science

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.

Credit: å© Michael Nichols/National Geographic

National Geographic Features League Research

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National Geographic magazine’s December cover story includes the remarkable findings of League scientists who are studying how redwoods can survive sweeping environmental changes. The feature includes incredible photos, such as a portrait of a 3,200-year-old giant sequoia.

Researchers measure redwoods in experiments that are part of our effort to protect forests during rapid climate change. Photo by Anthony Ambrose

Redwoods and Climate Change Update

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Today, redwoods stand at a new crossroads of environmental change where rapid climatic changes and other factors threaten them in ways they have not experienced before in their long history on Earth. Our Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative research project will help us understand redwoods’ vulnerabilities to climatic changes so we can protect these forests in the future. Now Initiative scientists are studying 450 redwood saplings.

Emily Limm found that western sword fern absorbed the most moisture from fog. Photo by Emily Burns

Symposium Showcases Redwoods Research

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Your support helps Save the Redwoods League study redwood forests and their surrounding land and waterways to understand how to best protect these resources. Research also helps us learn what the forest’s survival means to the health of people and our planet. Now you can read details of the League-sponsored science symposium, The Coast Redwood Forests in a Changing California. Highlights include the keynote speech on conservation by Ruskin K. Hartley, former Executive Director of Save the Redwoods League, and a paper on how plants absorb fog by Emily Burns, former Director of Science.

Humboldt Marten.

Your Support Nets Discoveries about Forest

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Did you know that redwoods are not only highly resistant to fire but are nearly indestructible? Just one year after devastating fires, redwoods that had been scorched were already covered with the green fuzz of new foliage. Are you aware that installing rest boxes (like birdhouses) on trees can help save members of the weasel family known as martens? These agile creatures are redwood forest dwellers that have nearly vanished.

Researchers of the Save the Redwoods League Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative study redwoods to determine how climate change will affect their future. Photo by Stephen C. Sillett

Wells Fargo Supports Our Redwoods Research

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Stephanie Rico feels fortunate to live among the redwoods in the San Francisco Bay Area. One of her favorite things is standing in a circle of redwood trees at a nearby park with her son. “I look up and feel humbled,” said the Wells Fargo Vice President of Environmental Affairs. Troubled by how climate change will affect our lives, Rico wants to motivate more people to work toward solutions. Learn more about Wells Fargo’s support of the redwoods.

Experts Share Latest on Redwoods, Climate Change

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The weight of salamanders in the redwood ecosystem is greater than that of all other vertebrates collectively because there are so many of the amphibians! Predicted drier forest conditions may threaten amphibian species, said David Wake, Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. Wake and other scientists discussed the impact of climate change on redwood ecosystems at a recent Save the Redwoods League-sponsored symposium.