Friends of Gualala River

Press release from Save the Redwoods League

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San Francisco, Calif. (January 27, 2026) — Save the Redwoods League announced today that it has secured an agreement with the Richardson family to acquire 200 acres in Sonoma County, including a nearly 35-acre old-growth coast redwood grove, directly adjacent to the Harold Richardson Redwoods Reserve property Save the Redwoods acquired from the family in 2018.

Save the Redwoods League seeks to raise $4 million for the acquisition and permanent protection of two properties totaling 200 acres. Within the additional old-growth grove on this land, more than 200 trees stand taller than 200 feet, with some reaching 250 feet. This acquisition will expand the Reserve to 930 acres—a more than 20% increase in size—and serve as a protective buffer to the Reserve’s hundreds of old-growth coast redwood trees in an era of climate change. Securing these properties also opens the way for Save the Redwoods to realize its long-standing vision of establishing recreational access and programs at the Reserve.

“By expanding Harold Richardson Redwoods Reserve, we are protecting more of this important redwood ecosystem and securing more of its irreplaceable old-growth trees,” says Steve Mietz, president and CEO of Save the Redwoods League. “Coast redwood forests quietly store substantial amounts of carbon, shelter over 1,000 plant and animal species, and stand as living proof that California’s climate resilience is tied to conserving natural landscapes like this.”

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To read the entire article, visit Save the Redwoods League:
Save the Redwoods League Secures Opportunity to Expand Harold Richardson Redwoods Reserve and Protect Sonoma County’s Ancient Redwoods

by Mandela Linder, The Mendocino Voice, January 24, 2026

MENDOCINO CO., 1/24/26 — After decades of decline, endangered coho salmon have returned to the coast in numbers that more than double the targets set by habitat restoration projects. In 2008, just 5,000 coho were estimated across the entire state, one percent of their historic numbers; over the winter of 2024-25, more than 30,000 were counted in Mendocino County alone, showing that recovery is possible. Conservationists say that while it’s still too early to tell what this season’s numbers might be, it’s looking promising for another good year.

Over the past decade, the Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, the Mendocino County Resource Conservation District, NOAA Fisheries, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, local landowners, tribes and other partners have restored habitat across the Ten Mile, Navarro, Big River, and Noyo River watersheds. Their work has included building side channels, off-channel ponds, large wood structures, and wetlands to support juvenile coho salmon. These structures give young coho salmon safe places to hide from predators, slow-moving water to rest in during storms and abundant food, creating the kind of habitat they need to survive winter storms and grow before heading to the ocean.

Coho salmon were listed as threatened in 1996, and by 2005 were officially endangered due to decades of habitat loss from logging, erosion and sediment from road construction and upgrading, and environmental changes that left rivers and streams inhospitable for spawning. By the early 2000s, populations had plummeted statewide, and restoring the rivers and floodplains became a priority for both conservationists and local landowners, who wanted to give the species a chance to recover.

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“Timber, agriculture and land clearing have affected the habitat that they need to survive their fresh water life cycles. That includes clearing hillsides, and all the sedimentation that occurs, rerouting of a lot of streams, watersheds; they’ve basically been converted into timber conveyance systems,” Van De Burgt said.

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To read the entire article, visit The Mendocino Voice:
Restoration efforts spark remarkable comeback for coho salmon on Mendocino Coast