Sara Press grew up among the redwoods of coastal southern Mendocino County. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Inter- and Intra-Cultural Studies from Sonoma State University and went on to earn a Master of Arts in Geography from the University of Oregon. Interested in land use planning and conservation, she cut her teeth managing a variety of planning, urban design, and environmental review projects throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. 

“I’ve never lost that childhood familiarity with these ancient, fog-filled forests,” says Press. “I still feel wonder every time I walk through them.” 

After eight years as an urban and regional planner, Press joined the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District as an Acquisition Specialist to get more directly involved in landscape conservation. Over the next decade, she negotiated with landowners, purchased conservation easements, and opened land for public access. Press then joined Sonoma Land Trust, leading the development of a Russian River Subwatershed Conservation Assessment that prioritizes land conservation that benefits coho salmon. Eventually, Press took her skills across the world to work at the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere in Scotland. As their Land Use and Biodiversity Lead Officer, Press collaborated with farmers, foresters, land managers, and program partners to enhance nature and climate resilience through land management practices and policy directives. 

As Save the Redwoods League’s Senior Manager of Land Protection, Press is responsible for a portfolio of complex real estate transactions to acquire high-priority redwood properties and conservation easements across California’s redwood range. She helps identify conservation policies and funding strategies that can directly support Save the Redwoods’ programmatic goals, and plays a key role interacting with landowners, public agency partners and funders, private donors, Tribes, and other interested parties throughout the acquisition and disposition process. 

“I enjoy getting to the goal of land conservation, which involves landowner negotiations, timber and land appraisals, environmental and real estate due diligence, and funding strategies, but my favorite part is going out in the field and learning about the land,” says Press. 

“Thinking about the forest remaining intact into the future, able to provide all the various benefits to humans and wildlife alike, it puts our work into perspective and makes me proud of what we do.”