Redwoods Rising trains next generation to heal the forest
onThus far, Redwoods Rising’s apprenticeship program has trained 93 college students, helping to build the restoration workforce needed on the North Coast and beyond.
Writing the future of our planet one small deed at a time
onA Hollywood screenwriter makes an impact by weaving stories of everyday actions that can build the climate future we need.
Plantings mark final phase of ‘O Rew restoration
onYurok crews plant native species to create a thriving redwood and salmon habitat at the southern gateway to Redwood National and State Parks.
10 best redwood parks on the San Francisco Peninsula
onSan Francisco, with its glittering high-rises and autonomous cars, sometimes feels like a future world—a frenetic twin to the nearby tech mecca of Silicon Valley. But between these two modern hubs lies the Peninsula, a verdant rise of coastal mountains and forests that divides the southern portion of the San Francisco Bay from the wide-open Pacific Ocean. There’s so much to explore here.
Healing the forests, building the restoration economy
onOn California’s North Coast, efforts to heal redwood forests are bringing jobs and hope to local workers and gateway communities in rural locations.
Steve Mietz on why it’s crucial to think big and go bold
onI come to the League after a long career with the National Park Service that took me across the American West and showed me the need for courageous action in the face of existential threats to our forests, rivers, and critters. For these and many other reasons, joining Save the Redwoods League as president and CEO has felt like coming home. Now more than ever, it’s essential to be bold and brave, to inspire through action, to show others how healing the planet can heal society and ourselves.
Meet the League’s mapmaker
onVrinda Suresh is the geographic information systems (GIS) program manager at Save the Redwoods League, where she transforms spatial data into compelling visual stories and conservation planning tools. Vrinda spoke with us about the science and art of modern mapmaking and how maps guide important conservation decisions at the League. Here’s how she brings meaning to maps.
Hope takes root at “Take Me to the Trees” celebration
onNature lovers, forest champions, and long-standing League partners gathered for a night of music, meaning, and momentum for redwoods conservation. From forest bathing to forest beats, Take Me to the Trees 2025 was more than a celebration. It was a testament to what it means to come together for something bigger than ourselves. The League thanks every guest, donor, partner, artist, and sponsor who made this magical evening possible. Together, we are helping the redwoods thrive!
Making giant strides in giant sequoia protection
onThe Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition made great progress in 2024 restoring sequoia groves and safeguarding them from future wildfires.
Redwood leaves like you’ve never seen them before
onResearcher Alana Chin looks at redwood leaf shoots up close to learn how their parent trees might adapt to changing weather patterns.
We are all in this together
onIt is clear that when it comes to protecting and healing what we love most, we are all in this together. This issue of Redwoods follows these threads of collaboration and commitment as they weave through some of our most exciting and urgent projects. We take you to Sonoma Coast Redwoods, a dramatic stretch of California coastline whose preservation depends on a collective effort by the League, our partners, and our full community of supporters. We meet dedicated scientists working to unravel the complex relationship between redwoods and fog — and the growing impacts of climate change. And we explore how the League’s Redwood Rides program, working in partnership with local organizations, is helping to connect underrepresented communities with nature.
Redwoods on the edge
onWelcome to Sonoma Coast Redwoods, a 1,624-acre property that hugs the twisting ribbon of Highway 1 as it winds along Sonoma County’s coastline. On a map, this property is clearly demarcated; but standing on the land itself, all boundaries vanish. Dense redwood forest blankets the ridgeline for miles. Shimmering ocean panoramas extend south to Jenner and Bodega Bay and north to Fort Ross and beyond. This is the California coast as the soaring hawk sees it: a single connected landscape, ancient and essential. As a stunning Sonoma Coast forest faces the threat of development, we’re rallying to keep this iconic redwood landscape intact.
Redwoods and fog
onA gentle mist drifts silently through the redwoods, softening shadows and imparting a damp chill to the air. Moisture drips from branches and ferns, emanating an earthy, pine-like aroma. The scene of fog shrouding a redwood forest evokes a sense of mystery and awe, its ephemeral beauty casting a filmic, dreamlike quality to the landscape. Perhaps even more captivating is the hidden, interwoven relationship between fog and coast redwoods.
A Legacy Rooted in Giving
onPelissero believes most people understand the need to protect the redwoods but fail to realize how critical it is to connect more young people to these irreplaceable forests. “We feel very strongly that this could help save us environmentally,” she explains. “The redwoods are commanding teachers. When you learn about these trees when you’re young, you want to try to preserve them. You realize you’re losing a precious thing.”
14-year-old helps redwoods while hiking John Muir Trail
onAt age 14, Lewis McColgan hiked all 211 miles of the John Muir Trail while raising funds to protect the beautiful redwood forests that he loves.
360-acre addition will make Armstrong Redwoods stronger
onExpanding parks like Armstrong Redwoods is one of the League’s foundational commitments, and we recently delivered on this promise. Save the Redwoods League acquired Armstrong Ridge, a 360-acre property consisting of two privately owned parcels on the slopes directly above the state reserve. Situated in the traditional lands of the Southern Pomo, the property is home to a mature second growth forest and about 23 acres of old growth redwoods along a steep ravine—a location that may explain how these ancient trees survived commercial logging. The property is now being leased and managed by California State Parks until it can be officially added to the reserve.
Banned for 100 years, cultural burns could save sequoias
onOn a cloudless day in California’s Sierra Nevada, the Tule River Indian, North Fork Mono, and Tübatulabal Tribes gathered to lead a small cultural burning demonstration in the Alder Creek Grove. Since the California ban was lifted in 2022, only two off-reservation cultural burns have taken place in the giant sequoia range: The demonstration at Alder Creek Grove and an earlier burn led by the Tule River Indian Tribe on Forest Service land.
Can the giant sequoias recover on their own?
onTwo new comprehensive research studies published by the USGS Western Ecological Research Center discuss the drastically low number of seedlings found in sequoia groves in the wake of recent mega-fires. Their findings: inadequate natural seedling recovery and high tree mortality rates create a substantial risk of losing portions of sequoia groves.
New discovery shows how redwoods regrow after extreme fires
onCoast redwoods have been able to adapt and survive for millennia by drawing on carbon they’ve stored for decades to give them new life.
President’s letter
onWe explore an exciting vision for a groundbreaking conservation model and the success of another landmark partnership, the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition.