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{{short description|Group of national and state parks in California, United States}}
{{Infobox_protected_area | name = Redwood National and State Parks
{{featured article}}
| iucn_category = II
{{Use American English|date=January 2024}}
| image = US_Locator_Blank.svg
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
| caption =
{{Infobox protected area
| locator_x = 04
| name = Redwood National and State Parks
| locator_y = 60
| photo = Redwood_National_Park,_fog_in_the_forest.jpg
| location = ], ]
| photo_caption = A forest of coast redwoods in fog
| nearest_city = ]
| photo_alt = Refer to caption
| lat_degrees = 41
| lat_minutes = 10 | iucn_category = V
| map = California#USA
| lat_seconds = 0
| lat_direction = N | map_width = 280
| long_degrees = 123 | relief = 1
| location = ] & ], California, US
| long_minutes = 59
| nearest_city = ]
| long_seconds = 0
| coordinates = {{coord|41.3|N|124|W|region:US-CA|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| long_direction = W
| coords_ref =
| area = 112,512 acres (455 km²)
| established = ], ] | established = October 2, 1968
| visitation_num = 391,282 | area_acre = 139,091
| area_ref = <ref name="area">{{cite web |title=National Park Service Acreage Reports |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/lwcf/acreagereports.htm |publisher=] |access-date=February 3, 2024 |date=December 31, 2023 |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922010512/https://www.nps.gov/subjects/lwcf/acreagereports.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
| visitation_year = 2004
| visitation_num = 458,400
| governing_body = ]
| visitation_year = 2022
| visitation_ref = <ref name="visits">{{cite web |title=Annual Visitation Report by Years: 2012 to 2022 |url=https://irma.nps.gov/STATS/SSRSReports/National%20Reports/Annual%20Visitation%20By%20Park%20(1979%20-%20Last%20Calendar%20Year) |publisher=] |access-date=September 28, 2023 |archive-date=November 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110122708/https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/National%20Reports/Annual%20Visitation%20By%20Park%20(1979%20-%20Last%20Calendar%20Year) |url-status=live }}</ref>
| governing_body = ] and ]
| website = {{URL|https://nps.gov/redw}}
| embedded1 = {{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| child = yes
| criteria = {{UNESCO WHS type|(vii), (ix)}}(vii), (ix)
| ID = 134
| year = 1980
}} }}
}}
The '''Redwood National and State Parks''' (RNSP) are located in the ], along the ] coast of northern ]. With an area of 112,512&nbsp;acres (45,500&nbsp;ha), the parks protect 45% of the remaining groves of ] ]s, the tallest and one of the most massive tree species on Earth. In addition to the redwood forests, the parks preserve grassland ], cultural resources, and 37&nbsp;miles (60&nbsp;km) of pristine coastline.

The '''Redwood National and State Parks''' ('''RNSP''') are a complex of one ] and three ] located along the coast of northern ]. The combined RNSP contain Redwood National Park, ], ], and ]. The parks' 139,000 acres (560 km<sup>2</sup>) preserve 45 percent of all remaining old-growth coast redwood forests.

Located in ] and ] counties, the four parks protect the ] coast redwood ('']'')—the tallest, among the oldest, and one of the most massive tree species on Earth—which thrives in the humid temperate rainforest. The park region is highly seismically active and prone to tsunamis. The parks preserve 37 miles (60 km) of pristine coastline, indigenous flora, fauna, grassland prairie, cultural resources, waterways, as well as threatened animal species, such as the Chinook salmon, northern spotted owl, and Steller's sea lion.


In 1850, ] redwood forest covered 2 million acres (810,000&nbsp;ha) of the north California coast, an area which had been inhabited by ] for 3,000 years, when a minor ] brought miners and ] who began cutting down the trees. The efforts of the ], founded in 1918, to preserve three large redwood groves eventually resulted in the establishment of ], ], and ]s. ] was created in 1968, by which time nearly 90% of the original redwood trees had been logged. The ] and the ] administratively combined Redwood National Park with the three state parks in 1994, a degree of collaboration between the National Park Service and a state park system which is unique in the U.S. Redwood forest originally covered more than two million acres (8,100 km<sup>2</sup>) of the California coast, and the region of today's parks largely remained wild until after 1850. The ] and attendant timber business unleashed a torrent of European-American activity, pushing Native Americans aside and supplying lumber to the West Coast. Decades of unrestricted ] ensued, followed by ardent ] efforts. In the 1920s, the ] helped create Prairie Creek, Del Norte Coast, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Parks among others. After lobbying from the league and the ], Congress created Redwood National Park in 1968 and expanded it in 1978. In 1994, the ] (NPS) and the ] combined Redwood National Park with the three abutting Redwoods State Parks into a single administrative unit. Modern RNSP management seeks to both protect and restore the coast redwood forests to their condition before 1850, including by ].


In recognition of the rare ecosystem and cultural history found in the parks, the United Nations designated them a ] in 1980. Local tribes declared an Indigenous Marine Stewardship Area in 2023, protecting the parks region, the coastline, and coastal waters. Park admission is free except for special permits, and visitors may camp, hike, bike, and ride horseback along about {{Convert|200|mi|km}} of park system trails.
The ecosystem of the RNSP preserves a number of ] animal species such as the ], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref>Redwood National and State Parks, , URL retrieved ], ]</ref> In recognition of the rare ecosystem and cultural history found in the parks, the ] designated them a ] on ], ],<ref>National Park Service, , ''U.S. World Heritage Sites'', URL retrieved ], ]</ref> and an ] on ], ].


==History== ==History==
] ] plankhouse constructed of redwood boards.]]
As early as 3,000 years ago, ]s lived in the park area. Such groups as the ], ], ], ], ], and ] all have historical ties to the region. An 1852 census determined that the Yurok were the most numerous, with 55 villages and an estimated population of 2,500.<ref>National Park Service, , Redwood History basic data, URL retrieved ], ]</ref> They used the abundant redwood, which with its linear ] was easily split into planks, as a building material for boats, houses, and small villages.<ref>Castillo, Edward D., , ''California Native American Heritage Commission'', (1998), URL retrieved May 20, 2006.</ref> For buildings, the planks would be erected side by side in a narrow trench, with the upper portions bound with ] strapping and held by notches cut into the supporting roof beams. Redwood boards were used to form a shallow sloping roof.<ref>Nabokov, Peter and Robert Easton. ''Native American Architecture'', Oxford University Press, NY, (1989) ISBN 0195037812</ref>


===Native Americans===
], ], ], and American explorers visited the coast near the present park as early as the mid-16th century, to trade with local people for ] pelts. Until the arrival of ] in 1828, no white explorer is known to have thoroughly investigated the inland region. The discovery of gold along Trinity Creek in 1850 brought thousands of miners into the area, which led to conflicts; the native peoples were forcibly removed and in some cases massacred.<ref>Margolin, Malcolm, "Living in a Well-ordered World: Indian People of Northwestern California", ''Redwood National Park'', (1994)</ref><ref>National Park Service, , URL retrieved ], ]</ref> By 1895, only one third of the Yurok in one group of villages remained, and by 1919 virtually all members of the Chilula tribe had either died or been assimilated into other tribes.<ref>National Park Service, , Redwood History basic data, URL retrieved ], ]</ref> The miners ] redwoods for building, and when this minor ] ended, some of them became loggers, cutting down as many trees as they could sell. In 1850 2&nbsp;million acres (810,000&nbsp;ha) of the northwest California coast was old growth redwood forest, but by 1910, so many redwoods had been cut down that ]s and concerned citizens began seeking ways to preserve the remaining trees.<ref>National Park Service, , URL retrieved ], ]</ref> In 1911, ] ] of California became the first politician to introduce legislation for the creation of a national park. However, no further action was taken by Congress at this time.
] woman working park maintenance in 1982|alt=A woman in a hard hat near wooden beams]]
Modern-day ] nations such as the ], ], ], ], and ] have historical ties to the region,{{sfn|Bearss|1982|loc=}} which has had various indigenous occupants for millennia.{{sfn|Trask|2004|p=8}} Describing "a diversity in an area that size that has probably has never been equaled anywhere else in the world", historian ] accounts for more than thirty native nations that lived in northwestern California.{{sfn|Stannard|1993|pages=21–22}} Scholar Gail L. Jenner estimates that "at least fifteen" tribal groups inhabited the coastline.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=20}}


The Yurok, Chilula, and Tolowa were the most connected to the current parks' areas.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|pp=20–21}} Based on an 1852 census, anthropologist ] estimated that the Yurok population in that year was around 2,500.{{sfn|Bearss|1982|loc=}} Historian ] described the Yurok as the most populous in the area, estimating that there were around 55 villages.{{sfn|Bearss|1982|loc=}} Until the 1860s, the Chilula lived in the middle region of the Redwood Creek valley in close company with the redwood trees.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |url=http://npshistory.com/publications/redw/newspaper/2002.pdf |title=The Chilula: Bald Hills People |work=Park Newspaper (Visitor's Guide) |author=<!-- none listed --> |publisher=] |date=2002 |access-date=August 11, 2023 |page=2 |via=] History eLibrary<!-- some publication details pulled from http://npshistory.com/publications/redw/index.htm#documents--> |archive-date=August 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811200043/http://npshistory.com/publications/redw/newspaper/2002.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> They primarily settled along ] between the coast and ], and in summer they would range into and camp in the ].{{sfn|Bearss|1982|loc=}} The Tolowa were located near the ], and on lands that are now part of Jedediah Smith State Park, an area which 21st century excavation found has been inhabited for at least 8,500 years.{{sfn|Tushingham|2013|pages=47, 57}}
The completion of ] brought conservationists ], ], and ] to the region. Disappointed to find that there were no public lands set aside to preserve the redwoods, they founded the ] in 1918. Using matching funds provided by the state of California, the Save-the-Redwoods League managed to save three large redwood groves by the early 1920s. When California created a state park system in 1927, these three groves became the Prairie Creek Redwoods, Del Norte Coast Redwoods, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Parks. Due to the high demand for lumber during ] and the construction boom of the 1950s, the creation of a national park was delayed. Efforts by the Save-the-Redwoods League, the ] and the ] to create a national park began in the early 1960s. After intense lobbying of ], the bill creating Redwood National Park was signed by ] ] on ], ]. The Save-the-Redwoods League and other entities purchased over 100,000&nbsp;acres (40,000&nbsp;ha) that were added to existing state parks. In 1978, 48,000&nbsp;acres (19,000&nbsp;ha) was added to Redwood National Park in a major expansion. However, only a fifth of that land was old growth forest, the rest having been logged. This expansion protected the watershed along Redwood Creek from being adversely affected by logging operations outside the park. The federal and state parks were administratively combined in 1994.<ref>Save the Redwoods League,, URL retrieved ], ]</ref>


Native Americans residing within the park areas relied on redwood trees as a construction material, and some featured the trees in their mythology, including the Chilula, who viewed the trees as gifts from a creator.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|pp=VII–VIII, 35}} The tribes harvested coast redwoods and processed them into planks, using them as building material for boats, houses, and small villages.<ref name="Castillo">{{cite web|last=Castillo |first=Edward D.|title=Short Overview of California Indian History |publisher=California Native American Heritage Commission |year=1998 |url=http://ceres.ca.gov/nahc/califindian.html |access-date=June 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081026054357/http://ceres.ca.gov/nahc/califindian.html |archive-date=October 26, 2008 }}</ref> To construct buildings, the planks would be erected side by side in a narrow trench, with the upper portions lashed with ] or ] and held by notches cut into the supporting roof beams. Redwood boards were used to form a two- or three-].{{sfn|Nabokov|Easton|1990|p=290}}
The ] designated Redwood National and State Parks a ] on ], ]. The evaluation committee noted 50 prehistoric ] sites, spanning 4,500 years. It also cited ongoing research in the park by ] researchers, among others<ref>UNESCO's World Heritage, , ''World Heritage Committee'', URL retrieved ], ] (] file)</ref>. The park is part of a much larger region designated the ''California Coast Ranges'' ] on ], ].<ref>UNESCO URL retrieved ], ]</ref> The California Coast Ranges biosphere is overseen by the ].
] plankhouse made of redwood boards|alt=Weathered, gray redwood house with modestly pitched roof]]

===Arrival of European Americans===
Historians believe that the first Europeans to visit land near what is now the parks were members of the ] expedition led by ].{{sfn|Bearss|1982|loc=}} In 1543, Ferrer's ship made landfall at ] and may have reached waters off Oregon as far north as the 43rd parallel.{{sfn|Bearss|1982|loc=}} ] disagreed, believing that Ferrer's ship did not travel so far north.{{sfn|Bearss|1982|loc=}} Explorers including ] sailed past{{sfn|Bearss|1982|loc=}} the foggy, rocky coast, but generally did not set anchor until 1775, when ] and ] of Spain spent about ten days at the Yurok village of ] south of the parks.{{sfn|Heizer|Mills|2022|p=1}} ] and ] followed in 1793.{{sfn|Heizer|Mills|2022|p=1}} American fur trading ships under contract to Russians stopped at Tsurai during the early 19th century.{{sfn|Heizer|Mills|2022|pp=1–2}}

Prior to ] in 1828, no other explorer of European descent is known to have explored the interior of the Northern California coastal region. Smith and nineteen companions left ], and explored what are now called the ], Smith, and ] rivers, passing through coast redwood forests and trading with Native American groups. They reached the coast near ], parts of which are within the parks' boundaries.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|pp=41–42}}

The ] of 1848 brought hundreds of thousands of Europeans and Americans to California,{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=44}} and the discovery of gold along the Trinity River in 1850 brought many of them to the region of the parks. This quickly led to conflicts wherein native peoples were displaced, raped, enslaved, and massacred.<ref name="History">{{cite web |title=American Indians |work=Area History |publisher=] |date=February 5, 2008 |url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/historyculture/area-history.htm |access-date=July 2, 2023 |archive-date=December 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202183037/http://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/historyculture/area-history.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> By 1895, only one third of the Yurok in one group of villages remained; by 1919, virtually all members of the Chilula tribe had either died or been assimilated into other tribes.<ref name="Chilula">{{cite web |title=The Chilula |work=The Indians of the Redwoods |publisher=] |url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/redw/history1c.htm |access-date=August 14, 2023 |archive-date=October 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027100313/https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/redw/history1c.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Tolowa—whose numbers Bearss estimates at "well under 1,000" by the 1850s—had a population of about 120 in 1910,{{sfn|Bearss|1982|loc=}} having been nearly extinguished in massacres by settlers between 1853 and 1855.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=54}}

