Westfall Ranch is now permanently protected! More than 3,100 members of Save the Redwoods League supported the purchase of these 77 acres bordering Headwaters Forest Reserve to restore and connect more people to this magnificent part of the coast redwood range.
I think it would be safe to assume that most everyone can enjoy a peaceful walk in the woods. Whether you are 8, 18 or 80, no one can deny the staggering beauty of giant trunks rising into a canopy of green. Mount Tamalpais State Park is one of these unique places, home to breathtaking redwood groves. It towers above the bay just north of San Francisco in Marin County. Unfortunately, places like Mount Tam aren’t always accessible to people and families of lower income and limited resources. So what can we do to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to experience this place?
New research by Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative scientists Robert Van Pelt and colleagues reveals no forest on Earth has more biomass – wood, bark, and leaves – then the ancient coast redwood forests of Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP).
Over the weekend, the League celebrated the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service at our Orick Mill Site property near Redwood National and State Parks. It was a momentous event, and I was honored to speak to the attendees about the significance of the moment. For those who weren’t able to be there, I’ll take the opportunity to share my remarks, and some photos, here.
John Laird, California Secretary for Natural Resources, recalls when redwoods first became significant in his life. He grew up as the son of teachers in Vallejo, and his family would often visit his maternal grandparents in the North Bay.
You can make a difference as a volunteer to help spruce up three magnificent redwood state parks on Saturday, April 16, at the California State Parks Foundation 18th Annual Earth Day Event. Your help is needed to clear invasive vegetation, repair storm-damaged trails, and more.
You have more amenities to enjoy at two breathtaking redwood state parks in Big Sur, thanks to support from League donors like you. Save the Redwoods League helped replace a failing footbridge at Limekiln State Park, and is continuing trail improvements at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. Learn about the enhancements and plan your trip.
Although this park may be small in comparison to others, it is not lacking in variety of activities and scenery. From mountain biking to attending an outdoor play, this park has opportunities for people of all ages to enjoy, all while being removed from the bustle of the surrounding cities. Go to Joaquin Miller Park to discover the magic of the redwoods. Just minutes away from San Francisco and East Bay towns, you can take advantage of this local park any day of the week.
Did you know that the California Legislature named the coast redwood as California’s official state tree on April 3, 1937? In honor of our magnificent redwoods, we’ve created an infographic to show just some of the ways that redwoods support people and wildlife.
As I prepared to teach my first Redwoods and Climate Change lesson in the classroom, I was admittedly nervous. This class was composed entirely of English language learners. As the students shuffled into the classroom, took their seats and began reading the board, it was clear they were excited about the week’s lesson.
Not many high school sophomores can say they’ve orchestrated major infrastructure improvements on public land — but Joseph Haas can. At age 14, Joseph (now 15) spearheaded the installation of four sturdy new bridges at a California redwoods state park.
Gifts from League members like you recently helped protect a dramatically beautiful gateway to an extraordinary kingdom of ancient giant sequoias on Case Mountain. Save the Redwoods League and partners have purchased and transferred a part of this gateway called Craig Ranch to the Bureau of Land Management.
I haven’t swum along the Great Barrier Reef or trekked through the Amazon Rainforest. I haven’t looked up towards the Aurora Borealis or looked down at the enormity of Victoria Falls. What I have seen, and what I’m lucky to have seen, are redwood forests stretching far and reaching tall.
What I hoped to gain from the recent Cultural Relevancy and Inclusion in Outdoor Organizations convening was a sense of togetherness on a topic that very few outdoor organizations and foundations are addressing in action. It is a complicated topic to wrap one’s brain around in reaching an action plan, I get it, but what is at stake is a country that will be majority people of color in 20 years, and if people of color are not developing relationships with the land now, we certainly won’t care about saving the redwoods or protecting endangered species as we grow into a majority status.
In the scenic redwoods country near Eureka, California, lies Headwaters Forest Reserve. You might remember Headwaters as the subject of a very contentious, very public, decade-long struggle in the 1990s to protect ancient redwoods from continued logging. When you walk among its massive, moss-draped giants, it’s easy to see why so many people fought so hard for their preservation.
The effort is under way to safeguard spectacular Mailliard Ranch, the largest remaining redwood property still in family hands in the entire coast range. Save the Redwoods League is working to ensure permanent protection of this 14,838-acre landscape so that its splendid ancient forest, rivers and streams, and vast array of plants and wildlife continue to survive and thrive.
You can discover the San Francisco Bay Area’s more than 1 million acres of parks by visiting OutdoorVoice.org. On this new site, you’ll also learn about volunteering, open space campaigns, issues affecting parks, job opportunities, new trails and land acquisitions. Save the Redwoods League is a member of Outdoor Voice, regional coalition of organizations that create and take care of parks to protect the Bay Area’s world-famous natural wonders, including redwood forests.
John Muir, William Kent, Theodore Roosevelt, Stephen Mather. Many men with the same vision: To protect and preserve the natural beauty of this country so others might activate our curiosity, experience a sense of awe, and exercise our imaginations! No places accomplish that more than our many national parks.
If anyone knows the value of parks to community health and individual well-being, it’s Sharol Nelson-Embry, the Supervising Naturalist at the East Bay Regional Parks Crab Cove Visitors Center. She has worked at the visitor center for 24 years, bearing daily witness to the profound and positive impacts the district’s spectacular public lands exert on visitors from the Bay Area, the state and beyond.
The long-awaited restoration of the magnificent River Trail in Humboldt Redwoods State Park took a huge leap forward recently! Crews finished the 6-mile footpath’s surface, and day-use area improvements are well under way, thanks to gifts from members like you.
All gifts matched up to $100,000 for ‘O Rew Redwoods Gateway!
