redwoods magazine

scenic vista of redwood studded mountains on a sunny day

Uniting to protect sacred redwoods

by Michele Bigley on

Tom Little Bear Nason, chairman of Big Sur’s Esselen Tribe of Monterey County, describes his tribe’s long-standing relationship with redwoods. He’s working with the area’s non-native communities to integrate cultural burn strategies into land management practices that will protect the forest from catastrophic wildfires. The deep-seated respect for ancient redwoods has inspired Little Bear and his apprentices to share their traditional ecological knowledge of fire mimicry with the Big Sur community.

Russian River

A river runs to it

by Kristina Malsberger on

Securing a bright future for one of Sonoma County’s tallest redwoods—and its up-and-coming kin—at Russian River Redwoods

Daen Wombwell standing in front of an ancient redwood tree.

The man who kept his promise

by Kristina Malsberger on

“I had no idea the redwoods are the best harvesters of carbon dioxide of any forest type in the world.” Whatever it takes to revive the redwoods, Wombwell is in. “If you need me to plant trees,” he says with a grin, “I’ll put on my Wellie boots.” Wombwell’s advice? “If you care about the forests, the climate, Indigenous peoples, wildlife, even the hiking and biking trails, take that step and donate.” To inspire new members of Save the Redwoods League’s Canopy Club, the Wombwell family will match new gifts of $10,000 or more up to $750,000.

CalFIRE personnel wearing yellow fire jackets managing a prescribed fire stand next to a massive giant sequoia surrounded by burning undergrowth

Helping redwoods fight climate change

by Garrison Frost on

Writer John Steinbeck called redwoods “ambassadors from another time,” while W.E.B. Du Bois described them as “eternal wooden stone with tremendous grip on earth.” We search for words to describe the majesty of the coast redwood and giant sequoia forests, …

Field researcher wearing yellow hardhat and orange vest

Unprecedented restoration project makes great strides

by Save the Redwoods League on

The most ambitious coast redwood forest restoration project ever launched marked great progress in 2022, its third year of operation on the ground. In the effort called Redwoods Rising, Save the Redwoods League, the National Park Service, and California State Parks are restoring thousands of acres of forests in Redwood National and State Parks.

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President’s letter: If we make the right choices and investments today, the redwoods can help save us

by Sam Hodder on

When I walk in places like Humboldt Redwoods State Park and the League’s Alder Creek property, I see magnificent, towering coast redwoods and giant sequoias that tell a story of hope and resilience. We tell that story in this edition of Redwoods, spotlighting what we’ve learned from the groundbreaking Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative launched in 2009. The more we learn about the redwood and giant sequoia forests, the clearer it is how significant their role could be in the climate-change solution. That is, if we act quickly and make the right investments now.

A Jewish man and his daughter in a redwoods forest

Take the 101 north to Eden

by Tobin Mitnick on

When I was 4, I started going to synagogue. The same year, I cracked open the 1990 World Book Encyclopedia and was transfixed by an illustration under the article title, “Redwoods.” It’s the first memory I have where the natural …

Montgomery Woods

President’s letter

by Sam Hodder on

A letter from Save the Redwoods League president and CEO Sam Hodder in the Resilient Future Edition of Redwoods magazine, published Winter 2022.

Two people feel a relief map in the foreground. A redwood forest is in the background.

Feeling your way through the ancient forest

by Juliet Grable on

“As interpreters, our job is to help connect people with these special places,” says Robbins. “What better group of people to help make meaning of the places we steward than the folks who have been most connected to these landscapes for the last 10,000 years?”

Two people smile in the foreground; a sunny redwood forest is in the background.

Leave it on the trail

by Monica Binetti and Erin Closmore on

It was six months into the pandemic—a bizarre time that seemed out of a sci-fi movie. Like real life, the trails have their ups and downs (literally!). The redwood forests were our sanctuary. Walking among the giants at Henry Cowell, Mount Tamalpais, and Humboldt Redwoods state parks gave us perspective and humility.

Portrait of a person at a desk in a room beneath large landscape photographs of redwoods

Meeting the moment

by Sam Hodder on

Save the Redwoods League has been so honored to have a relationship with Dr. James. As a member of our Redwood Legacy Circle, he decided last June that rather than leave a gift for the League in his estate, he would pay it forward now to meet the moment in these extraordinary times. We are incredibly grateful for his generous gift to the League.

woman examining tree cookie exhibit

New exhibit commemorates ancient fallen ‘tunnel tree’

by Save the Redwoods League on

Save the Redwoods League, California State Parks, and Calaveras Big Trees Association opened the Pioneer’s Cabin Tree interpretive exhibit in the North Grove last July after storms toppled the tree in 2017.

big basin redwood loop trail

Day One of Big Basin’s new era

by Garrison Frost on

Visiting Big Basin Redwoods State Park on its reopening day. While the newly opened area might seem spare to some, it actually represents a ton of work in a short amount of time. 

Steller’s jay

Programs reduce densities of birds preying on threatened marbled murrelets

by Save the Redwoods League on

Research funded by Save the Redwoods League suggests that programs designed to help reduce jay populations in areas where marbled murrelets nest, including old-growth coast redwood forests, will give these threatened seabirds a better chance at successful reproduction.

A Disabled Hiker’s Guide to the Redwoods

15 great redwood parks for people with disabilities

by Save the Redwoods League on

With towering trees and fresh, oxygen-rich air, redwood forests have the power to inspire and enhance the well-being of all people. Our new, free e-guide provides an accessibility overview of 15 redwood and giant sequoia parks.

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

by Save the Redwoods League on

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.

condor release

Time to spy a rare bird in the sky

by Juliet Grable on

Next time you visit Redwood National and State Parks, you may see California condors taking flight among the redwoods. California condors, magnificent creatures that have been absent from this area for more than a century, were nearly extinct by the 1980s. Thanks to a monumental conservation effort and successful captive breeding program, there are now wild condor populations in Central and Southern California, Arizona, and Baja Mexico. Now, condors may even be returning to Northern California skies.