Redwood logging followed gold mining, and most mining companies became lumber interests.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=60}} Redwood has a straight grain, making planks easy to cut. Because redwood can defy the weather and does not warp, it became a valuable commodity.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|pp=61, 63}} Jenner says a good team of two men could saw through a redwood tree at about a foot per hour with a ], their preferred tool until after World War II.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|pp=60, 77}} Because wheeled vehicles could not travel the landscape, teams of six or twelve oxen transported logs to logging roads.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=79}} Rivers or railroads took them to the region's lumber mills.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=77}} After the 1881 invention of the ] and later its successor the bull donkey, the need to fell intervening trees so the donkeys could work spawned the practice called ].{{sfn|Jenner|2016|pp=80-81}} Caterpillar tractors began to compete with manual labor in the late 1920s.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=81}}

===State park preservation===
{{main|State park|Sierra Club|Sempervirens Fund|Save the Redwoods League|National Park Service}}
] is the tallest tree species on Earth.|alt=Various coast redwood trees from a bottom perspective]]
After extensive logging, ]s and concerned citizens began to seek ways to preserve remaining trees, which they saw being logged at an alarming rate.<ref name="Logging">{{cite web |title=Logging |work=Area History |publisher=] |url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/historyculture/area-history.htm |access-date=August 14, 2023 |archive-date=December 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202183037/http://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/historyculture/area-history.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Stumbling blocks slowed conservation: objections and some innovations came from the logging industry,{{efn|Two highlights in the long battle:<br />• ] (PL) introduced "]" and "sustained yield", policies that fell to a hostile takeover in 1985. PL declared bankruptcy in 2007. Today PL is ], which restored management favorable to preservation.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|pp=112–114}}<br />• Logging workers united in 1977. A 25-truck convoy featuring logging equipment crossed the country to deliver President Jimmy Carter a nine-ton peanut carved from old-growth redwood. The president refused the gift, and the ] was returned to Orick, a logging town adjacent to the newly expanded park that saw substantial economic decline in the following decades.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rosalsky |first1=Greg |title=The tale of a distressed American town on the doorstep of a natural paradise |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2022/06/21/1106292966/the-tale-of-a-distressed-american-town-on-the-doorstep-of-a-natural-paradise |work=] |date=June 21, 2022 |access-date=September 11, 2022 |archive-date=September 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911205233/https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2022/06/21/1106292966/the-tale-of-a-distressed-american-town-on-the-doorstep-of-a-natural-paradise |url-status=live }}</ref>}} construction of the ] brought roadside attractions and more visitors to the trees,{{sfn|Jenner|2016|loc=Chapter 12: The Redwood Highway Cuts a Path Through the Trees}} Congress failed to act,{{efn|In 1911, US Representative ] of California introduced legislation for the creation of a redwood national park, but Congress took no action.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=96}}}} and voracious demand for lumber came with the ] construction boom.{{efn|According to the parks' official website: "It was the post World War II housing and economic boom caused the majority of old-growth redwoods to be clear cut. In just a few decades, hundreds of thousands of acres of old-growth redwoods on private lands were logged. By the 1960s, industrial logging had removed almost ninety percent of all the original redwoods."<ref name="Logging" />}}

Organizations formed to preserve the surviving trees:{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=99}} concerned about the sequoia of ], ] cofounded the ] in 1892.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=91}} The ] was cofounded in 1900 by artist ] who lobbied the media, and saw the ] created along with the ].{{sfn|Jenner|2016|pp=92–95}} In 1916, politician ] ] and helped to write the bill founding the ] (NPS). In 1918, ] and other members of the ]{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=127}} founded the ].{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|pp=4, 12}} The league bought land and donated funds for land purchases. Historian ] writes that, in a sixty-year-long marathon, the Save the Redwoods League and the Sierra Club were racing the logging companies for the old trees.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=xiv}}

At first, in 1919, with Congress showing interest but no appropriations, NPS director ] formed the NPS system with private wealth{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=231}}—he and his wealthy friends purchased parkland with their own money.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|pp=18, 20}} Balancing opponents and supporters, the Save the Redwoods League saw their compromise bill pass in 1923, allowing condemnation for park acquisition with state oversight.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=29}} In 1925, the league backed a bill that would authorize a statewide survey by a landscape architect and permit land acquisition and condemnation for parks. In 1926, the league retained ] to make that survey.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=31}} The league added to their bill a proposed state constitutional amendment authorizing up to $6&nbsp;million {{USDCY|6000000|1926}} in bonds to equally match private donations for state land purchases.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=32}} After sustaining a governor's veto in 1925,{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=31}} the league broadened its efforts to include the whole state, mounted a publicity campaign, and gained the support of the '']''.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=33}} A new governor signed the parks bill into law in 1927, a bond issue was approved in the 1928 election.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=33}}
]
In 1927, Olmsted's survey was complete and concluded that only three percent of the state's redwoods could be preserved. He recommended four redwood areas for parks, including three areas that became ], ], and ] State Parks. A fourth became ], by far the largest of the individual Redwoods State Parks, but not in the Redwood National and State Parks system.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|pp=33–36}} Now armed with matching funds after 1928, the league bought more land and added to these parks as conditions allowed.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=36}}

===National park===
{{main|National park|Land and Water Conservation Fund}}
The NPS proposed a redwoods national park in 1938. The Save the Redwoods League opposed it, highlighting a division between preservationists who preferred unembellished nature and a segment of the park service who wished to provide recreation and playgrounds for the public.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=52, 60–61}} Both the league and the Sierra Club wanted a redwoods national park by the 1960s, but the club and the league supported different locations.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|pp=117–118}} The club and the league were antagonists during the 1960s,{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=237}} often on opposite sides of national park arguments, until 1971 when the league backed a club position,{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=214}} and the late 1970s when the league became a club member.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|pp=79, 110–111, 124, 127, 204}}

The Sierra Club wanted the largest possible park and usually sought help from the federal government.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|pp=111, 122}} More cautious, the Save the Redwoods League tended to accommodate industry and support the state of California.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|pp=111, 230, 239}} When the agency had no funds in 1963, the ] funded an NPS survey of the redwoods.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=117}} In 1964, NPS released its ideas for three different sized redwood national parks.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|pp=118, 121}} In 1964, Congress passed the ] to allow federal funds to purchase parkland.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|pp=120–121}}

Describing a reason for the club's success, Willard Pratt of the Arcata lumber company wrote, "The Sierra Club demonstrated a basic political fact of life: Opposition to particular preservation proposals usually is local while support is national. If decision making can be placed at the national level, preservation usually can win".<ref name=Chronology />

Initially opposing the park in the 1960s, the Arcata, ], and Miller lumber businesses operated up to the boundaries being discussed.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|pp=140–141, 150–151, 154}} In 1965, five logging companies formally objected to any redwood national park.<ref name=Chronology >{{cite web|url=http://npshistory.com/publications/redw/chronology.pdf|title=Chronology: Establishment of the Redwood National Park|first=Willard E.|last=Pratt (Arcata)|access-date=December 6, 2023|publisher=NPS History|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207180541/http://npshistory.com/publications/redw/chronology.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Schrepfer writes that the final bill divided the impact between the lumber companies, between California counties, and tried to appeal to both the league and the club. Schrepfer says that in large part, the bill was framed on the loggers' terms.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|pp=156, 162}} After intense lobbying of Congress, the bill creating Redwood National Park was signed by President ] in October 1968.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=159}}

The Save the Redwoods League donated parcels in 1974 and 1976.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=212}} The club found the Olmsted plan of delicately choosing sites was the wrong approach to defend against tractor ].{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=239}} In 1977, the club said that only ridge-to-ridge land acquisition around a water channel could preserve a watershed and thus the trees.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=203}} Amidst both local support of environmentalists and opposition from local loggers and logging companies, {{convert|48000|acre|km2}} were added to Redwood National Park in an expansion signed by President ] in 1978.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=226}} The purchase included lands that had already been logged, and the NPS was charged with restoring the land and reducing soil erosion.{{sfn|Crapsey|1997|pp=59,62}} At hundreds of millions of dollars, it was the most expensive land purchase ever approved by Congress.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=226}} By 1979, the league had preserved {{convert|150000|acre|km2}}, nearly twice the area that the federal government was able to save with park legislation.{{sfn|Schrepfer|1983|p=239}}

===Further recognition===
{{see also|World Heritage Site|World Network of Biosphere Reserves|Tribal sovereignty in the United States}}
The ] designated the Redwood National and State Parks a ] in 1980. The evaluation committee noted cooperative management and ongoing research in the parks by ] and other partners.<ref name=UNEP>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/134/|title=Redwood National and State Parks|access-date=October 29, 2023|publisher=]|archive-date=October 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028210430/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/134/|url-status=live}}</ref> The parks are within the ] and their resources are considered irreplaceable.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/historyculture/area-history.htm|title=Area History|date=November 23, 2022|access-date=December 9, 2023|publisher=]|archive-date=December 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202183037/http://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/historyculture/area-history.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1983, the parks were designated an ].<ref name=NPSfacts>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/park-facts.htm|title=Park Facts|date=February 21, 2023|access-date=January 30, 2024|publisher=]|archive-date=January 30, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130213630/https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/park-facts.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017, the US withdrew them along with more than a dozen other reserves from the ].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/unesco-new-biosphere-reserves-us-withdraws-reserves|title=UN Announces 23 New Nature Reserves While U.S. Removes 17|last1=Smith|first1=Casey|last2=Greshko|first2=Michael|date=June 14, 2017|access-date=December 6, 2023|publisher=]|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207180607/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/unesco-new-biosphere-reserves-us-withdraws-reserves|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2023, following the lead of First Nations in Canada and Aboriginal people in Australia, three federally recognized indigenous tribes—the ] of the Yurok People, ], and ]—announced that as sovereign governments they have protected the Yurok-Tolowa-Dee-ni' Indigenous Marine Stewardship Area.<ref name=Pew /> The effort protected {{convert|700|sqmi|sqkm}} of territorial ocean waters and coastline reaching from Oregon to just south of Trinidad, California,<ref name=Pew>{{cite news|title=Tribal Nations Designate First US Indigenous Marine Stewardship Area|url=https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2024/01/25/tribal-nations-designate-first-us-indigenous-marine-stewardship-area|date=January 26, 2024|access-date=January 30, 2024|work=]|first1=Jos|last1=Hill|first2=Bobby|last2=Hayden|archive-date=January 30, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130211907/https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2024/01/25/tribal-nations-designate-first-us-indigenous-marine-stewardship-area|url-status=live}}</ref> and contributed to the California 30x30 plan to conserve 30 percent of the state's land and coastal water by 2030.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.californianature.ca.gov/|title=What is 30x30?|access-date=February 1, 2024|publisher=]|archive-date=February 1, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240201133813/https://www.californianature.ca.gov/|url-status=live}}</ref> The tribes invited cooperation with US agencies and other indigenous nations.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kimbrough|first=Kim|date=January 29, 2024|work=]|access-date=January 31, 2024|url=https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/first-ever-u-s-indigenous-marine-stewardship-area-declared-in-california/|title=First ever U.S. Indigenous Marine Stewardship Area declared in California|archive-date=February 15, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215042033/https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/first-ever-u-s-indigenous-marine-stewardship-area-declared-in-california/|url-status=live}}</ref>


==Park management== ==Park management==
Redwood National Park is directly managed by the NPS from its office in ].<ref name="directions">{{cite web |title=Directions |url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/directions.htm |publisher=] |access-date=February 3, 2024 |date=January 7, 2023 |archive-date=June 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604213405/https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/directions.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The three state parks are overseen by the ].<ref name=plan36 /> The park management coordinates with tribal leaders, as the parks contain land and village sites belonging to groups including the Yurok and Tolowa.{{sfn|Bearss|1982|loc=}}<ref name="History" /> NPS manages about {{convert|1400|acre|km2}} of federal park land and waters that lie within the ].<ref name=plan36>{{cite web|title=Redwood National and State Parks: General Management Plan, General Plan (Summary)|url=https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/21299/files/GMP.pdf|publisher=] and State of California|access-date=October 16, 2023|pages=3, 6|archive-date=October 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017203534/https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/21299/files/GMP.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
]
The RNSP are managed jointly by the ], a federal agency within the ], and the ], with an annual budget of $7,380,000 (2004).<ref>National Park Service, , Redwood National and State Parks, URL retrieved ], ]</ref> The two agencies work cooperatively to protect the redwoods, the pristine Pacific Ocean coastline, the cultural resources, and the unique natural habitat. The land that was added to the parks in 1978 had previously been logged, and efforts to restore these areas have been ongoing for decades, with old logging roads being removed and the land allowed to return to its original state. Lack of funding has precluded major improvements, however, and timber companies have replanted much of the logged area with non-native tree species. Coastline areas, including dunes and coastal prairie, have been invaded by exotic species, partly due to the suppression of ]s until the 1980s. A fire management plan now allows ]ing as one method to return the parkland to its original state. Since the redwoods were logged on the basis of accessibility, with inaccessible areas being cut last, large old growth forest sections were isolated from one another, sometimes by many miles. In these cases it will be decades more before mature forest can return, regardless of the amount of money used to rehabilitate the ecosystem.<ref>Redwood National and State Parks, , URL retrieved ], ]</ref>


Redwood National Park management oversees many other details aside from the redwoods and organic species that reside within the park boundaries. They regulate areas that are off limits to motor vehicles, boats, drones, horses, pets and even bicycles. In addition, park management establishes limitations on camping, campfires, food storage and backcountry use, as well as necessary permits.<ref>{{cite web |title=Superintendent's Compendium |url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/management/superintendent-s-compendium.htm |publisher=] |access-date=August 14, 2023 |date=May 17, 2023 |archive-date=August 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814232934/https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/management/superintendent-s-compendium.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
The park has transformed a few logging roads into scenic public drives. These do not meet current safety standards, but funding to improve them is not available at present. Park structures such as visitor centers and employee housing also need updating to meet increasing demands. The park employees perform air and water quality surveys, monitor endangered and ], and work closely with the ], which is managed by the ].<ref>Redwood National and State Parks, , URL retrieved ], ]</ref> The park headquarters is in ].

