science

A woman wearing a hardhat, glasses, a yellow shirt, and khaki pants, holding a rake and standing in front of a giant sequoia.

Field Notes From a Sequoia Forest Fellow

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The League’s giant sequoia forest fellow shares her story about how she came to work in giant sequoia conservation, and what needs to be done to protect the forest and restore its fire resilience.

A man in a yellow shirt and hard hat stands in a road surrounded by giant sequoia trees.

Post-Fire Alder Creek Update

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Following the SQF Complex Fire, the fire impacts on the giant sequoia of the Alder Creek property appear to be beneficial.

Thick bark enables giant sequoia to withstand lower-severity ground fires

Grants Fund Research on Wildfire, Wildlife and a Rare Plant in Coast Redwood and Giant Sequoia

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Nearly $150,000 in research grants from Save the Redwoods League have been awarded as part of the 2018 grant cycle. Funding these projects is a significant component of fulfilling the League’s mission, and each of these projects will contribute to scientific knowledge of coast redwood and giant sequoia forests. This research can help us answer big questions that will protect the health of people, wildlife, and the forests.

High school students get hands-on experience studying climate change in the redwood forest at Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.

High School Students as Community Scientists

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If you ask high school students what the impacts of climate change have been, they can tell you that the polar ice caps are melting, that we have extreme weather, and that California has been in a drought for the past few years. But if you ask them how climate change will affect our forests and the plants and animals that live in them, they find it harder to come up with an answer.

Reese Næsborg and Cameron Williams of UC Berkeley climbing an old-growth Douglas fir. Photo by Tonatiuh Trejo-Cantwell

New York Times Spotlights New League Research

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Redwoods are in the news this week, reminding the world once again that Earth’s tallest trees are truly ecosystems in their own right. Teeming with life from quite literally their roots to their highest leaves, the magnificent coast redwoods are home to hundreds of other species.

What We’re Learning from the Redwoods

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When we take a close look at what makes redwoods survive and thrive, the trees have remarkable stories to tell. That’s what researchers discovered thanks to three studies supported by research grants from Save the Redwoods League over the past …

Stephen Sillett and Marie Antoine climbing Muir Woods redwoods.

BioBlitz 2014: Muir Woods National Monument

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In March 2014, a research team sponsored by Save the Redwoods League and the Evelyn Tilden Mohrhardt Fund at The San Francisco Foundation became the first scientists to climb the ancient trees at Muir Woods National Monument and survey life in the canopy. Learn more about this historic climb and its results.

Here at the League, we love learning about the forest! Photo of RCCI researcher collecting data, by Steve Sillett.

Top 5 Fascinating Redwoods Facts

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It’s National Environmental Education Week! This week is a celebration of environmental education and a special time to inspire learning and stewardship among students. I can’t say enough about how important outdoor education is to complete the circle of land …

During BioBlitz 2014, League scientists climb and explore the tallest trees in Muir Woods for the first time ever.

You Can Help Scientists Learn about Redwoods

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Thousands of nature enthusiasts like you recently joined Save the Redwoods League and other conservation organizations at BioBlitz to inventory the plant and animal species that live in Muir Woods National Monument and several national park sites. You can help with research like this anytime, anywhere.

Thanks to our members' support, a League-sponsored researcher will examine how the Ensatina salamander's role as a top predator in the redwood forest affects its ability to influence the storage of carbon in the soil. Photo by Anthony Ambrose

Latest Research Grants Support Discoveries in Wildlife, Plants, Restoration

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More than $200,000 in research grants from Save the Redwoods League in 2013 and 2014 will fund projects that will contribute to scientific knowledge of coast redwood and giant sequoia forests. This research can help us answer big questions that will protect the health of people, wildlife and redwood forests.

DIY iPhone microscope.

DIY Microscope: See Nature’s Secrets

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If there is one piece of equipment to make you feel like a scientist, it has to be a microscope. There is something exciting about being able to see the hidden secrets of an object, the minutiae that are not …

Juvenile Chinook salmon from a Redwood Creek trap. Photo by M. Sparkman

Can We Save Salmon?

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You helped fund research that shows salmon numbers are falling, but restoration offers hope. Harm to redwood forests-like logging and damming-has threatened their salmon inhabitants. But thanks to your support, scientists are monitoring the fish in Redwood Creek. They say forest restoration will help ensure that the salmon can recover and thrive once more.

High-severity treatments have boosted the growth of isolated giant sequoias in what is now Giant Sequoia National Monument. Photo by Rob York

Disturbances Benefit Giant Sequoias

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Being dwarfed by Earth’s most massive tree, the giant sequoia, fills you with wonder. It’s hard to believe that a living thing can be so enormous and old. It may be alarming to see these forests on fire, but research funded by your gifts shows that disturbances such as these are actually good for giant sequoias. See why.

Our Redwood Watch map shows the coast redwood range in orange and giant sequoia range in red. You can help scientists research the effects of climate change on redwood forests by taking photos that will be placed on this map. Map by iNaturalist

Help Research: Photograph South, East Parts of Redwood Range

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Today, redwoods stand at a critical point. The current and projected interactions of these stressors jeopardize more than 90 years of League conservation work. We must act today to protect redwoods from these threats in the future. Learn more about you can help.