ConnectingCalifornia.org: For more places to hike, climb and explore, and Trails within 15 minutes of every California home and workplace. OUR GOAL: Connecting California with 1000 Miles of Parks, not 500 miles of Continuous Concrete Sprawl, with permanently preserved farmland greenbelts around every major city, with connected open space rings that link the entire state together. Think it'll never happen? It already is. Read the success stories on our website!
--the California "Mega-Park" Project
READ OUR EDITOR ON FACEBOOK: facebook.com/rex.frankel
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
SCC 5/2016: Coastal Land Deals this Spring
Thursday, March 19, 2015
WCB 11/2014 to 3/2015: More Critter Parks...
11/2014: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=91387
Metcalf Meadow, Recovery Land Acquisition Grant (2013), San Bernardino County $570,000
SCC 12/2014 to 3/2015: Big Forest Saved up North
http://yournec.org/content/blue-creek-returns-yurok-tribe
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
New Parks to Explore....
IN DEL NORTE COUNTY:
Siskiyou Land conservancy
http://siskiyouland.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/our-ongoing-commitment-to-the-unparalled-smith-river/
80 and 148 acres
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IN MENDOCINO COUNTY:
http://www.mendocinolandtrust.org/index.php
Mendocino Land Trust--On January 5, 2010, the Mendocino Land Trust completed the acquisition of Hare Creek Beach in Fort Bragg. The Land Trust purchased the 5.6 acre beach in order to conserve the sensitive habitats on the propoerty, as well as to provide coastal access.
http://www.mendocinolandtrust.org/index.php?Land_Conservation:Current_Projects:Mendocino_County_Coastal_Conservation_Plan
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http://www.wildernesslandtrust.org/top_priorities.html
640 acres On the north flank of Leech Lake Mountain in the inner coastal range and the Eel River Watershed
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IN SONOMA COUNTY
Jacobs ranch— http://bayareabarnsandtrails.org
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Skaggs Island—3300 acres transferred to USFWS by USN
http://openspacecouncil.typepad.com/bay-area-open-space-council/2011/03/news-skaggs-island-goes-to-usfws.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/17/BAOF1IE2JC.DTL#ixzz1HD537hXk
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BY THE BODEGA LAND TRUST:
Tannery Creek 187 acre conservation easement
http://www.bodeganet.com/landtrust/documents/BLTSpringNewsletterformailing.pdf
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bodega-Land-Trust/247119123182#!/pages/Bodega-Land-Trust/247119123182?sk=wall
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BY THE SONOMA LAND TRUST:
Bald Mtn ranch –420 acres Bald Mtn Ranch, and 6 acre Sassin conservation easement, 572 acres Live Oaks Ranch, 34 acre Drake donation—Sonoma Land Trust, Currently the third largest landowner in the county
http://sonomalandtrust.org/news_room/press_releases/110516_easements.html
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20110210/ARTICLES/110219928/1350?Title=Sonoma-Land-Trust-gets-572-acre-gift
http://www.facebook.com/sonomalandtrust?ref=s#!/sonomalandtrust?v=wall
http://www.sonomalandtrust.org/news_room/press_releases/100209_BennetValley.html
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Tribe seeks to buy 47,000 acres along the Klamath River from timber giant...
excerpted from:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-redwoods-yuroks-20101226,0,3593074.story
12/26/2010
...The tribe is asking Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) to introduce legislation that would transfer 1,200 acres of a woody knob of Redwood Park and 1,200 acres of redwood stands in the Six Rivers National Forest to the tribe. The Yurok are also seeking control of Redding Rock, an offshore sea stack that is part of the California Coastal National Monument.
...An early draft of the proposed legislation authorized a $50-million allocation to the Yurok to purchase 47,000 acres of commercial timber land. The tribe later withdrew the provision, saying that the appropriation was politically untenable and that the Yurok leadership never signed off on it.
But the tribe has other resources to which it can turn. The Yurok's seven-year land-acquisition project is driven by a sophisticated campaign that has yielded million of dollars in loans and grants from federal, state and private sources. The Western Rivers Conservancy is helping the Yurok raise the estimated $73 million required to purchase the timber land. Earlier this month the state water board awarded the tribe an $18.7 million loan to purchase a portion of the timber property...
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
SCC 9/2009 to 5/2010: Coastal land buys
Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to accept $5.85 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States Department of Commerce and disburse up to $13.85 million towards the acquisition of interests in the 5,630 acre Jenner Headlands property in western Sonoma County.
http://www.scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/0909bb/20090924Board06_Jenner_Headlands.pdf
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Here are two that occurred in the April 1, 2010 meeting:
http://www.scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/1004bb/index.htm
Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $1.2 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States Department of Commerce and $1,136,000 to the County of Santa Barbara for the acquisition of the Paradise Beach property, Point Sal, northern Santa Barbara County.
Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $1,000,000 to the Muir Heritage Land Trust for: 1) the acquisition of the approximately 483-acre Franklin Canyon property, Contra Costa County, for open space, public access, watershed protection, wildlife and habitat protection, and limited agricultural use; and 2) planning and resource assessment activities necessary to protect the property.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Save the Redwoods League 2009 report...
http://www.savetheredwoods.org/enews/0110.htm
Happy New Year! We look forward to your support in 2010.
Thanks to our members’ and partners’ generous support, 2009 has been a momentous year for Save the Redwoods League:
We acquired 120 acres of key redwood forestlands, transferred more than 500 acres to public agencies and supported protection of 5,630 acres. These raise the total acres protected to more than 181,000.
read their 2009 annual report:
http://www.savetheredwoods.org/league/pdf/annualreport_09.pdf
In the 2008-9 fiscal year, we and our partners protected more than 1,100 acres of redwood forestlands valued at $8 million and transferred 831 acres to state or national
parks, reserves and federal wilderness. Despite the economic downturn, the need to save redwoods from real-estate development and timber harvesting remains.
HIGHLIGHTS:
--76 acres of old-growth redwood forest and a total of 298 acres near the mouth of the Klamath River in Del Norte County.
--46 acres of redwoods surrounded by Humboldt Redwoods State Park
--160 acres expands wildlife habitat in the King Range National Conservation Area of Humboldt county,
--The League facilitated the purchase and transfer of 160 acres to Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve in April 2008. (Mendocino COunty)
--A $480,000 land conservation agreement with the Annapolis Milling Company now protects one of the last remnants of ancient redwood forest in Sonoma County. The agreement ensures that the 20-acre grove just south of Soda Springs Reserve is permanently protected from
timber harvest and vineyard conversion.
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5,600 Acres Protected on Sonoma Coast
Save the Redwoods League and nine other partners last month helped the Sonoma Land Trust acquire the stunning 5,630-acre Jenner Headlands, including 3,100 acres of redwood and Douglas-fir forest. The parcel includes eight watersheds (Russian Gulch pictured), numerous threatened and endangered species, dramatic views, extensive opportunities for future recreation and a spectacular segment of the California Coastal Trail. North of the town of Jenner where the Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean, the land was purchased for $36 million. Our members made the League’s support of this project possible.
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See Aerial Photos of our state's Redwood parks
--and note the clear-cutting devastation outside the park boundaries by our state's timber lords
http://www.savetheredwoods.org/maps/index.shtml
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Read the Winter 2009-2010 issue of Terrain magazine...
The Latest issue of Northern California's premier Environmental magazine is out:
http://ecologycenter.org/terrain/issues/winter-2009/rethinking-the-dream/
...For homes built since 2000—the beginning of the boom—the vacancy rate is nearly ten percent.
What to do with these empty spaces? And who should be in charge of doing it? The sheer scale of the task makes it a daunting problem. To try to sort it out, I talked to Allison Arieff, editor-at-large for Menlo Park-based Sunset magazine and author of the New York Times’ “By Design” blog...
Cutting Off the North Coast
Economic downturn makes remote wild areas harder to protect. --on the Coastal Commission's lack of funding to protect wetlands on the North Coast, like the Pacific Shores subdivision in Del Norte County.
and more, http://ecologycenter.org/terrain/
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Oct. 2009 Nat-Geo Walks the Redwood Coast...
National Geographic Explores California's Redwoods
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/10/redwoods/bourne-text
The article also features info on the threat of more redwood destruction by Green Diamond in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties.
What the maps show is that 18% of the historic range of the Coast Redwoods is protected in public or privately preserved lands.
That means that 82% of the historic range of the trees is open for logging.
However, 80% of the ancient or "second growth" redwoods are preserved.
CLICK ON MAPS TO ENLARGE!!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Assorted Eco News from DEL NORTE COUNTY:
http://www.smithriveralliance.org/rcranch.html
In May 2002, the Alliance acquired Rock Creek Ranch from Ralph and Dorothy Hollingsworth, who were both active and volunteered widely in the community. The Alliance is has continued that community spirit with many cooperative projects both on and off the property including youth camps, community education programs, and retreats.
The fifteen-acre property has a significant amount of Smith River frontage.