When it opened in 1969, Redwood National Park had six permanent employees.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=167}} As of 2023, the combined RNSP had 96 permanent and 52 temporary staff members.<ref name=NPSfacts /> Early park managers prioritized restoring existing structures, rehabilitating the watershed, and developing wildlife management plans.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|pp=167–168}} Until 1980, managers assumed that the three state parks, which are contained within the boundaries of the national park, would be donated to the NPS.<ref name=plan36 /> The donation did not happen,<ref name=plan36 /> and NPS and the state signed a memorandum of understanding in 1994 governing joint management, and agreeing to the name "Redwood National and State Parks".{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=168}} As of 2021, the combined RNSP had 1,185,000 annual visitors.<ref name=NPSfacts />


==Natural resources== ==Natural resources==
The Redwood National and State Parks conserve an area which contains the largest contiguous old-growth coast redwood forest as well as habitats for endangered species.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=177}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Redwood National and State Parks: 2020 Conservation Outlook Assessment |url=https://worldheritageoutlook.iucn.org/node/984/pdf |website=IUCN World Heritage Outlook |access-date=December 2, 2023 |archive-date=December 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207180141/https://worldheritageoutlook.iucn.org/node/984/pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Flora===

]
===Coast redwood===
It is estimated that old growth redwood forest once covered 2&nbsp;million acres (810,000&nbsp;ha) of coastal northern California. Today, only 4%, or 85,000&nbsp;acres (34,000&nbsp;ha), remain, with 45% of that total being managed by the park.<ref>Redwood National and State Parks, , URL retrieved ], ]</ref> The northern California coast is the only place the Coast Redwood is found. The tree is closely related to the ] of central California, and more distantly to the ] which is indigenous to the ]-] region of ]. Coast redwoods are the tallest trees on Earth; the tallest living specimen known is the ], outside the park in ], which was 370&nbsp;feet (113&nbsp;m) in 2004. For many years, one specimen simply named "Tall Tree" in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park and within the RNSP was measured at 367.8&nbsp;feet (112.11&nbsp;m), but the top 10&nbsp;feet (3&nbsp;m) of the tree was reported to have died in the 1990s.<ref>Carle, Janet, , ''California State Park Rangers Association'', URL retrieved ], ]</ref> One tree that fell in 1991 was reported to be 372.04&nbsp;feet (113.4&nbsp;m). Only the Giant Sequoia has more mass. The largest redwood by volume is the 1,365.5&nbsp;yd³ (1,044&nbsp;m³) "Del Norte Giant", located in Del Norte Redwoods State Park. Coast redwoods live an average of 600&nbsp;years and a few are documented to be 2,000&nbsp;years old, making them some of the longest-living organisms on earth. They are highly resistant to disease, due to a thick protective bark and high ] content. Redwoods prefer sheltered slopes, slightly inland and near water sources such as rivers and streams, and are the fastest growing tree in the world.<ref>U.S. Geological Survey, , ''Status and Trends of the Nation's Biological Resources'', URL retrieved ], ]</ref>
]''|alt=The bottom of a big tree with a small trunk veering off]]
Discovered in Redwood National Park in 2006 in an unpublished location,{{efn|] says "its precise location is kept a closely guarded secret to try and protect it."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/tallest-tree-living|title=Tallest tree living|access-date=March 6, 2024|publisher=Guinness World Records Limited|archive-date=February 4, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204073738/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/tallest-tree-living|url-status=live}}</ref>}} the ] is the coast redwood tree ('']'') named ],{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=119}} at {{convert|380|ft|m}}. It is followed by Helios at {{convert|377|ft|m}}, and Icarus at {{convert|371|ft|m}}, both also in Redwood National Park.<ref name=tallest>{{cite news|title=People who want to visit the world's tallest living tree now risk a $5,000 fine|url=https://www.npr.org/2022/08/01/1114846960/hyperion-tree-off-limits-fine|date=August 1, 2022|access-date=October 23, 2023|last=Kim|first=Juliana|work=]|archive-date=December 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204030142/https://www.npr.org/2022/08/01/1114846960/hyperion-tree-off-limits-fine|url-status=live}}</ref> For many years thought to be the tallest, one specimen named simply "Tall Tree" in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park was measured at {{convert|367.8|ft|m}}. "So many people have stood on the base of the tree that the ground is hard packed", said Professor ] of Cal Poly Humboldt university in the 1990s.<ref name="Carle" /> The top {{convert|10|ft|m}} of the tree died in the 1970s and fell off in the 1990s.<ref name="Carle">{{cite web |last=Carle |first=Janet |title=Tracking the Tallest Tree |publisher=California State Park Rangers Association |url=http://www.cspra.com/wave04/tree.html |access-date=November 15, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080519104346/http://www.cspra.com/wave04/tree.html |archive-date=May 19, 2008}}</ref> In 2022, after documenting damage caused by visitors to the tallest living tree, NPS announced a penalty for those who approach it of up to a $5,000&nbsp;fine {{USDCY|5000|2022}} and six months in jail,<ref name=tallest /> and it shows visitors instead to views of other trees.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/hyperion.htm|title=Should I Hike to Hyperion?|access-date=October 23, 2023|date=November 29, 2022|publisher=]|archive-date=September 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230921132511/https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/hyperion.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Mature coast redwoods live an average of 500–700&nbsp;years; a few are documented to be 2,000&nbsp;years old.<ref name="Acreage"/> As of 1990, a stand in nearby Humboldt Redwoods State Park had the greatest ] ever recorded.{{sfn|Olson|Roy|Walters|1990|p=547}} Redwood trees develop enormous limbs that accumulate deep organic soils from which new tree-sized redwood trunks emerge{{sfn|Sillett|Antoine|Campbell-Spickler|Carroll|2018}} and in which plants called '']'' can grow.{{sfn|Spickler|Sillett|Marks|Welsh|2006|p=16}} Mats of epiphytic ferns well above ground are home to ]s, ], ], and ]s.{{sfn|Spickler|Sillett|Marks|Welsh|2006|pp=17, 18, 22}}

Redwoods prefer sheltered slopes, and they thrive on moist flat ground along rivers below {{convert|1000|ft|m}} in elevation.{{sfn|Olson|Roy|Walters|1990|p=543}} Coastal fog provides about 40 percent of their annual water intake.<ref name="trees" /> Redwoods have existed along the coast of northern California for at least 20&nbsp;million years and are related to tree species that existed 160&nbsp;million years ago in the ] era.<ref name="trees">{{cite web |title=About The Trees |publisher=] |date=February 28, 2015 |url=http://www.nps.gov/redw/naturescience/about-the-trees.htm |access-date=August 14, 2023 |archive-date=October 29, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029193918/http://www.nps.gov/redw/naturescience/about-the-trees.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> About 96 percent of the world's old-growth coast redwood forest has been logged,<ref name="Acreage" /> and almost half (45 percent) of what remains is in the RNSP.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.savetheredwoods.org/wp-content/uploads/files/RR-Brochure.pdf|publisher=Redwoods Rising|via=]|access-date=March 7, 2024|title=When you picture a redwood forest|archive-date=December 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228154807/https://www.savetheredwoods.org/wp-content/uploads/files/RR-Brochure.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The parks protect {{convert|38982|acre|km2}} of old-growth forest, almost equally divided between federal and state management.<ref name="Acreage">{{cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=] |date=August 17, 2008 |url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/faqs.htm |access-date=August 14, 2023 |archive-date=August 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815001251/https://www.nps.gov/redw/faqs.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The ] named the coast redwood an ] in 2011.{{sfn|Farjon|Schmid|2013}}


===Other flora===
Redwood trees develop enormous limbs that accumulate deep organic soils and can support tree-sized trunks growing on them. This typically occurs above 150 feet. Scientists have recently discovered that plants that normally grow on the forest floor also grow in these soils, well above ground. The soil mats provide homes to ]s, ], ]s, and ]s. During ] seasons, some treetops die back, but the trees do not die outright. Instead, redwoods have developed mechanisms to regrow new trunks from other limbs. These secondary trunks, called ''reiterations'', also develop root systems in the accumulated soils at their bases. This helps transport water to the highest reaches of the trees. Coastal fog also provides up to one-third of their annual water needs.<ref>Redwood National and State Parks, , .pdf, URL retrieved ], ]</ref>
] in ]|alt=Canyon with walls covered in ferns and a stream running down the center]]
Coast redwood tends to dominate in places it likes but often can be found together with also-fast-growing ] trees. Closer to the ocean, ] grow in place of the salt-water intolerant redwood.<ref name=Urness>{{cite news|title=World's best redwood hike not all about big trees|url=https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/travel/outdoors/hikes/2014/06/03/giant-redwoods/9920771/|date=June 4, 2014|last=Urness|first=Zach|newspaper=]|publisher=]|access-date=January 14, 2024|archive-date=February 15, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215042035/https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/travel/outdoors/hikes/2014/06/03/giant-redwoods/9920771/|url-status=live}}</ref> The tallest known ] grows in the parks.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=5}} Sitka spruce are plentiful along the coast, better adapted to salty air than other species. Other associated trees are the ], ], ], and ].<ref name="Plants">{{cite web |title=Plants |publisher=] |date=March 4, 2022 |url=http://www.nps.gov/redw/naturescience/plants.htm |access-date=May 11, 2023 |archive-date=October 29, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029190931/http://www.nps.gov/redw/naturescience/plants.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>


] and ] are part of the forest ]. The ] and ] are flowering shrubs common in the parks. Plants such as the ] and ] are prolific.<ref name="Plants"/>
Another large tree commonly found in the forest is the ], which has been measured at heights of over 300&nbsp;feet (90&nbsp;m). ] are plentiful along the coast and are better adapted to salty air than other species. The hardwood ] produces a nut that looks like the ]s produced by ] trees although it is an ] tree. Trees such as the ], ], ], and ] are also widespread throughout the parks.


In Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, ] is a well-known ravine {{convert|50|ft|m}} deep,<ref name=Urness /> with walls completely covered in ferns—], ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/beauty/ferns/viewing-areas.shtml|title=Fern Viewing Areas Not On National Forests|publisher=]|access-date=October 24, 2023|archive-date=October 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029032444/https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/beauty/ferns/viewing-areas.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> The ancestors of some of these ferns reach back 325 million years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Trails – South of the Klamath River |url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/hiking-trails-south.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029032448/https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/hiking-trails-south.htm |archive-date=October 29, 2023 |access-date=October 24, 2023 |publisher=]}}</ref>
], ], and ] are part of the forest ] and provide food for many animal species. The ] and ] are flowering shrubs common in the park, especially in old growth forest.<ref>Redwood National and State Parks, , URL retrieved ], ]</ref> Plants such as the ] are prolific, especially near ample water sources. In Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, ] is a well-known ravine 30 to 50&nbsp;feet (10&ndash;15&nbsp;m) deep, with walls completely covered in ferns.


===Fauna=== ===Fauna===
] (''Strix occidentalis caurina'') is a ] known to exist in the parks.]] ] (''Strix occidentalis caurina'') is a ] known to exist in the parks.|alt=A Northern spotted owl staring at the camera]]
Various ecosystems exist within the parks—seacoast, river, prairie, and densely forested zones—offering refuge to numerous rare and endangered species.<ref name=GP42>{{cite web|title=Redwood National and State Parks: General Management Plan, General Plan (Summary)|url=https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/21299/files/GMP.pdf|publisher=] and State of California|access-date=October 16, 2023|pages=12, 13, 42–43|archive-date=October 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017203534/https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/21299/files/GMP.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> About 66 species of land mammals have been documented, including the ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref name=NPSmammals>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/land-mammals.htm|title=Land Mammals|access-date=January 16, 2024|publisher=]|date=July 14, 2023|archive-date=January 16, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116215046/https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/land-mammals.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> ] are the most readily observed of the large mammals in the park.<ref name=visitorsguide /> Successful herds, brought back from the verge of extinction in the region,{{sfn|Ricca|2019|p=243}} are now common in park areas.<ref name=visitorsguide>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/upload/RNSP_VG_2022-v5-13-small-508-2.pdf|title=Redwood National and State Parks Visitor Guide|date=2022|access-date=October 18, 2023|publisher=]|archive-date=October 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019212043/https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/upload/RNSP_VG_2022-v5-13-small-508-2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Different species of ]s, such as the ], and other smaller mammals including ]s, ]s, ]s, ]s, ]s, ]s, ], ]s, and ]s live in the parks, although small mammals are infrequently seen.<ref name=NPSmammals />
The ecosystems of RNSP preserve a number of rare animal species. Numerous ecosystems exist, with seacoast, river, prairie, and densely forested zones all within the park. The ] and ] are federally listed ] that live near the Pacific coastline. The ], which usually nests near a water source, is listed as a ], a designation which includes ], ], and ] species, by the ]; the state of California lists it as endangered. The ], ], and the ] are a few of the other animal species that are threatened.<ref>Redwood National and State Parks, , URL retrieved ], ]</ref>


Inhabiting or ranging into the park are 28 species that are federally recognized as endangered, threatened, or candidates for protection; about a third of that number can be regularly seen in the parks.<ref name="threatened">{{cite web |title=Threatened and Endangered Species |publisher=] |url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/threatened-and-endangered-species.htm |date=March 3, 2015 |access-date=December 21, 2022 |archive-date=May 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524232929/https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/threatened-and-endangered-species.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The ], which usually nests near a water source, is listed as a state of California ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Birds/Bald-Eagle|title=Bald Eagles in California|access-date=October 19, 2023|publisher=]|archive-date=October 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019212045/https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Birds/Bald-Eagle|url-status=live}}</ref> The ]—historically an essential food for indigenous residents{{sfn|Lynch|2012|p=22}}—], and ] are a few of the other animal species that are threatened.<ref name="threatened"/><ref name="threatened2">{{cite web |title=Animals |publisher=] |date=April 17, 2008 |url=http://www.nps.gov/redw/naturescience/animals.htm |access-date=November 15, 2008 |archive-date=December 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228120539/http://www.nps.gov/redw/naturescience/animals.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The ] is a federally listed endangered species that lives near the Pacific coastline that were extirpated from the parks in 1968 when shoreline alterations affected the water's salinity. The ] soon followed in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tidewater Goby and Candlefish|url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/tidewater-goby-and-candlefish.htm|access-date=October 18, 2023|date=November 24, 2017|publisher=]|archive-date=October 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019212043/https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/tidewater-goby-and-candlefish.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> ]s were extirpated in the parks at the turn of the 20th century but ]s remain.<ref name=NPSmarine /> Also endangered, the ] can nest high on redwood branches.<ref name=visitorsguide />
Over 40 species of mammals have been documented, including the ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. Along the coastline, ]s, and ]s live near the shore and on seastacks, rocky outcroppings forming small islands just off the coast. ]s and ]s are occasionally seen offshore. Elk are the most readily observed of the large mammals in the park. Many smaller mammals live in the high forest canopy. Different species of ]s, such as the ] and other smaller mammals including the ] and ], spend most of their lives well above the forest floor.<ref>Redwood National and State Parks, , .pdf, pg. 5, ''Visitors Guide'', URL retrieved ], ]</ref>


