News
Exploring the diverse ecosystems and marvels of coast redwood forests can be a rich, rewarding, and life-changing experience. But not everyone feels welcome in nature or comfortable visiting our region’s parks. We believe everyone deserves safe, welcoming, and inclusive access to the coast redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
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Learn what benefits stewardship brings to redwood forests. Stewardship has been a popular word for some time, and, although Sempervirens Fund staff have gotten pretty familiar with it, we want to make sure you know what we mean when we say “stewardship.”. After all, it is because of you that we are able to steward redwood forestlands, an activity that is at the core of our mission. Stewardship can comprise a whole host of activities associated with caring for the land.
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On day one, in one of his first actions as President, Joe Biden rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement. We hope this marks the beginning, and not the end, of the Biden Administration’s efforts to make the investments necessary to reduce America’s greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the resilience of our natural and human communities.
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NEWS: Sempervirens Fund and Save the Redwoods League have raised $543,000 to date for California State Parks and the massive recovery effort at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The first disbursement of $200,000 will primarily support staffing and equipment costs for removing damaged and fallen trees that pose a hazard to other trees, personnel and future visitors.
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In August 2020, a widespread lightning storm ignited fires in the Santa Cruz mountains. The fires, centered in the historic Big Basin Redwoods State Park, merged into what became the 86,000-acre CZU Lightning Complex. This wildfire was ferocious and intense. Thousands were displaced, thousands of homes were destroyed, and lives were lost. The fire swept through the park, leveling historic buildings and ranger residences to ash. The park is recovering, and supporters like you have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to support redwoods recovery and restoration at Big Basin and throughout the Santa Cruz mountains. The emotional response to Big Basin has been tremendous. While we wait to return to Big Basin and once again look up to its towering and majestic canopies, people around the world are sharing their memories of their visits to this magnificent park. Please share your memories, and enjoy the stories.
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The future of redwood forests in the Santa Cruz Mountains is in your hands. Wildfires in 2020 have burned over more than 86,000 acres of land, and redwoods recovery efforts have begun. Your #GivingTuesday gift today will be triple-matched and will have an immediate impact restoring redwood forests in the region. Our work in 2021 will reach far beyond Big Basin. Your triple-matched gift today will not only restore damaged forests, but it will also add fuel breaks and make forests more resilient to climate change. This will help the forests on our properties withstand the next disaster, which is sure to come. This work will help wildlife like the marbled murrelet, Coho salmon, and mountain lions thrive in a healthy forest home. And as always, we will continue to buy and protect more forest landscapes.
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The future of redwood forests in the Santa Cruz Mountains is in your hands. Wildfires in 2020 have burned over more than 86,000 acres of land, and redwoods recovery efforts have begun. Your gift today will be matched and will have an immediate impact restoring redwood forests in the region. This is a turning point for the coast redwoods, the people who enjoy them, and the wildlife and habitats of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The lands we have known so well—and walked, saved, and sweated over with many of you—are transforming. Big Basin Redwoods State Park, beloved by millions worldwide, was at the heart of the devastation. More than 10,000 acres of redwood forests you have protected also burned over in the wildfires. It will take years for the redwoods to recover, but we are seeing signs of hope in the recovery already. But there is much work to do
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Whether you want to get out to explore the changing colors of oaks and maples, watch banana slugs and salamanders move across the damp earth, listen to the low roar of a gushing waterfall, or even camp overnight, here are some ideas for fall and winter outdoor opportunities to enjoy the Santa Cruz Mountains.
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Although the fires are no longer consuming the landscape throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains, we still grieve for the people in our community whose lives were in danger during the CZU Lightning Complex wildfires in August and September 2020. We continue to receive questions about what comes next. We don’t have all the answers, but we talked with Laura McLendon, our Director of Conservation, for a sense of what happened, and what’s to come, for redwood forests at Big Basin Redwoods State Park, and beyond.
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We are devastated to report that Big Basin, as we have known it, loved it, and cherished it for generations, is gone. Early reports are that the wildfire has consumed much of the park’s historic facilities. We do not yet know the fate of the park’s grandest old trees.
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