Tom Schweich  

Lady Bird Johnson Grove

Saving the Redwoods As spectacular as these redwood forests are, their protection was slow to gain broader support. One of the earliest organized efforts to save the redwoods was led by the Sempervirens Club. In 1902, they convinced the California legislature to appropriate funds for the purchase of the first state redwood park. Congressman William Kent also joined the effort. He personally bought and donated 295 acres of redwoods outside San Francisco to the federal government. His gift led to the creation of the Muir Woods National Monument in 1908. Save the Redwoods League was founded in 1918 to purchase redwoods and convert the land to public trust. Numerous groves were protected and redwood state parks created through the League's efforts, including Del Norte Coast Redwoods, Jedediah Smith Redwoods, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Parks. A renewed effort to establish a national redwood park began in the early 1960s. These efforts were augmented in 1963 when a National Geographic survey team discovered several trees along Redwood Creek that were taller than any previously known. This discovery helped lead to the establishment of Redwood National Park in October of 1968.