Brown pelicans and ]s are mainly found on cliffs along the coast and on seastacks, while ]s and ]s inhabit the seacoast and inland areas. Inland, freshwater dependent birds such as the ], ], ], ], and ] are a few of the species that have been documented. Along the coastline, ]s, ]s and ]s live near the shore and on ]s, rocky outcroppings forming small islands just off the coast. ]s and ]s are occasionally seen offshore.<ref name=NPSmarine>{{cite web|url=https://nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/marine-mammals.htm|title=Marine Mammals|access-date=October 19, 2023|publisher=]|date=November 21, 2017|archive-date=October 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019212045/https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/marine-mammals.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Brown pelicans and three species of ]s are mainly found on cliffs along the coast and on seastacks, while ]s and three species of ]s inhabit the seacoast and inland areas. Inland, freshwater-dependent birds such as the ], ], ], ]s, and ]s are a few of the bird species that have been documented. Approximately 280 bird species, or about one third of those found in the US, have been documented within park boundaries.<ref name=NPSbirds>{{cite web|url=https://nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/birds.htm|title=Birds|access-date=October 19, 2023|publisher=]|date=February 1, 2022|archive-date=October 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019212047/https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/birds.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>


]s like four species of ] can be found offshore and sometimes on beaches.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.savetheredwoods.org/wp-content/uploads/mp_c_crnp.pdf|title=Coastal Redwood National and State Parks|access-date=October 19, 2023|publisher=]|archive-date=November 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231106091152/https://www.savetheredwoods.org/wp-content/uploads/mp_c_crnp.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> ]s can be found in the parks, which the ],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/gopher-snake.htm|title=Gopher snake|access-date=October 19, 2023|publisher=]|archive-date=October 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029032444/https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/gopher-snake.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/tailed-frog.htm|title=Tailed Frog|access-date=October 19, 2023|publisher=]|archive-date=October 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029032445/https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/tailed-frog.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/clouded-salamander.htm|title=Clouded Salamander|access-date=October 19, 2023|publisher=]|archive-date=October 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029032450/https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/clouded-salamander.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> and three species of ]s<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.savetheredwoods.org/blog/path/delights-of-the-rainy-season-in-the-redwoods/|title=Showers activate waterfalls, newts, and fungi|access-date=October 19, 2023|publisher=]|archive-date=October 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029032445/https://www.savetheredwoods.org/blog/path/delights-of-the-rainy-season-in-the-redwoods/|url-status=live}}</ref> call home. Well-known ]s, the ] and the ], inhabit the parks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/banana-slug-and-millipede.htm|title=Banana Slug & Millipede|access-date=October 25, 2023|date=November 20, 2017|publisher=]|archive-date=October 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029032444/https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/banana-slug-and-millipede.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
]s and ]s can also be found in the parks, with the ], ], ], and the ] most commonly seen.<ref>Redwood National and State Parks, , URL retrieved ], ]</ref>


===Geology=== ===Invasive species===
Over 200 exotic species live in the RNSP. Of these, 30 have been identified as ], and 10 of the 30 are considered threats to local species and ecosystems. Exotic species currently account for about a quarter of the total flora in the parks. Growing in varying amounts over the parks' different vegetation areas, about one percent of plants in old-growth areas are exotic species, compared to 50 to 75 percent in the Bald Hills prairies.<ref name="NPSexotic">{{cite web |title=Resource Management and Science – exotic plant management |url=http://www.nps.gov/redw/naturescience/exotic-vegetation.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215205919/http://www.nps.gov/redw/naturescience/exotic-vegetation.htm |archive-date=February 15, 2015 |access-date=October 19, 2023 |publisher=]}}</ref> ] and ] were both under consideration in 2015 for addition to a high-priority watch list maintained by the park system.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/redw/naturescience/exotic-plant-species-list.htm|title=exotic plant species list|publisher=]|date=February 28, 2015|access-date=October 17, 2023|archive-date=July 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716184625/http://www.nps.gov/redw/naturescience/exotic-plant-species-list.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
The northern coastal region of California, which includes RNSP and the adjacent offshore area, is the most ]ally active in the U.S.<ref>Redwood National and State Parks, , ''Geology'', URL retrieved ], ]</ref> Frequent minor ]s in the park and offshore under the Pacific Ocean have resulted in shifting river channels, ]s, and ] of seaside cliffs. The ], ], and ]s are ] that all meet at the ], only 100&nbsp;miles (160&nbsp;km) southwest of the parks. During the 1990s, more than nine ] 6.0 earthquakes occurred along this ] zone, and there is always potential for a major earthquake.<ref>Oppenheimer, David, , ''A Policy for Rapid Mobilization of USGS OBS (RMOBS)'', U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Science Center, URL retrieved ], ]</ref> The park ensures that visitors are aware of the potential for a major earthquake through the use of pamphlets and information posted throughout the parks. The threat of a ] is of particular concern, and visitors to the seacoast are told to seek higher ground immediately after any significant earthquake.<ref>Redwood National and State Parks, , ''Geology'', URL retrieved ], ]</ref>
]
Both coastline and the ] can be found within park boundaries. The majority of the rocks in the parks are part of the ], uplifted from the ocean floor millions of years ago. These ]s are primarily ]s, ]s, and ]s, with lesser amounts of ]s such as ] and ]. For the most part, these rocks are easily eroded, and can be viewed along the seacoast and where rivers and streams have cut small gorges. Formed during the ] age, they are highly deformed from uplift and folding processes. In some areas, river systems have created ] deposits of sandstones, ]s, and ]s, which are transported into the park from upstream. Redwood Creek follows the Grogan Fault; along the west bank of the creek, ] and other metamorphic rocks can be found, while sedimentary rocks of the Franciscan Assemblage are located on the east bank.<ref>United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, , ''Redwood National Park'', (December 13, 2005), URL retrieved ], ]</ref>


===Climate=== ===Geography===
]
] in RNSP is greatly influenced by the Pacific Ocean. Coastal temperatures generally range between 40 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit (4&mdash;15°C) all year round, while further from the coast summers are hotter and drier, and winters are colder. Redwoods mostly grow a mile or two (1.5&mdash;3&nbsp;km) from the coast, but never more than 50&nbsp;miles (80&nbsp;km) from it. In this zone they have an abundance of moisture from heavy winter rains and persistent fog for much of the summer. Most of the 100&nbsp;inches (250&nbsp;cm) of annual precipitation falls during the winter, but snow is uncommon even on peaks above 1,500&nbsp;feet (450&nbsp;m). The higher humidity of the winters and foggy conditions in the summer are essential for redwood forest survival; further inland the life-giving summer fog is less common.<ref>National Park Service, , ''Redwood National and State Parks'', URL retrieved ], ]</ref>


The parks are located in the most ]ally active area in the country. Frequent minor ]s in the park and offshore under the Pacific Ocean have resulted in shifting river channels, ]s, and ] of seaside cliffs. The ], ], and ]s are ] that all meet at the ], about {{convert|100|mi|km}} southwest of the parks. During the 1990s, more than nine ]&nbsp;6.0 earthquakes occurred along this ] zone.<ref name="geology">{{cite web |title=Natural Features & Ecosystems |publisher=] |url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/naturalfeaturesandecosystems.htm |access-date=March 25, 2023 |archive-date=March 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325220220/https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/naturalfeaturesandecosystems.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> More recently, a 6.4 magnitude quake in 2022 with a hypocenter off the coast caused two deaths. Visitors' centers closed but the parks remained open.<ref>{{cite news|title=Redwood parks in Humboldt County remain open after Tuesday's 6.4 magnitude quake|url=https://www.ktvu.com/news/redwood-parks-in-humboldt-county-remain-open-after-tuesdays-6-4-magnitude-quake|last=Song|first=Sharon|date=December 20, 2022|access-date=January 15, 2024|work=] TV|publisher=]|archive-date=January 15, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115174821/https://www.ktvu.com/news/redwood-parks-in-humboldt-county-remain-open-after-tuesdays-6-4-magnitude-quake|url-status=live}}</ref> The area is the most ]-prone in the continental US, and visitors to the seacoast are told to seek higher ground immediately after any significant earthquake.<ref name=NPSsafety >{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/safety.htm|title=Your Safety|access-date=October 17, 2023|publisher=]|archive-date=October 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018232519/https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/safety.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The parks' altitude ranges from below ] up to {{convert|837|m|ft|sp=us}} at ].<ref name="UNEP"/>
===Fire management===
]
]s are a natural part of most terrestrial ecosystems. In many ways nature has adapted to fire, and the absence of fire can often be disadvantageous.<ref>National Park Service, , ''Fire and Aviation Management'', URL retrieved ], ]</ref> Wildfire eliminates dead and decayed plant and tree matter, enriching the soil and ensuring that healthier trees have less competition for limited nutrients. Until the arrival of European settlers, wildfires periodically burned sections of the redwood forest. From 1850, however, fires were combatted by logging interests, who were concerned both with a loss of their commodity and with the threat to personal safety that fire presented. Miners and loggers who came to the region set out to ensure that all fires would be suppressed as quickly as possible, and the net result was a buildup of dead and decaying ]. During the 1970s, research indicated that there was an immediate need to allow natural fires to burn, so long as personal safety and structures were not compromised. Later, man-made fires were deliberately set to burn off plant matter and reduce the risk of a major ]. In the RNSP, a fire management plan monitors all fires, weather patterns and the fuel load (dead and decaying plant material). This fuel load is physically removed from structures and areas where fire poses high risk to the public, and controlled burns are used elsewhere.<ref>Redwood National and State Parks, , .pdf, URL retrieved ], ]</ref>


Both coastline and the mountains of the ] can be found within park boundaries. The majority of the rocks in the parks are part of the ].<ref name=UNdata>{{cite web|title=Redwood National & State Parks|date=May 22, 2017|url=http://world-heritage-datasheets.unep-wcmc.org/datasheet/output/site/redwood-national-state-parks/|access-date=January 15, 2024|publisher=] and UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre|archive-date=January 15, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115230115/http://world-heritage-datasheets.unep-wcmc.org/datasheet/output/site/redwood-national-state-parks/|url-status=live}}</ref> Assemblage ] and ]s of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, along with marine and alluvial sedimentary deposits of the Tertiary and Quaternary periods, are underneath the Redwood Creek basin.{{sfn|Cashman|Kelsey|Harden|1995|p=B1}} These sedimentary rocks are primarily ], ], and ], with lesser amounts of ], ], and metamorphic rocks.<ref name=UNdata />
Fire is also used to protect prairie grasslands from invasion by ] and to keep out forest encroachment, ensuring sufficient rangeland for elk and deer. The oak forest regions also benefit from controlled burns, as Douglas fir would otherwise eventually take over and decrease ]. The use of fire in old growth redwood zones reduces dead and decaying material, and lessens the mortality of larger redwoods by eliminating competing vegetation.<ref>Redwood National and State Parks, , ''Resource Management'', URL retrieved ], ]</ref>

===Climate ===
The Redwood National and State Parks have a ] climate (]: ''Csb'').{{efn|See temperature and precipitation data in the table below and the Köppen-Geiger criteria.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Table 2 Overview of the Köppen-Geiger climate classes including the defining criteria. |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/sdata2018214/tables/3 |journal=Nature: Scientific Data |language=en |access-date=March 2, 2024 |archive-date=October 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022004427/https://www.nature.com/articles/sdata2018214/tables/3 |url-status=live }}</ref>}} They receive abundant rain during most of the year, with a peak in winter, a decrease in June and September, and two dry summer months (July and August).<ref name= NCDC >{{cite web
| url = ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/1981-2010/products/station/USC00044577.normals.txt
| title = CA Klamath
| publisher = ]
| access-date = June 27, 2013
| archive-date = May 25, 2017
| archive-url = https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20170525091853/ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/1981-2010/products/station/USC00044577.normals.txt
| url-status = live
}}</ref>
]

The parks are part of a ] that runs along the western United States coast.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=4}} The nearby Pacific Ocean has major effects on the climate in the parks. Temperatures near the coast mostly remain between 40 and 60&nbsp;degrees Fahrenheit (4&ndash;15&nbsp;°C) all year.<ref name="weather">{{cite web |title=Weather |publisher=] |date=October 13, 2022 |url=http://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/weather.htm |access-date=March 23, 2023 |archive-date=December 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228160823/http://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/weather.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Redwoods tend to grow in this area of steadily temperate climate, though most grow at least a mile or two (1.5&ndash;3&nbsp;km) from the coast to avoid the saltier air, and they never grow more than {{convert|50|mi|km}} from it. In this humid coastal zone, the trees receive moisture from both heavy winter rains and persistent summer fog.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=6}} The presence and consistency of the summer fog is actually more important to overall health of the trees than the precipitation. This fact is borne out in precipitation totals of around {{convert|71|in|cm}} annually,<ref name= NOWclimate /> with healthy redwood forests throughout the areas of less precipitation because excessive needs for water are mitigated by the ever-present summer fog and the cooler temperatures it ensures. The rare snow falls mostly on the hills and mountains in and adjacent to the park.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=25}}

