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.
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