Autumn-Winter 2024

A group of people gather in a large circle with sequoia trees in the background.

We are all in this together

by Sam Hodder on

It 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.

The view from the top, overlooks a fantastic ocean, cliffs, and trees with fog rolling in.

Redwoods on the edge

by Dana Viloria on

Welcome 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.

Coast redwoods canopy seen peaking through thick white fog

Redwoods and fog

by Kathleen Ok-Soo Richards on

A 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.

Candy and Brian Pelissero

A Legacy Rooted in Giving

by April Kilcrease on

Pelissero 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.”

trailhead

360-acre addition will make Armstrong Redwoods stronger

by Cheryl Reiss on

Expanding 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.

Overhead view of a few firefighters watching smoldering burn piles in green scrub in the shadow of tall trees.

Banned for 100 years, cultural burns could save sequoias 

by Kristina Malsberger on

On 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.

Giant sequoia seedling

Can the giant sequoias recover on their own?

by Juliet Grable on

Two 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.

A group of Asian Pacific American schoolchildren climb on the base of a large redwood

How Redwood Rides helps close the nature gap

by Kathleen Ok-Soo Richards on

By eliminating the largest barrier between underrepresented communities and redwoods parks—lack of transportation—Redwood Rides not only expands outdoor access, but also inspires the next generation to care about the ancient forests.

Two climbers wearing hard hats shimmy up ropes along the trunk of a massive giant sequoia

First climb of General Sherman Tree reveals health status

by Kristina Malsberger on

The iconic giant sequoia, which stands in California’s Sequoia National Park, is the largest living tree on the planet and has withstood two millennia of storms, drought, and wildfires. But it has never had a proper check-up.

On May 21, researchers with the Ancient Forest Society used climbing ropes to ascend to General Sherman’s upper crown in the first-ever climb of the 275-foot-tall giant sequoia. Their mission: to visually inspect the ancient tree for signs of infestation by sequoia bark beetles—an emerging threat that has already killed as many as 40 mature giant sequoias since 2015.

Boy in a purple and blue hammock in front of an REI tent touching the forest floor.

Redwoods transcend barriers of autism

by Lisa Morales Winner on

Our time among the redwoods and giant sequoias showed me just how much nature can do for people on the autism spectrum like my son. Even though the preparation and the journey itself can present many difficulties, the rewards of traveling make it all worth it. Let’s strive for inclusion in parks, celebrating diversity and fostering belonging for all, ensuring future generations can experience our national parks’ beauty firsthand.

A large giant sequoia is surrounded by a wooden fence along a snowy path

Magical winter backpacking in Mariposa Grove

by Helena Guglielmino on

Camping among Yosemite’s giant sequoias reveals wonders off the beaten path. Camping in Yosemite in wintertime when everything is wrapped in a blanket of snow can be especially magical.