Parts of the parks are threatened by ]. Increasing average temperatures have led to reduced water quality, affecting the fish and other fauna, and rising sea levels threaten to damage park structures near the coast. The redwoods benefit from higher carbon levels and are resilient against temperature changes.<ref name=NPSclimate>{{cite web |title=Redwoods and Climate Change |publisher=] |date=October 25, 2022 |url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/climate-change.htm |access-date=April 21, 2023 |archive-date=September 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906190851/https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/climate-change.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Scientists fear climate change is likely to shift the range in which coast redwoods live to outside protected areas,<ref>{{cite news|title=iPhone app uses Google Earth to track climate change impact on redwoods|last=Moukaddem|first=Karimeh|date=May 24, 2011|access-date=December 30, 2023|url=https://news.mongabay.com/2011/05/iphone-app-uses-google-earth-to-track-climate-change-impact-on-redwoods/|work=]|archive-date=December 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230164316/https://news.mongabay.com/2011/05/iphone-app-uses-google-earth-to-track-climate-change-impact-on-redwoods/|url-status=live}}</ref> and many have done research on ].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/pacific-northwest-trees-dying-climate-change-migration-0c060e68e111ca06f51fc9e8e61e66b8|last1=Gilles|first1=Nathan|others=Columbia Insight|date=December 28, 2023|work=]|access-date=December 29, 2023|title=As tree species face decline, 'assisted migration' gains popularity in Pacific Northwest|archive-date=December 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228205328/https://apnews.com/article/pacific-northwest-trees-dying-climate-change-migration-0c060e68e111ca06f51fc9e8e61e66b8|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|Studies on assisted migration were conducted by groups including the USFS,<ref>{{cite report|title=Adaptation to climate change? Moving coast redwood seedlings northward and inland|url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/55431|last1=Dagley|first1=Christa M.|date=2017|last2=Berrill|first2=John-Pascal|last3=Johnson|first3=Forrest T.|last4=Kerhoulas|first4=Lucy P.|publisher=], Pacific Southwest Research Station: 219-227|access-date=December 30, 2023|archive-date=December 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230164635/https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/55431|url-status=live}}</ref> the Save the Redwoods League,{{sfn|Douhovnikoff|Dodd|2011}} and the Canadian government.<ref>{{cite report|title=Potential for Assisted Migration of Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) to Vancouver Island|date=2022|publisher=Pacific Forestry Centre|last1=Winder|first1=R.S.|last2=Waring|first2=V.R.|last3=Jones|first3=A.|last4=Valance|first4=A.|last5=Eddy|first5=I.|url=https://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=40819|number=40819|isbn=978-0-660-45861-8|via=Government of Canada|access-date=December 30, 2023|archive-date=December 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213145929/https://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=40819|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
{{Weather box
| location = ] 3 NNW, CA (] Office)
| single line = yes
| Jan record high F = 72
| Feb record high F = 77
| Mar record high F = 75
| Apr record high F = 77
| May record high F = 86
| Jun record high F = 85
| Jul record high F = 81
| Aug record high F = 80
| Sep record high F = 87
| Oct record high F = 93
| Nov record high F = 74
| Dec record high F = 68
| year record high F = 93
| Jan high F = 54.3
| Feb high F = 55.2
| Mar high F = 56.1
| Apr high F = 57.9
| May high F = 60.8
| Jun high F = 63.1
| Jul high F = 65.4
| Aug high F = 66.1
| Sep high F = 65.9
| Oct high F = 62.1
| Nov high F = 56.6
| Dec high F = 53.1
| year high F = 59.7
| Jan low F = 40.0
| Feb low F = 40.2
| Mar low F = 41.1
| Apr low F = 43.2
| May low F = 45.7
| Jun low F = 48.1
| Jul low F = 51.1
| Aug low F = 51.6
| Sep low F = 48.4
| Oct low F = 45.5
| Nov low F = 41.6
| Dec low F = 39.2
| year low F = 44.6
| Jan record low F = 24
| Feb record low F = 25
| Mar record low F = 28
| Apr record low F = 30
| May record low F = 32
| Jun record low F = 32
| Jul record low F = 36
| Aug record low F = 40
| Sep record low F = 37
| Oct record low F = 29
| Nov record low F = 27
| Dec record low F = 20
| year record low F = 20
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation inch = 11.51
| Feb precipitation inch = 8.96
| Mar precipitation inch = 9.84
| Apr precipitation inch = 6.76
| May precipitation inch = 3.23
| Jun precipitation inch = 1.78
| Jul precipitation inch = 0.19
| Aug precipitation inch = 0.42
| Sep precipitation inch = 1.26
| Oct precipitation inch = 4.67
| Nov precipitation inch = 9.46
| Dec precipitation inch = 13.37
| year precipitation inch = 71.45
| snow colour = green
| Jan snow inch = 0.0
| Feb snow inch = 0.0
| Mar snow inch = 0.0
| Apr snow inch = 0.0
| May snow inch = 0.0
| Jun snow inch = 0.0
| Jul snow inch = 0.0
| Aug snow inch = 0.0
| Sep snow inch = 0.0
| Oct snow inch = 0.0
| Nov snow inch = 0.0
| Dec snow inch = 0.0
| year snow inch = T
| unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
| Jan precipitation days = 16
| Feb precipitation days = 15
| Mar precipitation days = 17
| Apr precipitation days = 13
| May precipitation days = 8
| Jun precipitation days = 6
| Jul precipitation days = 2
| Aug precipitation days = 3
| Sep precipitation days = 4
| Oct precipitation days = 9
| Nov precipitation days = 16
| Dec precipitation days = 17
| year precipitation days = 132
| source 1 = NOAA (normals, 1991–2020)<ref name= NOAAclimate >{{cite web
| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/us-climate-normals/#dataset=normals-monthly&timeframe=30&location=CA&station=USC00042147
| title = Crescent City 3 NNW, CA
| publisher = ]
| access-date = March 9, 2024
| archive-date = May 5, 2021
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210505115421/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/us-climate-normals/#dataset=normals-monthly&timeframe=30&location=CA&station=USC00042147
| url-status = live
}}</ref>
| source 2 = National Weather Service Forecast Office Eureka, California (records, precipitation days, snowfall 1991–2020)<ref name= NOWclimate >{{cite web
| url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=eka
| title = Crescent City 3, California
| publisher = NOWData – NOAA Online Weather Data
| access-date = March 9, 2024
| archive-date = March 4, 2024
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240304133319/https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=eka
| url-status = live
}}</ref>
| source =
}}

===Fire===
{{main|Controlled burn|Cultural burning|Native American use of fire in ecosystems|Wildfire|Wildfire suppression}}
The ] (CAL FIRE) is responsible for fire management in the redwoods state parks, and NPS manages fire in the national park.<ref name="prescribed">{{cite web |title=Redwood National and State Parks Fire Management Plan 2010 |publisher=] |url=https://parkplanning.nps.gov/showFile.cfm?projectID=27448&MIMEType=application%252Fpdf&filename=REDW%202010%20FMP%20and%20Appendices%20A%5FL%2Epdf&sfid=83698 |format=pdf |access-date=March 21, 2023 |archive-date=March 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321171750/https://parkplanning.nps.gov/showFile.cfm?projectID=27448&MIMEType=application%252Fpdf&filename=REDW%202010%20FMP%20and%20Appendices%20A_L.pdf&sfid=83698 |url-status=live }}</ref>
]
Because coast redwood bark—in places up to a foot thick—has no ], the trees are resistant to fire and will regrow after burning.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=8}} The redwood forest is foggy, humid, not generally susceptible to fire, and lightning strikes among redwoods are rare, meaning that most fires are anthropogenic. A 2003 fire was an exception; a lightning storm started fires in least 274 California locations, including the Canoe Fire in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, which burned from September through October.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|pp=162–163}} By about 11 percent, old-growth coast redwoods have the greatest volume of fuels of any forest type.{{sfn|Norman|Varner|Arguello|Underwood|2009|p=9}}

After they arrived {{circa|1300}}{{sfn|Norman|2007|p=16}} and until white settlers invaded their lands in the 1850s,{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=158}} the Tolowa people intentionally set low-intensity ]s.{{efn|Norman et al. set out in 2009 to correct the record by improving measurements by sampling at {{convert|10|to|30|cm|in}} of tree height. Earlier studies were conflicting and found fires ranging from rare to frequent; studies finding rare fires were typically measured at {{convert|150|to|250|cm|in}}). Analysis of the new samples found 1- to 5-year frequency only around park open grasslands known as prairies and not in Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. Direct comparisons cannot be made, but researchers found frequency of at least 6 to 10 years (more than 5 years) for other areas near the parks.{{sfn|Norman|Varner|Arguello|Underwood|2009|pp=4, 9, 22–23}}}} Indigenous residents, including the Karuk and Tolowa, used fire to protect ] trees and their ]s, a primary food supply.{{sfn|Lewis|1973|pp=14, 50–53, 69}}{{sfn|Halpern et al.|2022}} Their fires improved their hunting grounds, reduced pests, and decreased the likelihood of larger fires.{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=158}} There is evidence that medium-intensity ] was set regularly in the area,{{sfn|Brown|Baxter|2003|p=147}} but today, after decades of fire suppression and resulting increased fuel density, maximum-intensity ] has taken the place of surface fires when fire occurs.{{sfn|Brown|Baxter|2003|p=155}} Near the tree's crown, coast redwood bark may be less than one inch thick.{{sfn|Fritz|1932|p=8}}

Since its founding in 1905, and especially with its policies of the 1930s, the ] (USFS) has for the most part defended both human settlements and timber companies against fire using ] techniques intended to ''eliminate'' fire.<ref name=FHSsuppression>{{cite web|title=U.S. Forest Service Fire Suppression|url=https://foresthistory.org/research-explore/us-forest-service-history/policy-and-law/fire-u-s-forest-service/u-s-forest-service-fire-suppression/|access-date=December 13, 2023|publisher=]|archive-date=March 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326125741/https://foresthistory.org/research-explore/us-forest-service-history/policy-and-law/fire-u-s-forest-service/u-s-forest-service-fire-suppression/|url-status=live}}</ref> Repealed in 1937, the 1850 California ]<ref>{{cite web|title=Laws of the State of California: An Act For The Government and Protection of Indians|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/2001696098/|publisher=]|date=1850|access-date=January 3, 2024|lccn=2001696098|archive-date=January 3, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103152258/https://www.loc.gov/item/2001696098/|url-status=live}}</ref>—for which the state apologized in 2019<ref>{{cite web|date=June 18, 2019|title=Governor Newsom Issues Apology to Native Americans for State's Historical Wrongdoings, Establishes Truth and Healing Council|url=https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/06/18/governor-newsom-issues-apology-to-native-americans-for-states-historical-wrongdoings-establishes-truth-and-healing-council/|access-date=January 3, 2024|publisher=]|archive-date=February 7, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240207073202/https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/06/18/governor-newsom-issues-apology-to-native-americans-for-states-historical-wrongdoings-establishes-truth-and-healing-council/|url-status=live}}</ref>—provided that "Any person was subject to fine or punishment if they set the prairie on fire, or refused to use proper exertions to extinguish the fire."<ref>{{cite web|title=Early California Laws and Policies Related to California Indians|last=Johnston-Dodds|first=Kimberly|date=September 2002|access-date=January 3, 2024|publisher=California Research Bureau, California State Library|url=https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/IB.pdf|via=California Courts|pages=5, 29|archive-date=January 3, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103150412/https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/IB.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Recognizing that fire has benefits, the service began in the 1970s to change policy to allow fire to burn.<ref name=FHSsuppression /> More recently in the 2000s, USFS embraced indigenous fire management when USFS researcher Steve Norman advocated "a modified Native American burning model".{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=165}}

In 2020, the Karuk tribe formed the Endowment for Eco-Cultural Revitalization<ref>{{cite web|title=kúkuum yáv nukyâati peethívthaanee: We make the world good again|url=https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/bebd5ff6a9f748968790c31448f03a2e|access-date=January 9, 2024|publisher=Karuk Tribe Department of Natural Resources|date=February 21, 2020|via=]|archive-date=January 9, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109164620/https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/bebd5ff6a9f748968790c31448f03a2e|url-status=live}}</ref> to promote cultural burning<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/21507802/wildfire-2020-california-indigenous-native-american-indian-controlled-burn-fire|title=We must burn the West to save it|last=Irfan|first=Umair|date=July 13, 2021|access-date=January 9, 2024|work=]|publisher=]|archive-date=January 4, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104142713/https://www.vox.com/21507802/wildfire-2020-california-indigenous-native-american-indian-controlled-burn-fire|url-status=live}}</ref> in their homeland in the park region.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 12, 2022 |title=Then And Now – Ocean Bounty |url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/historyculture/thenandnow4.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109174817/https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/historyculture/thenandnow4.htm |archive-date=January 9, 2024 |access-date=January 9, 2024 |publisher=]}}</ref> Operating with a new perspective, park managers conduct controlled fires in the grassland areas of the parks—to control invasive species,{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=161}} hold back the spread of Douglas fir,{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=165}} and increase the availability of materials needed by local tribes for ].{{sfn|Jenner|2016|p=161}}


==Recreation== ==Recreation==
The parks have five visitor centers, where general information, maps, and souvenirs are available; some of the centers offer activities during the summer, led by park rangers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/visitorcenters.htm |title=Visitor Centers |publisher=] |access-date=March 10, 2023 |archive-date=March 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313222932/https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/visitorcenters.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> There is no entry fee for the RNSP, though some camping areas and park areas require paid passes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/fees.htm|title=Fees & Passes|publisher=]|access-date=March 10, 2023|archive-date=March 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313081147/https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/fees.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
Other than the DeMartin Redwood Youth Hostel, a low-amenities shared lodging facility, there are no ]s or ]s within the parks. Nearby towns such as ] and Crescent City have accommodation facilities. The park is 340&nbsp;miles (550&nbsp;km) north of ], and 330&nbsp;miles (530&nbsp;km) south of ], and ] passes through it from north to south. The ], part of the ], is adjacent to the north end of RNSP.


Since the 2019 closure of the DeMartin Redwood Youth Hostel, a low-amenities shared lodging facility near ], California,<ref name="nps.gov/redw">{{cite press release|title=Former Hostel Building To Be Removed|url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/news/removehostel.htm|publisher=]|date=September 24, 2019|access-date=January 14, 2024|archive-date=October 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028042531/https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/news/removehostel.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> there are no hotels or motels within the parks' boundaries. About {{convert|325|mi|km}} north of ], the parks are accessible by air, automobile, and public transit.<ref>{{cite web|title=Directions|url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/directions.htm|access-date=January 17, 2024|date=January 7, 2023|publisher=]|archive-date=June 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604213405/https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/directions.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> NPS itself offers no lodging but for accommodations, links to each town from north to south along US 101: ], and in California, ], Klamath, ], ], ], ], ], ], and the counties of ] and ].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lodging and Camping|url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/lodging.htm|date=April 11, 2022|access-date=January 17, 2024|publisher=]|archive-date=September 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928023137/https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/lodging.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
While the state parks have front country campsites that can be driven to, the federal sections of the park do not, and hiking is the only way of reaching back country campsites. These are at Mill Creek campground in Del Norte Redwoods State Park and Jedediah Smith campground in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, which have together have 251 campsites, the Elk Prairie campground in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park which has 75, and the Gold Bluffs Beach campground which has 25 campsites. Other nearby state parks have additional front country camping.<ref>National Park Service, , ''Redwood National and State Parks'', URL retrieved ], ]</ref> Back country camping is by permit only and is only allowed in designated sites, except on gravel bars along Redwood Creek. ]]] The back country is highly regulated to prevent overuse and to permit as many groups as possible to explore the forest. Camping in the back country is therefore limited to five consecutive nights, and 15 nights in any one year. Proper food storage to minimize encounters with bears is strongly enforced,<ref>Redwood National and State Parks, , URL retrieved ], ]</ref> and hikers and backpackers are required to take out any trash they generate.


