Saving the North Coast Redwoods

The battle to preserve a natural wonder.

Towering and majestic, the redwood forests of California’s North Coast once drew not visitors, but fortune-seeking timber companies. By 1917, the region had been logged for nearly 70 years and concerns arose that the rapidly disappearing redwoods could be lost. Damage wrought by logging and road construction caught the attention of Madison Grant, John Campbell Merriam, and Henry Fairfield Osborn and the Save the Redwoods League was born. Together with the State of California and the U.S. Federal Government, the League’s efforts led to the protection of the remaining old growth redwoods, creating state and national parks to preserve them for future generations.

Author Susan J.P. O’Hara recounts the story of the fight to save the world’s tallest trees.