About Mill Creek
In June 2002, The League completed the largest land acquisition-in terms of both acres and cost-in its history. The sale of this 25,000 acre redwood forest was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The League raised $62 million for this project. Mill Creek received thousands of private individual donations, several major foundation grants, and allocations from key state agencies.

The permanent protection of this property has secured more habitat for 22 endangered and threatened species. The marbled murrelet, for example, is a threatened seabird that counts on Mill Creek's inland, ancient redwood crowns for nesting and breeding. Mill Creek itself supports the most significant run of endangered Coho salmon in the entire Smith River watershed and has been identified as a critical refugia for them.

The protection of this property linked the existing Redwood National and State Parks along the coast with the Smith River National Recreation Area. Mill Creek is the only place where this inland forest meets the ocean in protected public ownership. Wildlife can now travel within these protected lands from the forest to the coast.

Millcreek Restoration
Now that the acquisition of Mill Creek has been completed and the property transferred to the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the next goal is to begin restoration work on the property. The Mill Creek Interim Management Recommendations have been created to help guide this process which will include decommissioning former logging roads, protecting aquatic habitats, managing the vegetation in order to encourage old-growth forest characteristics, and assuring public access and use of the park. This restoration work is expected to take seven to ten years.