Statement in response to the FY2026 federal budget proposal that aims to redirect $900 million in annual funding away from intended land conservation and public access initiatives
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.
The ESA is under threat. A new federal proposal could remove habitat protection from the definition of “harm”—putting wildlife at risk. Comment by 5/19 to protect our forests and the species within.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Californians will vote on a $10 billion climate bond to invest in safe drinking water, wildfire resilience, and clean air. Climate action is up to all of us this November.
We call on Governor Newsom and the CA Legislature to do the right thing for all Californians: place a climate bond measure on the ballot!
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.
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.
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.
Save the Redwoods League is pleased to announce it is applying for accreditation renewal. A public comment period is now open. The land trust accreditation program recognizes land conservation organizations that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever.
The bipartisan Save Our Sequoias Act authorizes emergency measures and funding that will enable federal agencies, tribal organizations and nonprofits to do the work on the ground to protect these irreplaceable natural treasures from the unprecedented wildfires that have become a regular occurrence in the Sierra Nevada.
Save the Redwoods League today launches the second season of its groundbreaking podcast, “I’ll Go If You Go,” taking listeners on an audio adventure tour through California’s iconic coast redwood and giant sequoia forests.
The coast redwood is the world’s tallest tree, and its genome is among the most complex sequenced. Nearly nine times larger than the human genome, it is also the second largest genome sequenced.
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.
Joanna Nelson, Ph.D., has been named director of science and conservation planning. This is a key staff position for the League, one of the nation’s first science-based conservation organizations. The League relies on high-quality scientific research to inform its protection and restoration of the coast redwood and giant sequoia ecosystems.
Sempervirens Fund announced today that they have secured approvals and critical post-fire funding to remove a dam from Mill Creek. CEMEX, the former owner of what is now San Vicente Redwoods, retains water and infrastructure rights on the property, and approved the dam removal. Deconstruction will begin later this summer.
With California’s record-breaking wildfires of 2020 still fresh in the memory of legislators, Gov. Gavin Newsom has earmarked $1 billion in his proposed budget to address the need for forest restoration, fire prevention and recovery.