The state parks have four frontcountry campgrounds which can be accessed by vehicle and used for a fee; the parks' website suggests making a reservation. These are at Mill Creek campground in Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park and Jedediah Smith campground in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, which together have 231 campsites; the Elk Prairie campground in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, which has 75; and the Gold Bluffs Beach campground which has 26. Other nearby parks and recreation areas have additional camping options.<ref name="camping">{{cite web |title=Campgrounds |publisher=] |date=December 8, 2022 |url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/developedcampgrounds.htm |access-date=March 10, 2023 |archive-date=March 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311044816/https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/developedcampgrounds.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
Almost 200&nbsp;miles (320&nbsp;km) of hiking trails exist in the parks, but during the rainy season some temporary footbridges are removed, as they would be destroyed by high streams. Throughout the year, trails are often wet and hikers need to be well prepared for rainy weather and consult information centers for updates on trail conditions.


] entering Redwood National Park]]
] riding and ] are popular but are only allowed on certain trails. ]ing is popular along the seacoast and in the various rivers and streams. Kayakers and canoeists frequently travel the ], which is the longest un]med river remaining in California. ] for ] and ], (a highly prized ] over 16&nbsp;inches (40&nbsp;cm) long), is best in the Smith and ]. A California sport fishing license is required to fish any of the rivers and streams. Hunting is not permitted anywhere in the parks, but is allowed in nearby ]s.


Hiking is the only way to reach the seven backcountry camping areas, the use of which requires a permit. Camping is only allowed in designated sites, except on gravel bars along Redwood Creek that allow for dispersed camping. Proper food storage to minimize encounters with bears is strongly enforced, and hikers and backpackers are required to take out any trash they generate.<ref name="backcountry">{{cite web |title=Backcountry: Designated Campsites |publisher=] |date=October 30, 2021 |url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/backcountry-campsites.htm |access-date=March 12, 2023 |archive-date=March 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312051638/https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/backcountry-campsites.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The NPS subscribes to the seven principles of ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/leave-no-trace-seven-principles.htm|title=Leave No Trace Seven Principles|access-date=January 17, 2024|publisher=]|archive-date=March 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318090644/https://www.nps.gov/articles/leave-no-trace-seven-principles.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
The park has two visitor centers and three additional information points. At the visitor centers, guided nature walks and general information is available. Each campground offers campfire talks during the summer months as well as guided tours. The parks have many ] areas, which are all easily accessed by vehicle.

Almost {{convert|200|mi|km}} of hiking trails exist in the parks. Throughout the year, trails are often wet and hikers need to be well prepared for rainy weather and consult information centers for updates on trail conditions. Some temporary footbridges are removed during the rainy season, as they would be destroyed by high streams.<ref name="backcountry" />

Horseback riding and ] are allowed on certain trails.<ref>{{cite web |title=Outdoor Activities |publisher=] |date=October 22, 2021 |url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/outdooractivities.htm |access-date=March 15, 2023 |archive-date=March 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315144312/https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/outdooractivities.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> ] is permitted, with ranger-led kayak tours offered during the summer.<ref name=Kayak /> Kayakers and canoeists frequently travel the Smith River,<ref>{{cite web |title=Jedediah Smith Redwoods Day Use Area |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/jedsmithdayuse.htm |website=] |access-date=March 18, 2023 |date=January 28, 2021 |archive-date=March 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318160743/https://www.nps.gov/places/jedsmithdayuse.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> which is the longest undammed river remaining in California.<ref name=Kayak>{{cite web |title=Kayaking |publisher=] |date=November 24, 2017 |url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/kayaking.htm |access-date=March 18, 2023 |archive-date=March 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318160416/https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/kayaking.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Visitors can fish for ] and ] in the Smith and Klamath rivers, and the beach areas offer opportunities to catch ] and ]. A California sport fishing license is required to fish any of the rivers and streams.<ref name="fishing">{{cite web |title=Fishing |publisher=] |date=September 30, 2020 |url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/fish.htm |access-date=March 18, 2023 |archive-date=March 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318163433/https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/fish.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

== See also ==
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}


==References== ==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
{{Commons|Category:Redwood National Park|Redwood National Park}}
===Cited references===
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>


===General references=== ===Works cited===
====Books====
<div class="references-small">
{{refbegin|30em}}
*{{cite web
*{{cite book|last=Bearss|first=Edwin C.|author-link=Ed Bearss|title=Redwood National Park: History Basic Data|publisher=]|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/redw/index.htm|access-date=October 27, 2023|orig-date=First published September 1, 1969|date=March 1982|oclc=22209484|archive-date=January 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120054139/https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/redw/index.htm|url-status=live}}
| author=National Park Service
* {{cite book|title=Silvics of North America|volume=1. Conifers|date=1990|others=Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H., (tech. coords)|series=Agriculture Handbook 654|location=Southern Research Station|publisher=]: ]|url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/1547|first1=David F. Jr.|last1=Olson|first2=Douglass F.|last2=Roy|first3=Gerald A.|last3=Walters|chapter=Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl.|pages=541–551|access-date=October 26, 2023|archive-date=October 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020115500/https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/1547|url-status=live}}
| title=Redwood National and State Parks
* {{cite book|title=The Role of Fire in the Redwood Region|last=Fritz|first=Emanuel|author-link=Emanuel Fritz|date=1932|publisher=University of California, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station|volume=C323|url=https://archive.org/details/roleoffireinredw323frit/mode/2up|via=]}}
| work=
* {{cite book|title=The Four Ages of Tsurai: A Documentary History of the Indian Village on Trinidad Bay|last1=Heizer|first1=Robert F.|author1-link=Robert Heizer|last2=Mills|first2=John E.|date=2022|orig-date=1952|publisher=]|isbn=978-0-520-34688-8}}
| url=http://www.nps.gov/redw/
*{{Cite book|title=Historic Redwood National and State Parks|last=Jenner|first=Gail|publisher=]|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4930-1809-3}}
| accessdate=2006}}
* {{cite book|title=Patterns of Indian Burning in California: Ecology and Ethnohistory|last1=Lewis|first1=Henry T.|editor-last=Bean|editor-first=Lowell John|publisher=Ballena Press|date=1973|url=https://archive.org/details/patternsofindian00henr/page/n277/|oclc=123142146}}
*{{cite web
* {{cite book|title=Beyond the Golden Gate: A Maritime History of California|last=Lynch|first=Timothy G.|date=May 2012|url=https://archive.org/details/BeyondTheGoldenGateAMaritimeHistoryOfCaliforniaTheSanFrancisco|via=]|publisher=]|oclc=810344025}}
| author=Redwood National and State Parks
*{{cite book |last1=Nabokov |first1=Peter |first2=Robert|last2=Easton |title=Native American Architecture |publisher=] |date=October 25, 1990 |isbn=978-0-19-506665-4}}
| title=Visitor Guide
* {{cite book | title=Redwood: A Guide to Redwood National and State Parks, California | publisher=Interior Dept., National Park Service, Division of Publications | year=1997 | isbn=978-0-912627-61-8 | url=https://archive.org/details/redwood98nati | via=] | ref={{harvid|NPS|1997}} }}
| work=
** {{harvc |in=NPS |year=1997 |last=Crapsey |first=Maliney |c=Disturbances—And Restoration |pp=49–69}}
| url=http://www.nps.gov/applications/parks/redw/ppdocuments/Visitor%20Guide_05.pdf
*{{cite book|title=The Fight to Save the Redwoods: A History of the Environmental Reform, 1917–1978|last=Schrepfer|first=Susan R.|author-link=Susan Schrepfer|publisher=]|date=1983|isbn=0-299-08850-2}}
| accessdate=2006}} (PDF file)
*{{cite book|title=]|publisher=]|date=November 18, 1993|last=Stannard|first=David E.|author-link=David Stannard|isbn =978-0-19-983890-5}}
*{{cite book
{{refend}}
| first=National Park Service
| last=
| coauthors=
| title=Redwood: A Guide to Redwood National and State Parks, California
| publisher=Interior Dept., National Park Service, Division of Publications
| location=
| year=
| editor=
| id=ISBN 0-912627-61-1}}
</div>


====Journal articles====
{{National parks of the United States}}
{{refbegin|30em}}
*{{cite journal|url=https://ucanr.edu/sites/Mendocino/files/332654.pdf|last1=Brown|first1=Peter M.|last2=Baxter|first2=William T.|date=2003|volume=77|title=Fire History in Coast Redwood Forests of the Mendocino Coast, California|journal=Northwest Science|pages=147–158|via=University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources|access-date=December 13, 2023|archive-date=December 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213170144/https://ucanr.edu/sites/Mendocino/files/332654.pdf|url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Douhovnikoff|first1=Vladimir|first2=Richard S.|last2=Dodd|title=Lineage Divergence in Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), Detected by a New Set of Nuclear Microsatellite Loci|journal=]|volume=165|issue=1|date=January 2011|pages=22–37|doi=10.1674/0003-0031-165.1.22|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/40983393|jstor=40983393|s2cid=53327382|access-date=December 30, 2023|archive-date=December 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230185333/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40983393|url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Halpern |first1=Arielle A. |last2=Sousa |first2=Wayne P. |author-link2=Wayne Sousa |last3=Lake |first3=Frank K. |last4=Carlson |first4=Thomas J. |last5=Paddock |first5=Will |last6=Tripp |first6=Bill |title=Prescribed fire reduces insect infestation in Karuk and Yurok acorn resource systems |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |date=February 2022 |volume=505 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119768 |ref={{harvid|Halpern et al.|2022}}|doi-access=free }} Tripp is credited for contributions "on behalf of the Karuk Tribe".
* {{cite journal|journal=]|last=Ricca|first=Mark A.|date=January 2019|volume=83|issue=1|title=Book Review: ''Population Ecology of Roosevelt Elk: Conservation and Management in Redwood National and State Parks''|jstor=26609744|pages=243–244|doi=10.1002/jwmg.21599 |s2cid=92842943 }}
*{{cite journal|first1=Stephen C.|last1=Sillett|author1-link=Stephen C. Sillett|first2=Marie E.|last2=Antoine|first3=Jim|last3=Campbell-Spickler|first4=Allyson L.|last4=Carroll|first5=Ethan J.|last5=Coonen|first6=Russell D.|last6=Kramer|first7=Kalia H.|last7=Scarla|title=Manipulating tree crown structure to promote old-growth characteristics in second-growth redwood forest canopies|journal=]|volume=417|date=2018|pages=77–89|issn=0378-1127|doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2018.02.036|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112718301798}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Spickler|first1=James C.|last2=Sillett|first2=Stephen C.|author2-link=Stephen C. Sillett|last3=Marks|first3=Sharyn B.|last4=Welsh|first4=Hartwell H. Jr.|date=2006|title=Evidence of a new niche for a North American salamander: Aneides vagrans residing in the canopy of old-growth redwood forest|journal=]|volume=1|issue=1|pages=16–26|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26449214}}
* {{cite journal|author-link=Haunani-Kay Trask|last=Trask|first=Haunani-Kay|date=2004|jstor=29768270|journal=]|volume=31|issue=4|pages=8–16|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/29768270|title=The Color of Violence|access-date=January 22, 2024|archive-date=October 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026223931/https://www.jstor.org/stable/29768270|url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal|url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt7vf2z450/qt7vf2z450_noSplash_c89062e5df2bd7f1391aa0b6d7060866.pdf|last=Tushingham|first=Shannon|title=Archaeology, Ethnography, and Tolowa Heritage at Red Elderberry Place, ''Chʊn‑su'lh‑dʊn'', Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park|journal=Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology|volume=35|issue=1|date=2013|pages=i–172|access-date=January 24, 2024|archive-date=January 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124135023/https://escholarship.org/content/qt7vf2z450/qt7vf2z450_noSplash_c89062e5df2bd7f1391aa0b6d7060866.pdf|url-status=live}}
{{refend}}


====Technical reports====
{{refbegin|30em}}
*{{cite tech report|title=Geology of the Redwood Creek Basin, Humboldt County, California|last1=Cashman|first1=Susan M.|last2=Kelsey|first2=Harvey M.|last3=Harden|first3=Deborah R.|via=California Water Resources Control Board|publisher=]|date=1995|pages=B1–B13|url=https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/tmdl/records/region_1/2003/ref2065.pdf |series=Professional Paper 1454-B}}
*{{cite iucn |last1=Farjon|first1=Aljos|author-link1=Aljos Farjon|last2=Schmid|first2=Rudolf|date=2013 |title=''Sequoia sempervirens'' |volume=2013 |page=e.T34051A2841558 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T34051A2841558.en |access-date=October 26, 2023}}
* {{cite tech report|url=https://www.savetheredwoods.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf_norman.pdf|title=A 500-year record of fire from a humid coast redwood forest: A report to Save the Redwoods League|last=Norman|first=Steven P.|date=March 19, 2007|access-date=December 31, 2023|publisher=]}}
* {{cite tech report|title=Fire and fuels management in coast redwood forests|first1=Steven P.|last1=Norman|first2=J. Morgan|last2=Varner|first3=Leonel|last3=Arguello|first4=Stephen|last4=Underwood|first5= Bradley|last5=Graham|first6=Greg|last6=Jennings|first7=Yana|last7=Valachovic|first8=Christopher|last8=Lee|date=January 1, 2009|work=JFSP Research Project Reports|publisher=US Joint Fire Science Program|via=DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska—Lincoln|url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/jfspresearch/158/|access-date=January 8, 2024}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|Redwood National and State Parks|voy=Redwood National Park|wikt=no|b=no|n=no|q=no|s=no|v=no}}

* {{Official website|url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/index.htm}} of Redwood National Park
* {{Official website|url=https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=413}} of Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
* {{Official website|url=https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=425}} of Humboldt Redwoods State Park
* {{Official website|url=https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=415}} of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
* at Cal Poly Humboldt
* , at Forest History Society

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{{Protected areas of California|NPS}}
{{National parks of the United States}}
{{World Heritage Sites in the United States of America}} {{World Heritage Sites in the United States of America}}


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Latest revision as of 00:55, 5 January 2025

Group of national and state parks in California, United States

Redwood National and State Parks
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Refer to captionA forest of coast redwoods in fog
Map showing the location of Redwood National and State ParksMap showing the location of Redwood National and State ParksShow map of CaliforniaMap showing the location of Redwood National and State ParksMap showing the location of Redwood National and State ParksShow map of the United States
LocationHumboldt County & Del Norte County, California, US
Nearest cityCrescent City
Coordinates41°18′N 124°00′W / 41.3°N 124°W / 41.3; -124
Area139,091 acres (562.88 km)
EstablishedOctober 2, 1968
Visitors458,400 (in 2022)
Governing bodyNational Park Service and California Department of Parks and Recreation
Websitenps.gov/redw
UNESCO World Heritage Site
CriteriaNatural: (vii), (ix)
Reference134
Inscription1980 (4th Session)

The Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) are a complex of one United States national park and three California state parks located along the coast of northern California. The combined RNSP contain Redwood National Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. The parks' 139,000 acres (560 km) preserve 45 percent of all remaining old-growth coast redwood forests.

