necessary
• negotiating acquisition terms and price with landowner
• identifying potential public and private funders, preparing proposals for them, and completing grant applications
• signing purchase agreements, coordinating development of documentation and fund transfers, opening escrow
• signing and notarizing documents, placing in escrow and closing the transaction

We are removing logging roads in the Mill Creek watershed
to prevent their slide into streams, which would damage
critical salmon habitat.

Protect Resources

• Land Acquisition Program
• Major Acquisitions
• 2008-9 Acquisitions
• Current Projects
• Acres Protected
• Science & Planning
• Research Grants Program
• Research Grant-Supported Achievements
• Juniper Project

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The Process of Transferring Land to Public Agencies
From the start of each project, Save the Redwoods works closely with public agency partners, such as California State Parks (CSP), who will manage the land we sell or donate to them. Even so, the process of transferring land to public agencies can take years.

Before transferring the land, we must ensure the new parcel will not present issues that the managing agency does not have the budget or expertise to address. These are some examples of the challenges we have faced:

• Restoration: Former logging forestland must be restored. For example,
  the 25,000-acre Mill Creek property, which we acquired and transferred to CSP, contains logging roads that must be removed, or they will slide into streams and damage critical salmon habitat.
• Contamination and trash: A number of our remote, “pristine” properties contain old cars and trash, and/or present other environmental issues that must be remediated before the properties can be purchased or transferred.
• Appraisal: Every time we receive money from a transfer of property to a public agency, the agency reviews the appraisal and evaluates whether the League has paid an appropriate price for the land. Addressing appraisal reviewers’ questions can entail extensive research on feasibility of development and other issues.
• Park operations and incompatible use: Issues that might never occur to a private buyer can be critical to our partners. A right of way in favor of a neighbor may not impair residential use, but can be a problem if it means that log trucks may be traveling through park land in the middle of tourist season.
• Agency review process: Transfer to CSP, with one or two hearings before the Public Works Board, takes at least six months. Transfer to a federal agency such as the Bureau of Land Management may be much faster, but if it is necessary to modify a national park boundary, for instance, the process can take many months or even years.