Tenderloin Museum Saturday, February 8th, 2025
By Kurtis Alexander, Reporter Feb 11, 2025 - San Francisco Chronicle
A small regional park in the lush redwoods of the lower Russian River basin, described by one local as an “ancient magical forest,” is set to quadruple in size.
San Francisco-based Save the Redwoods League announced Tuesday that it has agreed to pay $24 million for 1,517 acres of wooded lands near Guerneville, which it plans to transfer to the adjacent Monte Rio Redwoods Regional Park and Open Space Preserve.
This area of Sonoma County is renowned for its sparsely developed hills and forests, much of it managed by state and local parks. The pending acquisition was pursued to halt logging, and potential housing development, on seven parcels at the center of this quiet, fog-shrouded landscape.
“It really was a big missing hole,” said Jeff Stump, director of land protection for the Save the Redwoods League. “This really connects things together.”
Not only will the new parkland offer hiking and mountain biking trails across the property, allowing people to move between the region’s protected interior forests with protected lands along the coast, but it will also provide a valuable corridor for wildlife, Stump said.
The property consists largely of second- and third-growth redwoods, alongside Douglas fir, tan oak and California bay trees. However, some old growth endures. One tree, known as the Decadence Tree because of its deformities from wind and weather, stands about 200-feet tall and 14-feet wide.
“This tree has been here, I’m guessing, for probably 1,500 years,” Stump said. “It’s seen a lot.”
‘Ancient magical forest’ in Sonoma County to quadruple in size with new trails
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