Located in Del Norte and Humboldt counties, the four parks protect the endangered coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)—the tallest, among the oldest, and one of the most massive tree species on Earth—which thrives in the humid temperate rainforest. The park region is highly seismically active and prone to tsunamis. The parks preserve 37 miles (60 km) of pristine coastline, indigenous flora, fauna, grassland prairie, cultural resources, waterways, as well as threatened animal species, such as the Chinook salmon, northern spotted owl, and Steller's sea lion.

Redwood forest originally covered more than two million acres (8,100 km) of the California coast, and the region of today's parks largely remained wild until after 1850. The gold rush and attendant timber business unleashed a torrent of European-American activity, pushing Native Americans aside and supplying lumber to the West Coast. Decades of unrestricted clear-cut logging ensued, followed by ardent conservation efforts. In the 1920s, the Save the Redwoods League helped create Prairie Creek, Del Norte Coast, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Parks among others. After lobbying from the league and the Sierra Club, Congress created Redwood National Park in 1968 and expanded it in 1978. In 1994, the National Park Service (NPS) and the California Department of Parks and Recreation combined Redwood National Park with the three abutting Redwoods State Parks into a single administrative unit. Modern RNSP management seeks to both protect and restore the coast redwood forests to their condition before 1850, including by controlled burning.

In recognition of the rare ecosystem and cultural history found in the parks, the United Nations designated them a World Heritage Site in 1980. Local tribes declared an Indigenous Marine Stewardship Area in 2023, protecting the parks region, the coastline, and coastal waters. Park admission is free except for special permits, and visitors may camp, hike, bike, and ride horseback along about 200 miles (320 km) of park system trails.

History

Native Americans

A woman in a hard hat near wooden beams
A Tolowa woman working park maintenance in 1982

Modern-day Native American nations such as the Yurok, Tolowa, Karuk, Chilula, and Wiyot have historical ties to the region, which has had various indigenous occupants for millennia. Describing "a diversity in an area that size that has probably has never been equaled anywhere else in the world", historian David Stannard accounts for more than thirty native nations that lived in northwestern California. Scholar Gail L. Jenner estimates that "at least fifteen" tribal groups inhabited the coastline.

The Yurok, Chilula, and Tolowa were the most connected to the current parks' areas. Based on an 1852 census, anthropologist Alfred Kroeber estimated that the Yurok population in that year was around 2,500. Historian Ed Bearss described the Yurok as the most populous in the area, estimating that there were around 55 villages. Until the 1860s, the Chilula lived in the middle region of the Redwood Creek valley in close company with the redwood trees. They primarily settled along Redwood Creek between the coast and Minor Creek, California, and in summer they would range into and camp in the Bald Hills. The Tolowa were located near the Smith River, and on lands that are now part of Jedediah Smith State Park, an area which 21st century excavation found has been inhabited for at least 8,500 years.

Native Americans residing within the park areas relied on redwood trees as a construction material, and some featured the trees in their mythology, including the Chilula, who viewed the trees as gifts from a creator. The tribes harvested coast redwoods and processed them into planks, using them as building material for boats, houses, and small villages. To construct buildings, the planks would be erected side by side in a narrow trench, with the upper portions lashed with willow or hazel and held by notches cut into the supporting roof beams. Redwood boards were used to form a two- or three-pitch roof.

Weathered, gray redwood house with modestly pitched roof
Reconstructed Yurok plankhouse made of redwood boards

Arrival of European Americans

Historians believe that the first Europeans to visit land near what is now the parks were members of the Cabrillo expedition led by Bartolomé Ferrer. In 1543, Ferrer's ship made landfall at Cape Mendocino and may have reached waters off Oregon as far north as the 43rd parallel. Hubert Howe Bancroft disagreed, believing that Ferrer's ship did not travel so far north. Explorers including Francis Drake sailed past the foggy, rocky coast, but generally did not set anchor until 1775, when Bruno de Heceta and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra of Spain spent about ten days at the Yurok village of Tsurai south of the parks. George Vancouver and Francisco de Eliza followed in 1793. American fur trading ships under contract to Russians stopped at Tsurai during the early 19th century.

Prior to Jedediah Smith in 1828, no other explorer of European descent is known to have explored the interior of the Northern California coastal region. Smith and nineteen companions left San Jose, California, and explored what are now called the Trinity, Smith, and Klamath rivers, passing through coast redwood forests and trading with Native American groups. They reached the coast near Requa, parts of which are within the parks' boundaries.

The California Gold Rush of 1848 brought hundreds of thousands of Europeans and Americans to California, and the discovery of gold along the Trinity River in 1850 brought many of them to the region of the parks. This quickly led to conflicts wherein native peoples were displaced, raped, enslaved, and massacred. By 1895, only one third of the Yurok in one group of villages remained; by 1919, virtually all members of the Chilula tribe had either died or been assimilated into other tribes. The Tolowa—whose numbers Bearss estimates at "well under 1,000" by the 1850s—had a population of about 120 in 1910, having been nearly extinguished in massacres by settlers between 1853 and 1855.

Redwood logging followed gold mining, and most mining companies became lumber interests. Redwood has a straight grain, making planks easy to cut. Because redwood can defy the weather and does not warp, it became a valuable commodity. Jenner says a good team of two men could saw through a redwood tree at about a foot per hour with a crosscut saw, their preferred tool until after World War II. Because wheeled vehicles could not travel the landscape, teams of six or twelve oxen transported logs to logging roads. Rivers or railroads took them to the region's lumber mills. After the 1881 invention of the steam donkey and later its successor the bull donkey, the need to fell intervening trees so the donkeys could work spawned the practice called clearcutting. Caterpillar tractors began to compete with manual labor in the late 1920s.

State park preservation

Main articles: State park, Sierra Club, Sempervirens Fund, Save the Redwoods League, and National Park Service
Various coast redwood trees from a bottom perspective
The coast redwood is the tallest tree species on Earth.

After extensive logging, conservationists and concerned citizens began to seek ways to preserve remaining trees, which they saw being logged at an alarming rate. Stumbling blocks slowed conservation: objections and some innovations came from the logging industry, construction of the Redwood Highway brought roadside attractions and more visitors to the trees, Congress failed to act, and voracious demand for lumber came with the post-World War II construction boom.

Organizations formed to preserve the surviving trees: concerned about the sequoia of Yosemite, John Muir cofounded the Sierra Club in 1892. The Sempervirens Club was cofounded in 1900 by artist Andrew P. Hill who lobbied the media, and saw the oldest state park created along with the California state park system. In 1916, politician William Kent purchased land outright and helped to write the bill founding the National Park Service (NPS). In 1918, John Merriam and other members of the Boone and Crockett Club founded the Save the Redwoods League. The league bought land and donated funds for land purchases. Historian Susan Schrepfer writes that, in a sixty-year-long marathon, the Save the Redwoods League and the Sierra Club were racing the logging companies for the old trees.

At first, in 1919, with Congress showing interest but no appropriations, NPS director Stephen Mather formed the NPS system with private wealth—he and his wealthy friends purchased parkland with their own money. Balancing opponents and supporters, the Save the Redwoods League saw their compromise bill pass in 1923, allowing condemnation for park acquisition with state oversight. In 1925, the league backed a bill that would authorize a statewide survey by a landscape architect and permit land acquisition and condemnation for parks. In 1926, the league retained Frederick Law Olmsted to make that survey. The league added to their bill a proposed state constitutional amendment authorizing up to $6 million ($103 million in 2023) in bonds to equally match private donations for state land purchases. After sustaining a governor's veto in 1925, the league broadened its efforts to include the whole state, mounted a publicity campaign, and gained the support of the Los Angeles Times. A new governor signed the parks bill into law in 1927, a bond issue was approved in the 1928 election.

Refer to caption
A map of Redwood National and State Parks (2020)

In 1927, Olmsted's survey was complete and concluded that only three percent of the state's redwoods could be preserved. He recommended four redwood areas for parks, including three areas that became Prairie Creek Redwoods, Del Norte Coast Redwoods, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Parks. A fourth became Humboldt Redwoods State Park, by far the largest of the individual Redwoods State Parks, but not in the Redwood National and State Parks system. Now armed with matching funds after 1928, the league bought more land and added to these parks as conditions allowed.

National park

Main articles: National park and Land and Water Conservation Fund

The NPS proposed a redwoods national park in 1938. The Save the Redwoods League opposed it, highlighting a division between preservationists who preferred unembellished nature and a segment of the park service who wished to provide recreation and playgrounds for the public. Both the league and the Sierra Club wanted a redwoods national park by the 1960s, but the club and the league supported different locations. The club and the league were antagonists during the 1960s, often on opposite sides of national park arguments, until 1971 when the league backed a club position, and the late 1970s when the league became a club member.

The Sierra Club wanted the largest possible park and usually sought help from the federal government. More cautious, the Save the Redwoods League tended to accommodate industry and support the state of California. When the agency had no funds in 1963, the National Geographic Society funded an NPS survey of the redwoods. In 1964, NPS released its ideas for three different sized redwood national parks. In 1964, Congress passed the Land and Water Conservation Fund to allow federal funds to purchase parkland.

Describing a reason for the club's success, Willard Pratt of the Arcata lumber company wrote, "The Sierra Club demonstrated a basic political fact of life: Opposition to particular preservation proposals usually is local while support is national. If decision making can be placed at the national level, preservation usually can win".

Initially opposing the park in the 1960s, the Arcata, Georgia-Pacific, and Miller lumber businesses operated up to the boundaries being discussed. In 1965, five logging companies formally objected to any redwood national park. Schrepfer writes that the final bill divided the impact between the lumber companies, between California counties, and tried to appeal to both the league and the club. Schrepfer says that in large part, the bill was framed on the loggers' terms. After intense lobbying of Congress, the bill creating Redwood National Park was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1968.

The Save the Redwoods League donated parcels in 1974 and 1976. The club found the Olmsted plan of delicately choosing sites was the wrong approach to defend against tractor clearcutting. In 1977, the club said that only ridge-to-ridge land acquisition around a water channel could preserve a watershed and thus the trees. Amidst both local support of environmentalists and opposition from local loggers and logging companies, 48,000 acres (190 km) were added to Redwood National Park in an expansion signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1978. The purchase included lands that had already been logged, and the NPS was charged with restoring the land and reducing soil erosion. At hundreds of millions of dollars, it was the most expensive land purchase ever approved by Congress. By 1979, the league had preserved 150,000 acres (610 km), nearly twice the area that the federal government was able to save with park legislation.

Further recognition

See also: World Heritage Site, World Network of Biosphere Reserves, and Tribal sovereignty in the United States

The United Nations designated the Redwood National and State Parks a World Heritage Site in 1980. The evaluation committee noted cooperative management and ongoing research in the parks by Cal Poly Humboldt University and other partners. The parks are within the California Coast Ranges and their resources are considered irreplaceable. In 1983, the parks were designated an International Biosphere Reserve. In 2017, the US withdrew them along with more than a dozen other reserves from the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

In 2023, following the lead of First Nations in Canada and Aboriginal people in Australia, three federally recognized indigenous tribes—the Resighini Rancheria of the Yurok People, Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation, and Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria—announced that as sovereign governments they have protected the Yurok-Tolowa-Dee-ni' Indigenous Marine Stewardship Area. The effort protected 700 square miles (1,800 km) of territorial ocean waters and coastline reaching from Oregon to just south of Trinidad, California, and contributed to the California 30x30 plan to conserve 30 percent of the state's land and coastal water by 2030. The tribes invited cooperation with US agencies and other indigenous nations.

Park management

Redwood National Park is directly managed by the NPS from its office in Crescent City, California. The three state parks are overseen by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. The park management coordinates with tribal leaders, as the parks contain land and village sites belonging to groups including the Yurok and Tolowa. NPS manages about 1,400 acres (5.7 km) of federal park land and waters that lie within the Yurok Indian Reservation.

Redwood National Park management oversees many other details aside from the redwoods and organic species that reside within the park boundaries. They regulate areas that are off limits to motor vehicles, boats, drones, horses, pets and even bicycles. In addition, park management establishes limitations on camping, campfires, food storage and backcountry use, as well as necessary permits.

When it opened in 1969, Redwood National Park had six permanent employees. As of 2023, the combined RNSP had 96 permanent and 52 temporary staff members. Early park managers prioritized restoring existing structures, rehabilitating the watershed, and developing wildlife management plans. Until 1980, managers assumed that the three state parks, which are contained within the boundaries of the national park, would be donated to the NPS. The donation did not happen, and NPS and the state signed a memorandum of understanding in 1994 governing joint management, and agreeing to the name "Redwood National and State Parks". As of 2021, the combined RNSP had 1,185,000 annual visitors.

Natural resources

The Redwood National and State Parks conserve an area which contains the largest contiguous old-growth coast redwood forest as well as habitats for endangered species.

Coast redwood

The bottom of a big tree with a small trunk veering off
Sequoia sempervirens

Discovered in Redwood National Park in 2006 in an unpublished location, the tallest living tree is the coast redwood tree (Sequoia sempervirens) named Hyperion, at 380 feet (120 m). It is followed by Helios at 377 feet (115 m), and Icarus at 371 feet (113 m), both also in Redwood National Park. For many years thought to be the tallest, one specimen named simply "Tall Tree" in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park was measured at 367.8 feet (112.1 m). "So many people have stood on the base of the tree that the ground is hard packed", said Professor Stephen C. Sillett of Cal Poly Humboldt university in the 1990s. The top 10 feet (3.0 m) of the tree died in the 1970s and fell off in the 1990s. In 2022, after documenting damage caused by visitors to the tallest living tree, NPS announced a penalty for those who approach it of up to a $5,000 fine ($5,206 in 2023) and six months in jail, and it shows visitors instead to views of other trees.

