REDWOOD The Redwood State Parks

John Muir. (National Park Service)

The story of those who have worked to preserve the redwoods for future generations to enjoy closely parallels that of the California State Park System. Urged on by conservationists, President Abraham Lincoln in 1864 signed an Act of Congress that made Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Sierra redwoods the nation's first state park. (The state returned them to federal jurisdiction in 1905, after the creation of Yosemite National Park.)

In 1900, a group of citizens concerned about the fate of the beautiful coast redwood groves of Big Basin formed the Sempervirens Club to preserve them as a state park, and their efforts bore fruit in 1902 when the "California Redwood Park" was created by the Legislature. An appropriation of $250,000 was used to purchase the nucleus of the present-day Big Basin Redwoods State Park — 2,500 acres of redwood-type timber, 800 acres of chaparral, and 500 acres of cutover lands, all interspersed with streams, waterfalls, and lush vegetation, including redwood trees approaching three hundred feet in height and fifteen feet in diameter.

As early as 1937, local ordinances were passed regulating the lumber industry, and in 1947 California's first Forest Practices Act went into effect. Initially, the act was primarily educational and sought voluntary compliance with good forest practices. The act has helped set minimum logging practices standards, protect forest lands, and increase the regeneration of timber.

Congressman William Kent purchased 500 acres of redwood trees near Mount Tamalpais, buying them in the nick of time before their valley was flooded by a water company, and in 1908 donated them to the Federal Government. He requested that his gift be named after the famed conservationist John Muir, and today Muir Woods National Monument hosts many thousands of sightseers annually.

The Garden Club Grove in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. (Philip Hyde)

Freeway construction, as well as logging, can leave ugly scars in the redwood forest. (Department of Parks and Recreation)

THE SAVE-THE-REDWOODS LEAGUE

A milestone in the history of the preservation of the redwoods came in 1918, when three prominent conservationists formed the Save-the-Redwoods League. Shocked by the devastation they saw created in the coast redwoods by wasteful logging practices, Henry Fairfield Osborn, president of the American Museum of Natural History, with John C. Merriam, who was then a professor of paleontology at the University of California and later became president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, and Madison Grant, president of the New York Zoological Society, began to gather members and funds. By 1920, when the League incorporated as a nonprofit organization, it had over four thousand members and had already purchased four pieces of redwood land along the highway in Humboldt County.

Management of these and other park lands was divided among a number of state agencies, so in 1927, the League spearheaded legislation to create the State Park Commission and the California State Park System. A unique provision was also made to match private funds for acquisition of park lands with bond act funds. Since its inception, the League has raised over $15 million in matching funds to add more than 120,000 acres of redwood land and timber to California's state parks, and over 280 memorial groves have been established with the help of League funds.

Several lumber companies have co-operated with the League and the state by preserving virgin forests unlogged until funds could be raised for acquisition, and quite a few park and memorial grove names reflect the generosity of the lumbermen who donated all or part of them.

Almost from the time the redwoods were discovered, their majesty has inspired individuals and groups to work for their preservation. Today's redwood parks are monuments to these dedicated people.

Stream channels are improved to provide a measure of flood protection for the trees. (Department of Parks and Recreation)

A REDWOOD NATIONAL PARK

In 1968, after almost ninety years of effort by private citizens, the League, and other conservation groups, Congress established a coast redwood national park — a goal of the Save-the-Redwoods League since its inception. Intended to eventually cover 58,000 acres, 32,500 of them old-growth redwoods, the Redwood National Park now contains about 28,128 acres of federally owned lands, with other additions under negotiation.

While the National Park boundaries were drawn to include 27,468 acres now in three state parks — Jedediah Smith, Del Norte Coast, and Prairie Creek — these are still operated by the California Department of Parks and Recreation as of this writing (1971).

A herd of Roosevelt elk is occasionally seen in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. (John Robinson)