League Announcement

Benjamin Friedman

Save the Redwoods League Names Ben Friedman as Director of Government Affairs & Public Funding

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Save the Redwoods League announced today that Ben Friedman has been promoted to director of government affairs and public funding. His position is key to supporting the programmatic capacity of the League, which works to protect and restore coast redwood and giant sequoia ecosystems. Friedman will report to Paul Ringgold, chief program officer.

Yosemite’s Majestic Giants

Save the Redwoods League Applauds Reintroduction of Save Our Sequoias Act

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Save the Redwoods League supports the bipartisan Save Our Sequoias (SOS) Act, important legislation that empowers federal, Tribal, state and nonprofit partners to accelerate forest restoration, reduce hazardous fuels and safeguard the world’s largest trees from the increasingly destructive wildfires in California’s Sierra Nevada.

Yosemite Valley from Glacier Point.

Save the Redwoods League Statement on Federal Directives to Increase Timber Production

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Forests need site-specific, science-based stewardship, not broad emergency declarations. As a conservation organization focused on restoring complex forest ecosystems in the coast redwood and giant sequoia ranges, Save the Redwoods League agrees with the USDA that the nation faces a serious crisis of forest health and wildfire risk—one that the USDA Forest Service is well positioned to address. However, the USDA Secretary’s April memo problematically blurs the line between ecological restoration, which aims to heal ecosystems, and timber harvest for commercial gain, which prioritizes extraction and profit over long-term forest health.

Steve Mietz

Save the Redwoods League Names Steve Mietz as Next President and CEO of Save the Redwoods League

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Save the Redwoods League announced today that its board has selected veteran national park and public lands conservation leader Steve Mietz as the new president and CEO of the century-old nonprofit. Mietz will join the League on April 28 and carry forward the organization’s mission to protect, restore and connect people to the iconic coast redwood and giant sequoia forests of California. Most recently, Mietz served as superintendent of Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) for nearly eight years.

Sam Hodder inspecting a stand of mature redwoods

Sam Hodder, President and CEO of Save the Redwoods League, Announces Plans to Step Down After More than a Decade Leading 107-year-old Conservation Organization

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After 11 years leading one of the nation’s oldest and most beloved conservation organizations, Sam Hodder announced today that he has decided to step down as president and CEO of Save the Redwoods League on March 31, 2025, at the close of the organization’s current fiscal year. A search for the League’s next leader will commence immediately, led by Vice Chair of the League’s Board of Directors Rosemary Cameron.

Kirsten Saenz Tobey

Save the Redwoods League Names Two New Leaders

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Save the Redwoods League today announced the hiring of two new staff in key positions: Kirsten Saenz Tobey as chief operations officer and Carrie Speckart as director of people and culture.

Jug Handle State National Reserve

League calls on Legislature to put climate bond before California voters in 2024

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Save the Redwoods League joined a chorus of conservation groups today in calling for the California State Legislature to place a $15 billion climate bond on the November 2024 ballot. Such a bond would fund programs that improve and protect water and air quality, strengthen community climate resilience, mitigate wildfires, provide recreational access to the outdoors and protect natural resources.

Last Chance Grade overlooking highway

As Last Chance Grade Crumbles, Caltrans Considers Two Solutions

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In Northern California, the famed coastal Highway 101 winds through some of the world’s last ancient coast redwood forest. For decades, a 3.5-mile section of the highway between Eureka and Crescent City, known as Last Chance Grade, has been plagued by landslides and frequent closures, with no viable alternate routes for the local community, commerce or tourism. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has been working with local stakeholders for 10 years on a solution. Tragically, their final two roadway alternatives will have substantial impacts on nearby old-growth redwood forest.

Coastline landscape

Save the Redwoods League Secures Unique Opportunity to Protect More than 3,100 Acres of Threatened Coast Redwoods, 5 Miles of Northern California Coastline

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The League has negotiated an agreement to buy the ecologically and culturally significant coastal landscape from timberland owner Soper Company. The nonprofit must raise $36.9 million by December 31 to fund the purchase and secure a total of $43.4 million to support the stewardship of the property as part of the protected mosaic of California’s famed Lost Coast.