forest restoration

League Board of Directors member Andrew Vought, President of Portola and Castle Rock Foundation, worked to keep Portola Redwoods State Park open.

Andrew Vought: Rescuing Treasured Parks from Closure

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When California’s state-park crisis hit in 2011, businessman Andrew Vought was shocked to find that Portola Redwoods State Park was slated for closure. “I couldn’t let that happen,” he said. Vought had long enjoyed hiking and camping at the park, …

Coastal Trail, Skunk Cabbage Section, Redwood National Park, CA

Learn What You Know and Don’t Know

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As surprising as it may seem, the shaded areas on park maps indicating different kinds of habitat and vegetation do not always reflect the reality “on the ground.” This is true for Redwood National and State Parks, which contains a …

This redwood grove on a League-owned Napa County property will get protection from extra-intense wildfires.

Fierce Fires Pose Threats to Forests, Water

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It’s fire season again. Last week, the local news reported on a 2,500-acre fire in Napa County, just east of the redwood range and Save the Redwoods League’s property near Bothe-Napa State Park. As I’ve mentioned before in previous blogs, …

A hungry herd of goats is taking care of a thorny restoration problem at the League’s Cape Vizcaino property.

Goats Provide Much-Needed TLC at Cape Vizcaino

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The League’s Cape Vizcaino property is in need of a little TLC. Well, maybe a lot. In a previous blog, I described the problems we have with Douglas fir and tanoak trees encroaching into one of the property’s coastal meadows. …

The canopy in Boulder Creek Forest provides nesting places for the marbled murrelet, an imperiled seabird. by Paolo Vescia

Harvesting Timber for Forest Protection

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There is a sad paradox to much of my work as a forester. I became a forester because I love the forest, yet much of my work requires me to kill trees. No matter what the larger goal is for …

My colleague Richard Campbell tries to make his way uphill through the thick brush.

Protecting Our Land Through Restoration

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During my annual monitoring visit to one of our lands, I noticed thick brush growing up around the redwood forest. Something would need to be done about it! California’s drought has brought dry conditions that create an increased chance for …

Some redwoods are genetically adapted to wet, foggy environments; some are better suited to drier locales.

“Right” and “Wrong” Redwoods?

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When we want to restore forests, it’s as simple as just planting some redwoods, right? You may be surprised to hear that the business of replanting a forest is a bit more complicated than that. When we work to restore forests, we try to make sure that the forests we rebuild are as close as possible to those that were lost — and there are also very practical reasons for doing so

Redwood seedlings.

Growing Future Giants From Tiny Seeds

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Last week’s blog began, perhaps a little cavalierly, with the assertion that growing big trees may be the easy part of redwood forest restoration, and so far as it goes that’s a fair assessment.  It also may be a little …

Sixth graders in LandPaths' environmental education program work to restore the redwood forest.

Students Learn About Restoration

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On a cold December morning, I arrived at Rancho Mark West in Sonoma County to the sight of twenty-two sixth graders huddled in a circle beneath towering redwood trees. They were listening silently as their instructors explained how they were …

Bringing back clear, healthy waterways is one of the more challenging parts of restoration. Photo by Peter L. Buranzon.

Growing Back Big Trees? That’s the Easy Part (Well, Kind Of)!

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Compared to fifty or sixty years ago, logging practices in redwood country today are dramatically different and much kinder to the environment. Gone — thankfully — are the days when heavy equipment punched primitive roads into the forest, dragged heavy …

In 1926, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. discusses redwoods conservation with Save the Redwoods League leader Newton Drury. David Rockefeller is pictured on the front, right side.

Conservation, Then and Now

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For decades, the rallying cry of conservation has been, “Buy land — they’re not making any more of it!”  And since 1918, that’s what Save the Redwoods League has done: bought land to protect old-growth groves for future generations. Now, …

Bringing Back the Big Trees

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A recent discovery has been making headlines around the world: Trees don’t grow more slowly as they get older as was previously assumed. Rather, the older the tree, the faster it bulks up! This rapid growth in old age is …

Various ages of forest after different clear cuts in Mill Creek. Photo by Save the Redwoods League

Big Questions in Restoration

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Ten years ago, the first crews entered the newly-protected Mill Creek watershed.  Their mission: to implement a large-scale experiment in forest restoration. As the result of past logging and misguided reseeding practices, the young forest of the watershed had become …

Left, Cape Vizcaino in 1947, with meadows clearly visible. Right, the present view, with trees encroaching heavily.

Burning Cape Vizcaino

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The view from the picnic table was grand to be sure, the blue infinities of sea and sky meeting where the distant fog gathered offshore (and coastal fog, when you think about it, really is the perfect blend of the …

Lions in the Santa Cruz Mountains

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It was close to dusk when we crossed the stream, heading deeper into the forest along an old logging road. We were touring the areas of CEMEX Redwoods where restoration reserves are to be established, assessing conditions and discussing strategies …

The Future of Redwood Conservation

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Much has been said about the importance of old-growth redwood forests. Their superlative beauty, their mind-bending longevity, their capacity to sequester carbon, and their ability to inspire peace, awe, and contemplation are all reasons why our commitment to their protection …

Deliberate burning as a restoration tool. Images by Leonel Arguello, National Park Service

Burning as a Restoration Tool

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Last week, the sky around the Bald Hills area of Redwood National Park was hazy beyond the normal shroud of fog.  Smoke filled the air.  The forest was burning.  Water trucks stood at the ready, fire crews and park staff …

Building a City of Knowledge

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Sometimes when I tell people about new research the League has sponsored, like this recent study describing the links between forest condition and salamander populations in recovering redwood forests, I get a look that I know means, “That’s pretty neat, but …

East Bay Redwood

The Last Redwood of the East Bay

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High above the sprawling city, the heat from rooftops and roads casts a shimmering haze mirrored by the ocean beyond.  Here, rising above the oak and bay forest, its trunk twisted and scarred by centuries of wind and fire, it …

Giant redwood crowns loom over a canopy of lesser trees (Picea sitchensis, Tsuga heterophylla) in JSRSP. Photo by Stephen Sillett

Clone the best, forget the rest?

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People are cloning the world’s oldest redwoods. Archangel Ancient Tree Archive is planting their clones en masse around the world in an effort to create robust forests of the future. They say these ancient clones will reverse deforestation across the …