Redwood National and State Parks

A network of national and state parks in northern California that protects coastal redwood forests, wildlife, and Pacific coastline.

Coast redwood: A conifer native to the Pacific coast of North America and the tallest tree species on Earth. These parks protect some of the largest remaining groves of this species.
Basal sprout: A shoot that grows from the base or roots of a plant, often after damage to its trunk. Coast redwoods can regenerate from basal sprouts after fire or logging.
Save the Redwoods League: A conservation organization founded in 1918 to protect California redwood forests. Its campaigns helped secure the state parks that later became part of the network.
Roosevelt elk: A large North American elk subspecies native to the Pacific Northwest and northern California. Open prairies and forest edges in the parks provide habitat for herds.
Old-growth forest: A forest that has developed over a long period with mature trees and complex ecological structure. The parks preserve some of the remaining old-growth coast redwood forest.
Temperate rainforest: A forest ecosystem in a temperate region with high rainfall and a dense, multilayered canopy. The parks’ redwood groves form part of a cool, moisture-rich coastal rainforest.
Redwood burl: A woody growth on a tree that can contain dormant buds capable of producing new shoots. Burls help redwoods survive injury and produce new stems.
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park: A California state park protecting old-growth redwood forest along the Smith River. It is one of the state parks managed together with Redwood National Park.
Chinook salmon: The largest Pacific salmon species, migrating between ocean feeding grounds and freshwater spawning streams. Park rivers protect spawning and rearing habitat for this migratory fish.
Clearcutting: A logging method that removes nearly all trees from a selected area at once. Past clearcutting outside and within park lands prompted restoration and protection efforts.

Linked from 3 pages