Big Basin Redwoods State Park is California’s oldest state park, and its old-growth redwoods are among the oldest in the southern end of the species’ range. Protecting these ancient trees has been at the heart of the redwoods conservation movement since Sempervirens Fund was founded in 1900.

Thriving old-growth groves benefit from expanded conservation lands that support the watersheds and surrounding natural communities on which they both rely and themselves support. California State Parks has long envisioned moving visitor-serving facilities–especially buildings–out of the oldest groves to further protect the old-growth. After the CZU Fire in 2020 razed nearly all infrastructure in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, including its historic visitor center and buildings, California State Parks is Reimagining Big Basin.

A key feature of that plan is to expand the eastern edge of the park: the Saddle Mountain Conservation Area.

But much of the lands in this area–crucial to both Big Basin State Park and the region’s water– remain unprotected. Unprotected lands can weaken the health of the ecosystem, fragmenting how the area is managed, and hinder interconnected habitats and needs of forests and wildlife that extend beyond property lines and fences. Protecting high priority lands in Big Basin’s Saddle Mountain Conservation Area safeguard its forests, watershed, and the Park’s future.