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Bear Basin Butte Botanical Area
Six Rivers National Forest Directions: From the town of Gasquet travel east on Hwy 199 10.6 miles to Little Jones Creek Rd. Follow signs to Bear Basin Butte Lookout staying on Route 16/17N05. At about 20.5 miles turn left onto 16N02 and continue to gate at 20.8.
http://www.northcoastcnps.org/plbear.htm
http://www.californiaredwoodsbirdingtrail.org/bearbasinbutte.html
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sixrivers/recreation/lookout/
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The Redwood Empire: Howland Hill Road Offers Majestic Beauty, located within Jedediah Smith State Park
http://redwoodempire.blogspot.com/2009/01/howland-hill-road-offers-majestic.html
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
-
Groups Sue To Protect
State and regional water boards failing to comply with clean water laws
2/4/2009:--
The coalition -- which includes the Redwood Chapter of Sierra Club, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Institute for Fisheries Resources, Friends of the Eel River, Friends of the Navarro Watershed, Environmental Protection Information Center, Northcoast
“Regional and state officials have failed to develop realistic, workable action plans that protect water quality and provide habitat for endangered salmon that need cool, clean water to survive,” said George Torgun of Earthjustice, who is representing the coalition in court. “Without such plans, water quality in
Full press release is here:
http://redwood.sierraclub.org/Committees/Water/NorthCoast%20TMDL%20PR%20FINAL.pdf
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Save the Redwoods League
2007-8 LAND ACQUISITION HiGHLIGHTS
Thanks to our community of more than 21,000 members, Save the Redwoods League has saved these redwood forests and the landscapes that support them.
- We transferred to Butano State Park 100 acres containing ancient coast redwoods and potential nesting sites for the threatened marbled murrelet, a seabird that relies on ancient trees. This acquisition also expands protection for critical watersheds and will increase the park's recreational opportunities along the Butano Fire Road, a trail often used by hikers that bisects the northern portion of the park.
- Our purchase of 39 acres upslope of the scenic Freshwater Lagoon in Humboldt County increases watershed protection for the lagoon and adds second-growth redwood forest to Humboldt Lagoons State Park.
- Old and young redwoods, grassy bluffs and more than 1½ miles of stunning Pacific Ocean coastline are highlights of a 401-acre Mendocino County property Save the Redwoods League has acquired. In a new type of partnership, the Coastal Land Trust is caring for the land, while Save the Redwoods is exploring exciting new alternatives for long-term stewardship that include California State Parks and other partners to ensure the public can enjoy this inspiring place.
- We protected 113 acres of land adjacent to Bothe-Napa Valley State Park containing some of the last remaining unprotected ancient redwoods in Napa County. In the face of global climate change, redwoods in this region are important to preserve because they may hold the key to species' survival, having developed in a relatively dry, warm environment. Of the total 113-acre project area, Save the Redwoods League acquired 51 acres for future transfer to the park. We acquired a land preservation agreement on 62 of the acres and transferred it to The Land Trust of Napa County, a new Save the Redwoods partner, for permanent monitoring.
- League land preservation agreements in Del Norte County on industrial timberland now protect some of the best remaining privately owned old-growth forest habitat for marbled murrelets in northern California. The murrelets, a species of seabird, need ancient trees' large branches for nest platforms. There are two agreements: one covers 650 acres, including 142 acres of old-growth forest buffered by 508 acres of younger forest; the other covers 298 acres, with more than 77 acres of old-growth forest buffered by 220 acres of younger forest.
http://www.savetheredwoods.org/enews/0808.htm
- New Property Makes Way for Access to Giant Sequoias Our members’ support enabled us to recently transfer to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks an 11-acre parcel that will allow the National Park Service to improve public access via the historic Colony Mill Road. The Colony Mill Road connects to a network of trails through the park leading to the Giant Forest. The Giant Forest is home to the world’s largest tree, the General Sherman Tree. The property also is important because it contains blue oak woodlands, an increasingly threatened habitat in California.
LA meetuphikes.org
VISIONS, HISTORY AND RESEARCH:
- VISIONS OF CONNECTED OPEN SPACES
- 9/2007 NEW PARKS SINCE 2000
- 12/2015 UPDATE: Websites of All California Land-Saving Groups
- NORTH COAST-NEW PARKS 2000-2011
- SF BAY--NEW PARKS 2000-2011
- CENTRAL COAST--NEW PARKS 2000-2011
- SIERRA NEVADA/CENTRAL VALLEY--NEW PARKS 2000-2011
- LOS ANGELES COUNTY & SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS--NEW PARKS 2000-2011
- SO-CAL--NEW PARKS 2000-2011
- STATEWIDE LAND PRESERVATION ISSUES AND GROUPS
- CA LAND TRUSTS SUMMARY 10-10-2017
- CA Wildlife Board Purchases 2000 to 2017
- All State Agency Land Purchase from 2000-01 to 2017-11
- 2012-12-02 CA Park purchases summary
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