Media Contact:
Robin Carr, Landis Communications Inc
Email: Redwoods@LandisPR.com | Phone: (415) 766-0927
Statement in response to the passing of the Save Our Sequoias Act, a bipartisan bill that protects giant sequoias from extreme wildfires, through the U.S. House of Representatives.
San Francisco, Calif. (March 16, 2026) — Save the Redwoods League applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the bipartisan Save Our Sequoias Act (SOSA), which accelerates restoration throughout the giant sequoia range. The bill calls for a comprehensive restoration and reforestation strategy among federal, state, Tribal and nonprofit partners to reduce fire fuels, assess forest resiliency and safeguard giant sequoias from increasingly destructive wildfires. While this updated version of SOSA will benefit these iconic groves, additional work to secure necessary funding is needed to achieve the bill’s goals.
Giant sequoias are the world’s largest trees by volume, covering more than 25,000 acres in 94 groves along the western slopes of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. They can live for thousands of years, yet nearly 20% of mature giant sequoias have perished over the past decade due to extreme wildfires. The increasing severity of these megafires has also adversely affected the trees’ ability to reproduce, burning at a scale and intensity far beyond the natural fires these trees evolved with. This disrupts regeneration and threatens the long-term survival of the species. Restoration and reforestation work is essential to prevent the remaining giant sequoias from vanishing.
SOSA addresses this crisis by making an emergency declaration to protect giant sequoias from further extreme wildfire risk. The bill complements and preserves bedrock environmental protections already put in place and enables faster restorative action in high-priority groves where science indicates urgent need. In addition, SOSA will codify the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition (GSLC), a landscape-scale, multi-partner collaboration dedicated to the conservation and stewardship of giant sequoia grove ecosystems.
“The passage of SOSA through the House is an important step for giant sequoia conservation,” said Paul Ringgold, chief program officer at Save the Redwoods League. “Save the Redwoods and our GSLC partners are meeting the urgency of the moment through science-based stewardship to improve fire resilience and forest health among the most vulnerable groves. We now look to the Senate to continue the positive momentum for SOSA sparked by the House and provide the investment required to revitalize these irreplaceable forests.”
The GSLC is composed of federal, Tribal, state and local agencies and organizations that directly manage giant sequoia groves in public, Tribal or private nonprofit ownership. To date, Save the Redwoods and the GSLC have completed approximately 20,000 acres of fire resilience treatments and planted more than 600,000 native trees across the giant sequoia range. SOSA will help land managers move quickly to mitigate extreme wildfire risk while preserving the ecological, cultural and climate benefits that giant sequoias provide. Additionally, this legislation calls for a Giant Sequoia Health and Resiliency Assessment to ensure that accurate and science-based information drives actions in giant sequoia forests as the frequency of extreme wildfires continues to climb.
Save the Redwoods League is grateful for the leadership of Representatives Vince Fong (CA-20) and Scott Peters (CA-50), as well as Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee Bruce Westerman and Jared Huffman, respectively, for their bipartisan work to revitalize giant sequoia groves.
Save the Redwoods looks forward to working with the Senate to secure funding for the restoration of these ancient forests and complete the passage of SOSA through Congress.
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To schedule an interview, contact Robin Carr at (415) 766-0927 or redwoods@landispr.com.
Tags: 2026, Press Release
