I recently walked with a childhood friend through Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, one of the only old coast redwood forests left in Sonoma County. It certainly felt like fall, with the sunlight low in the sky as midday approached. … Continued
One of the great joys of Halloween time, besides the candy, is the spooky, dark and eerie theme of the holiday. And what better location to represent this theme than a cool, foggy redwood forest at night. The tall trees, the profound silence … Continued
My career at Save the Redwoods League began on a trail in an old-growth redwood grove in Big Basin. It was the Friday before I walked in the League’s door as its new President and CEO. Hoping to find inspiration … Continued
Have you ever been walking in the forest and seen a cone, and wondered what tree it was from? This happens to me all the time. Sometimes it can be difficult to identify conifers (cone-bearing trees) because their branches can … Continued
It is a very common experience to pick up a map I’ve made in GIS (Geographic Information Systems, a software mapping program) and realize that there is no way the stream shown on my map is actually where the stream flows on … Continued
A new research study published in Nature (found here; and excellent summary is here) got me thinking about the work we do to restore redwood forests. Basically, the idea behind the research is this: species perform many roles beyond just … Continued
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 … Continued
Henry David Thoreau wrote, “Nature will bear the closet inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.” His words eloquently describe a field of research that would … Continued
For almost a year now we’ve worked on developing and producing the first-ever family guide to the redwoods. Initially we were going to produce a single edition, but after the writing and editing were underway, we soon realized that we … Continued
Today is World Dictionary Day, and in honor of that I’d like to discuss a few words that are used a lot in our conservation science work. They are: Precision, Accuracy, and Bias. These may seem familiar, but they have … Continued
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 … Continued
If you search on Google images for “scientist,” you get a lot of photos of men and women with unkempthair, white lab coats and goggles. If you ask a child what they think a scientist looks like, they will give … Continued
Ever wondered how big that tree in your backyard is? There are many ways to measure the heights of trees, but most of them unfortunately require lots of time, money, and specialized equipment. There is one method, however, that needs … Continued
Last week, we drove into Humboldt Redwoods State Park at dusk to watch bats dart over Bull Creek. We joined up with USDA Forest Service researcher, Ted Weller, and his team as they studied local and migrating bats through the … Continued
Recently our Conservation Science Manager and I set out into one of the League-owned forests to map its trees. We wanted to know where the younger redwoods are located, in order to determine where a future landowner of the property … Continued
As I’ve become more familiar with Bay Area plants over the years, it is difficult for me to go hiking and not think to myself, “Yum, blackberry—oh look, bay laurel—I didn’t know horsetail grew around here.” If you go hiking with … Continued
Has the government shutdown stymied your grand plans to visit a national park? While our beloved national parks and monuments are closed indefinitely, lots of other beautiful state parks and reserves are still open! Take this opportunity to explore a … Continued
I recently drove eastward through the many vineyards of the Napa Valley in search of coast redwoods living on the species’ eastern boundary. Given how widespread redwoods used to be on planet Earth, the edges of the natural redwood range today … Continued
Marbled murrelets haven’t had an easy century. With their oceanic feeding grounds impacted by commercial fishing and the occasional oil spill, and their ancient forest nesting grounds mostly lost to the axe and the saw, these shy creatures have had … Continued
The Lost Coast is a destination for intrepid hikers who enjoy the rough and uninterrupted coastline of Mendocino County. If you’re one of them, I recommend you take some time looking underfoot next time you explore the wilderness to see … Continued
