Mendocino County

A rain-swollen stream flows through a redwood forest.

Why Dark Gulch is the “missing puzzle piece”

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Dark Gulch fills a critical hole in the Montgomery Woods Initiative, particularly from a fire resilience perspective. Protecting the nearby Dark Gulch property will help buffer the reserve’s old-growth redwoods from fire and encroaching development. Consolidating ownership helps us implement fuel reduction projects more efficiently and reduce the severity of wildfires. By connecting Atkins Place to Weger Ranch, Dark Gulch helps secure the region’s redwood footprint and creates a new protected corridor for fish and wildlife. It allows us to be better stewards within a changing climate.

woman walking in the forest

Save the Redwoods League launches Montgomery Woods Initiative with purchase of 453 acres of redwood forest and groundbreaking on vital park improvements

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As part of a new initiative to protect redwood forests and enhance recreational opportunities at Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve in Mendocino County, Save the Redwoods League has purchased Atkins Place, a 453-acre coast redwood forest adjacent to the reserve, and partnered with California State Parks on significant improvements to the park.

A black and white historical photograph of Laura Perrott Mahan, a white woman with dark, curly hair in a dark victorian-era dress

A family tree takes root in conservation

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A pioneering organizer inspires her descendants to protect redwood forests. More than 100 years ago, Eureka’s Laura Perrott Mahan helped galvanize the movement to protect old-growth redwoods in danger of being clear-cut. In recent months, dozens of Mahan descendants and friends continued her legacy by supporting Save the Redwoods’ work to protect coast redwoods — raising funds to help the League purchase Atkins Place in Mendocino County.

woman walking in the forest

Atkins Place and its million-dollar view

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Save the Redwoods League began negotiations in 2020 to acquire a property called Atkins Place, which shares a 0.75-mile border with Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve in Mendocino County. Since then, I’ve made the journey from Ukiah (the largest city …

A creek pooled with a fallen trunk in a redwood forest

Protecting Tc’ih-Léh-Dûñ

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To ensure lasting protection and ongoing stewardship, the League donated and transferred the forest to the Sinkyone Council, and the Council granted the League a conservation easement. Through this partnership, the Sinkyone Council returns Indigenous presence to a land from which Sinkyone people were forcibly removed generations ago.

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.

Man standing next to a giant redwood tree

Mailliard Ranch: Nearly 15,000 Acres Protected

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Home to the largest coast redwood forest still in private family hands, Mailliard Ranch is a 14,838-acre property near Boonville, California, in southern Mendocino County. In February 2021, Save the Redwoods League permanently protected this landscape with three conservation easements, closing the final phase of the project.

Landscape-style shot of the trunks of healthy, second-growth redwood trees.

Reimagining the Future of a Historic Family Forest

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For Andersonia West in northern Mendocino County, the human story, of course, starts with the Sinkyone people. They have lived in this area for countless generations, and their descendants continue to protect, care for, and maintain their cultural connections with surrounding traditional lands and waters. The League humbly acknowledges our very short history in this place. Yet, we are so thrilled that we have been able to protect this coast redwood forest and its biodiversity forever. The idea to permanently protect the western tract of Andersonia started in 1980.

Photo by Paolo Vescia

New Lost Coast Trail Extension Now Open

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The Lost Coast lends itself to adventure like nowhere else in California. As you explore this stunningly beautiful, remote expanse of coastal bluffs and forests, a true sense of discovery takes hold – it feels wonderfully wild and unchanged. With 100 miles of almost completely roadless beauty, this is the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline left in California. Small wonder that the spectacular trail that winds along the Lost Coast is a top-tier, bucket-list adventure for all who love to get into the wild. And now that trail is even better!

Skunk Train Stories

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There is only one place you can enjoy the last remaining “motorcar” train choo-chooing through a forest of giant, ancient redwoods: the Skunk Train in Mendocino County! Built as a logging railroad in 1885 for moving giant, felled redwoods to …