Protecting the Longest Stretch of Privately Owned Shoreline in the Coast Redwood Range

February 24, 2022

Save the Redwoods League Buys Lost Coast Redwoods

On January 25, Save the Redwoods League announced that it had purchased the 3,181-acre Lost Coast Redwoods property in Mendocino County, a northern California location known for its breathtaking beauty and extraordinary coastline. With this purchase, the land will be protected from excessive timber harvesting, subdivision, and development. “Adding five miles of spectacular shoreline and thousands of acres of redwood forest to California’s protected coast is an extraordinary investment in our future,” said Sam Hodder, president and CEO of Save the Redwoods League. “With people from around the world offering their generous support, it’s clear that the public cares deeply about the beauty and wildness of California’s coastline and redwood forests.”

This iconic California coastline and expansive 2,250 acre forest is a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to protect. There are Douglas fir and grand fir trees ranging in age from eighty to 100 years with large old-growth trees scattered throughout. Restoring these old-growth forests, coastal prairies and rugged coastal shoreline is a global conservation priority. With protected habitat for Coho salmon, steelhead trout, Roosevelt elk, and black-tailed deer, this property is a vibrant ecosystem along with endangered species such as the northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, and Pacific fisher. 

Lost Coast Redwoods is a critical investment in California’s biodiversity, climate resilience, and equitable access to nature. This forest is set to become an old-growth forest and an iconic coastal destination for all. “Now that we have removed the immediate threat of timber harvesting and development,” Hodder continued, “the work begins to complete the conservation vision, secure full funding and work with our tribal, state and federal partners to add this land to the protected mosaic of California’s Lost Coast.” With the purchase of the property, the League can now begin to restore the former timberland, explore opportunities to expand public access to the famed Lost Coast and identify a permanent steward.

As part of that mosaic of protected lands, Lost Coast Redwoods will benefit future generations through greater climate and fire resilience across the landscape, carbon storage, biodiversity, and prospectively, public access to an extraordinary stretch of the Pacific coast. This acquisition supports the goals of the nation’s America the Beautiful Initiative, which aims to protect at least thirty percent of the United States’ lands and waters by 2030. 

One of the nation’s longest-running conservation organizations, Save the Redwoods League has been protecting and restoring redwood forests since 1918. The League has connected generations of visitors with the beauty and serenity of the redwood forest. The nonprofit’s 29,000 supporters have enabled the organization to protect more than 216,000 acres of irreplaceable forest in sixty-six state, national, and local parks and reserves. For information, please visit SaveTheRedwoods.org.

The Garden Club of America has had a long partnership with Save the Redwoods League. In 1931, the GCA first forged a working partnership with STRL to purchase and permanently protect the 2,552-acre Garden Club of America Grove. Now covering more than 5,100 acres, the GCA Grove is the third-largest dedicated grove in the entire state park system. In 2018, Save the Redwoods League received the Elizabeth Craig Weaver Proctor Medal in recognition of 100 years of unwavering dedication to, and the protection and restoration of, ancient coast redwood and giant sequoia forests to ensure their survival forever.

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