Mendocino County forest grows thanks to donation by Save the Redwoods

On Earth Day this week, the Save the Redwoods League announced a donation that expands one of Mendocino County's state parks by hundreds of acres, adding hundreds more trees to a forest that used to be home to "the tallest known tree in the world."

In a press release Wednesday, the league announced it had officially transferred its "Atkins Place property - 453 acres featuring a coast redwood forest - to California State Parks as a new addition to Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve. The property donation, which required no payment from State Parks, was formally completed on April 16, 2026, and is one of three properties State Parks has acquired recently under new legislation SB 630."

"Donating Atkins Place to California State Parks is the realization of the vision we set when we launched our Montgomery Woods Initiative," Steve Mietz, president and CEO of Save the Redwoods League, was quoted as saying in the release. "This property was always meant to become part of Montgomery Woods, and seeing it formally join the reserve on Earth Day is a fitting tribute to the supporters, partners and communities who made it possible."

The league reports that it purchased Atkins Place in August of 2022 for $1.18 million as the founding project of its Montgomery Woods Initiative, which it described as "a landscape-scale vision to expand protection around Montgomery Woods and improve visitor experiences at the reserve."

The 453 acres of Atkins Place feature "a healthy second-growth forest with a mix of coast redwood and oak woodlands, as well as 1.25 miles of high-quality streams for imperiled salmon," and will increase "the size of Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve by 16%. To date, Save the Redwoods has protected nearly 42,000 acres in Mendocino County."

According to the league, the property also "fills a critical environmental ‘puzzle piece' in the protected landscape surrounding Montgomery Woods, expanding a protected greenbelt of more than 11,500 acres in the upper reaches of the Big River watershed, a vital wildlife corridor for endangered and threatened species, including coho salmon and steelhead trout. To the east, the Atkins Place property connects the Reserve, as well as protected lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management."

"Montgomery Woods is an extraordinary place-ancient, irreplaceable and deeply meaningful to the people of Mendocino County and to all Californians," Armando Quintero, director of California State Parks, is quoted as saying in the release. "We are grateful to Save the Redwoods League for their dedication and generous support, which builds on a long legacy of helping protect nearly all the Reserve's more than 3,000 acres since its founding in 1945. We also respectfully acknowledge that the Reserve is located on the ancestral lands of the Northern Pomo people, whose deep connection to this landscape long predates our own stewardship."

The league notes that the "addition of Atkins Place is expected to support future trail development … as State Parks can explore expanded public access and visitor experiences" in Montgomery Woods SNR.

"This transfer represents the culmination of years of fundraising, stewardship and partnership with State Parks," added Mietz. "It is a gift from Save the Redwoods League's generous supporters to the current and future generations of Californians."

Save the Redwoods further described its Montgomery Woods Initiative as a multi-year effort "to expand the protection of lands surrounding Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve and improve the park experience for visitors. Key milestones include the purchase of Atkins Place (2022), a conservation easement on the 3,862-acre Weger Ranch (2023), the transfer of the 80-acre Rocky Ridge property to California State Parks (2024) and the acquisition of the 390-acre Dark Gulch property (2024). Together, these protections contribute to a growing greenbelt of conserved lands in the upper Big River watershed. Recreational improvements funded by Save the Redwoods include the creation of a gathering area in the Reserve's old-growth grove, providing an immersive experience to visitors while also better protecting the grove's root system and floodplain. Other improvements include the expansion of the parking lot and an update to interpretive and directional signage. Save the Redwoods and State Parks continue to engage local Indigenous communities and historically underrepresented communities in project development."

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