San Vicente Creek: Restoring a Stronghold
Mill Creek had been blocked since early in the last century by a 12-foot-tall, 25-foot-wide dam a quarter mile upstream from its confluence with the main aquatic thoroughfare, San Vicente Creek. In September 2021, that dam was removed, giving Mill Creek another half mile of free flow. The story of removing Mill Creek’s dam is a story about the pieces that fit together to bring life and vitality to an ecosystem.
NEWS: Mill Creek Dam Removed in Santa Cruz Mountains
Sempervirens Fund announced that they have removed a dam on Mill Creek in the San Vicente watershed.
Mill Creek Dam and the San Vicente Watershed
An old dam has denied endangered Coho salmon their critical spawning ground and redwood forests their nutrients for over a century in the Santa Cruz Mountains. This is the story of bringing down a dam to restore the southernmost habitat for Coho and coast redwoods.
Our Vision
We believe wild and thriving redwood forests can flourish again from Silicon Valley to the Pacific Ocean. With your help, we can establish a large, interconnected, and protected network of healthy trees and streams, stretching across public and private lands. Learn more.
Our Work
Healthy, connected coast redwoods ensure vibrant habitat, clean air and water, and climate resilience. Your support purchases, restores, and safeguards redwood forests in the Santa Cruz Mountains, ensuring they will never be developed, degraded, or destroyed. Learn more about how we work.
Most people glimpse their first redwood in a public park. Your support expands our great local redwood parks, sharing new destinations with the public, and helping make the land more accessible and welcoming for everyone. Discover the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
The redwood forests we protect are strategically identified for their ecological and conservation values. Many of these lands serve as critical habitat corridors. And redwoods are resilient allies in the fight to address our climate crisis. Explore Redwoods Science.
We work in the forests, repairing and restoring the delicate balance of life, protecting and healing the best habitat. You can volunteer with us—helping tend to the forests—and you can fund the stewardship of the redwood forests you cherish. Learn more about caring for our lands.