Mature coast redwoods live an average of 500–700 years; a few are documented to be 2,000 years old. As of 1990, a stand in nearby Humboldt Redwoods State Park had the greatest biomass ever recorded. Redwood trees develop enormous limbs that accumulate deep organic soils from which new tree-sized redwood trunks emerge and in which plants called epiphytes can grow. Mats of epiphytic ferns well above ground are home to invertebrates, mollusks, earthworms, and salamanders.

Redwoods prefer sheltered slopes, and they thrive on moist flat ground along rivers below 1,000 feet (300 m) in elevation. Coastal fog provides about 40 percent of their annual water intake. Redwoods have existed along the coast of northern California for at least 20 million years and are related to tree species that existed 160 million years ago in the Jurassic era. About 96 percent of the world's old-growth coast redwood forest has been logged, and almost half (45 percent) of what remains is in the RNSP. The parks protect 38,982 acres (157.75 km) of old-growth forest, almost equally divided between federal and state management. The International Union for Conservation of Nature named the coast redwood an endangered species in 2011.

Other flora

Canyon with walls covered in ferns and a stream running down the center
Fern Canyon in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

Coast redwood tends to dominate in places it likes but often can be found together with also-fast-growing coast Douglas-fir trees. Closer to the ocean, red alder grow in place of the salt-water intolerant redwood. The tallest known Sitka spruce grows in the parks. Sitka spruce are plentiful along the coast, better adapted to salty air than other species. Other associated trees are the tanoak, Pacific madrone, bigleaf maple, and California laurel.

Huckleberry and snowberry are part of the forest understory. The California rhododendron and azalea are flowering shrubs common in the parks. Plants such as the sword fern and redwood sorrel are prolific.

In Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Fern Canyon is a well-known ravine 50 feet (15 m) deep, with walls completely covered in ferns—California maidenhair, deer fern, California polypody, licorice fern, and western swordfern. The ancestors of some of these ferns reach back 325 million years.

Fauna

A Northern spotted owl staring at the camera
The northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) is a threatened species known to exist in the parks.

Various ecosystems exist within the parks—seacoast, river, prairie, and densely forested zones—offering refuge to numerous rare and endangered species. About 66 species of land mammals have been documented, including the black bear, coyote, cougar, bobcat, beaver, river otter, and black-tailed deer. Roosevelt elk are the most readily observed of the large mammals in the park. Successful herds, brought back from the verge of extinction in the region, are now common in park areas. Different species of bats, such as the big brown bat, and other smaller mammals including minks, martens, red squirrels, northern flying squirrels, shrews, moles, brush rabbit, gophers, and raccoons live in the parks, although small mammals are infrequently seen.

Inhabiting or ranging into the park are 28 species that are federally recognized as endangered, threatened, or candidates for protection; about a third of that number can be regularly seen in the parks. The bald eagle, which usually nests near a water source, is listed as a state of California endangered species. The Chinook salmon—historically an essential food for indigenous residents—northern spotted owl, and Steller's sea lion are a few of the other animal species that are threatened. The tidewater goby is a federally listed endangered species that lives near the Pacific coastline that were extirpated from the parks in 1968 when shoreline alterations affected the water's salinity. The candlefish soon followed in the 1970s. Sea otters were extirpated in the parks at the turn of the 20th century but river otters remain. Also endangered, the marbled murrelet can nest high on redwood branches.

Along the coastline, California sea lions, Steller sea lions and harbor seals live near the shore and on seastacks, rocky outcroppings forming small islands just off the coast. Dolphins and Pacific gray whales are occasionally seen offshore. Brown pelicans and three species of cormorants are mainly found on cliffs along the coast and on seastacks, while sandpipers and three species of gulls inhabit the seacoast and inland areas. Inland, freshwater-dependent birds such as the common merganser, osprey, red-tailed hawk, herons, and jays are a few of the bird species that have been documented. Approximately 280 bird species, or about one third of those found in the US, have been documented within park boundaries.

Reptiles like four species of sea turtle can be found offshore and sometimes on beaches. Amphibians can be found in the parks, which the gopher snake, tailed frog, clouded salamander, and three species of newts call home. Well-known detritivores, the banana slug and the yellow-spotted millipede, inhabit the parks.

Invasive species

Over 200 exotic species live in the RNSP. Of these, 30 have been identified as invasive species, and 10 of the 30 are considered threats to local species and ecosystems. Exotic species currently account for about a quarter of the total flora in the parks. Growing in varying amounts over the parks' different vegetation areas, about one percent of plants in old-growth areas are exotic species, compared to 50 to 75 percent in the Bald Hills prairies. Spotted knapweed and poison hemlock were both under consideration in 2015 for addition to a high-priority watch list maintained by the park system.

Geography

Coastal waters with various rocky masses protruding
Coastline area

The parks are located in the most seismically active area in the country. Frequent minor earthquakes in the park and offshore under the Pacific Ocean have resulted in shifting river channels, landslides, and erosion of seaside cliffs. The North American, Pacific, and Gorda Plates are tectonic plates that all meet at the Mendocino triple junction, about 100 miles (160 km) southwest of the parks. During the 1990s, more than nine magnitude 6.0 earthquakes occurred along this fault zone. More recently, a 6.4 magnitude quake in 2022 with a hypocenter off the coast caused two deaths. Visitors' centers closed but the parks remained open. The area is the most tsunami-prone in the continental US, and visitors to the seacoast are told to seek higher ground immediately after any significant earthquake. The parks' altitude ranges from below sea level up to 837 meters (2,746 ft) at Rodgers Peak.

Both coastline and the mountains of the California Coast Ranges can be found within park boundaries. The majority of the rocks in the parks are part of the Franciscan assemblage. Assemblage metamorphic and sedimentary rocks of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, along with marine and alluvial sedimentary deposits of the Tertiary and Quaternary periods, are underneath the Redwood Creek basin. These sedimentary rocks are primarily sandstone, siltstone, and shale, with lesser amounts of chert, greenstone, and metamorphic rocks.

Climate

The Redwood National and State Parks have a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb). They receive abundant rain during most of the year, with a peak in winter, a decrease in June and September, and two dry summer months (July and August).

Trees in a forest obscured by fog
Fog is persistent during the summer.

The parks are part of a temperate rainforest that runs along the western United States coast. The nearby Pacific Ocean has major effects on the climate in the parks. Temperatures near the coast mostly remain between 40 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit (4–15 °C) all year. Redwoods tend to grow in this area of steadily temperate climate, though most grow at least a mile or two (1.5–3 km) from the coast to avoid the saltier air, and they never grow more than 50 miles (80 km) from it. In this humid coastal zone, the trees receive moisture from both heavy winter rains and persistent summer fog. The presence and consistency of the summer fog is actually more important to overall health of the trees than the precipitation. This fact is borne out in precipitation totals of around 71 inches (180 cm) annually, with healthy redwood forests throughout the areas of less precipitation because excessive needs for water are mitigated by the ever-present summer fog and the cooler temperatures it ensures. The rare snow falls mostly on the hills and mountains in and adjacent to the park.

Parts of the parks are threatened by climate change. Increasing average temperatures have led to reduced water quality, affecting the fish and other fauna, and rising sea levels threaten to damage park structures near the coast. The redwoods benefit from higher carbon levels and are resilient against temperature changes. Scientists fear climate change is likely to shift the range in which coast redwoods live to outside protected areas, and many have done research on assisted migration.

Climate data for Crescent City 3 NNW, CA (Eureka, California Office)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 72
(22)
77
(25)
75
(24)
77
(25)
86
(30)
85
(29)
81
(27)
80
(27)
87
(31)
93
(34)
74
(23)
68
(20)
93
(34)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 54.3
(12.4)
55.2
(12.9)
56.1
(13.4)
57.9
(14.4)
60.8
(16.0)
63.1
(17.3)
65.4
(18.6)
66.1
(18.9)
65.9
(18.8)
62.1
(16.7)
56.6
(13.7)
53.1
(11.7)
59.7
(15.4)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 40.0
(4.4)
40.2
(4.6)
41.1
(5.1)
43.2
(6.2)
45.7
(7.6)
48.1
(8.9)
51.1
(10.6)
51.6
(10.9)
48.4
(9.1)
45.5
(7.5)
41.6
(5.3)
39.2
(4.0)
44.6
(7.0)
Record low °F (°C) 24
(−4)
25
(−4)
28
(−2)
30
(−1)
32
(0)
32
(0)
36
(2)
40
(4)
37
(3)
29
(−2)
27
(−3)
20
(−7)
20
(−7)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 11.51
(292)
8.96
(228)
9.84
(250)
6.76
(172)
3.23
(82)
1.78
(45)
0.19
(4.8)
0.42
(11)
1.26
(32)
4.67
(119)
9.46
(240)
13.37
(340)
71.45
(1,815)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0
(0)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 16 15 17 13 8 6 2 3 4 9 16 17 132
Source 1: NOAA (normals, 1991–2020)
Source 2: National Weather Service Forecast Office Eureka, California (records, precipitation days, snowfall 1991–2020)

Fire

Main articles: Controlled burn, Cultural burning, Native American use of fire in ecosystems, Wildfire, and Wildfire suppression

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is responsible for fire management in the redwoods state parks, and NPS manages fire in the national park.

A man lighting various small fires in a forest
Forest Service research ecologist with mixed tribal ancestry conducting a cultural burn for tanoak acorns in 2019

Because coast redwood bark—in places up to a foot thick—has no resin, the trees are resistant to fire and will regrow after burning. The redwood forest is foggy, humid, not generally susceptible to fire, and lightning strikes among redwoods are rare, meaning that most fires are anthropogenic. A 2003 fire was an exception; a lightning storm started fires in least 274 California locations, including the Canoe Fire in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, which burned from September through October. By about 11 percent, old-growth coast redwoods have the greatest volume of fuels of any forest type.

After they arrived c. 1300 and until white settlers invaded their lands in the 1850s, the Tolowa people intentionally set low-intensity ground fires. Indigenous residents, including the Karuk and Tolowa, used fire to protect tanoak trees and their acorns, a primary food supply. Their fires improved their hunting grounds, reduced pests, and decreased the likelihood of larger fires. There is evidence that medium-intensity surface fire was set regularly in the area, but today, after decades of fire suppression and resulting increased fuel density, maximum-intensity crown fire has taken the place of surface fires when fire occurs. Near the tree's crown, coast redwood bark may be less than one inch thick.

Since its founding in 1905, and especially with its policies of the 1930s, the US Forest Service (USFS) has for the most part defended both human settlements and timber companies against fire using wildfire suppression techniques intended to eliminate fire. Repealed in 1937, the 1850 California Act for the Government and Protection of Indians—for which the state apologized in 2019—provided that "Any person was subject to fine or punishment if they set the prairie on fire, or refused to use proper exertions to extinguish the fire." Recognizing that fire has benefits, the service began in the 1970s to change policy to allow fire to burn. More recently in the 2000s, USFS embraced indigenous fire management when USFS researcher Steve Norman advocated "a modified Native American burning model".

In 2020, the Karuk tribe formed the Endowment for Eco-Cultural Revitalization to promote cultural burning in their homeland in the park region. Operating with a new perspective, park managers conduct controlled fires in the grassland areas of the parks—to control invasive species, hold back the spread of Douglas fir, and increase the availability of materials needed by local tribes for basket weaving.

Recreation

The parks have five visitor centers, where general information, maps, and souvenirs are available; some of the centers offer activities during the summer, led by park rangers. There is no entry fee for the RNSP, though some camping areas and park areas require paid passes.

Since the 2019 closure of the DeMartin Redwood Youth Hostel, a low-amenities shared lodging facility near Klamath, California, there are no hotels or motels within the parks' boundaries. About 325 miles (523 km) north of San Francisco, the parks are accessible by air, automobile, and public transit. NPS itself offers no lodging but for accommodations, links to each town from north to south along US 101: Brookings, Oregon, and in California, Crescent City, Klamath, Orick, Trinidad, McKinleyville, Arcata, Eureka, Ferndale, and the counties of Del Norte and Humboldt.

The state parks have four frontcountry campgrounds which can be accessed by vehicle and used for a fee; the parks' website suggests making a reservation. These are at Mill Creek campground in Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park and Jedediah Smith campground in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, which together have 231 campsites; the Elk Prairie campground in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, which has 75; and the Gold Bluffs Beach campground which has 26. Other nearby parks and recreation areas have additional camping options.

Line of horses with riders in front of forest
Horseback riders entering Redwood National Park

Hiking is the only way to reach the seven backcountry camping areas, the use of which requires a permit. Camping is only allowed in designated sites, except on gravel bars along Redwood Creek that allow for dispersed camping. Proper food storage to minimize encounters with bears is strongly enforced, and hikers and backpackers are required to take out any trash they generate. The NPS subscribes to the seven principles of Leave No Trace.

Almost 200 miles (320 km) of hiking trails exist in the parks. Throughout the year, trails are often wet and hikers need to be well prepared for rainy weather and consult information centers for updates on trail conditions. Some temporary footbridges are removed during the rainy season, as they would be destroyed by high streams.

Horseback riding and mountain biking are allowed on certain trails. Kayaking is permitted, with ranger-led kayak tours offered during the summer. Kayakers and canoeists frequently travel the Smith River, which is the longest undammed river remaining in California. Visitors can fish for salmon and trout in the Smith and Klamath rivers, and the beach areas offer opportunities to catch smelt and perch. A California sport fishing license is required to fish any of the rivers and streams.

See also

Notes

  1. Two highlights in the long battle:
    Pacific Lumber (PL) introduced "selective cutting" and "sustained yield", policies that fell to a hostile takeover in 1985. PL declared bankruptcy in 2007. Today PL is Mendocino Redwood Company, which restored management favorable to preservation.
    • Logging workers united in 1977. A 25-truck convoy featuring logging equipment crossed the country to deliver President Jimmy Carter a nine-ton peanut carved from old-growth redwood. The president refused the gift, and the Orick Peanut was returned to Orick, a logging town adjacent to the newly expanded park that saw substantial economic decline in the following decades.
  2. In 1911, US Representative John E. Raker of California introduced legislation for the creation of a redwood national park, but Congress took no action.
  3. According to the parks' official website: "It was the post World War II housing and economic boom caused the majority of old-growth redwoods to be clear cut. In just a few decades, hundreds of thousands of acres of old-growth redwoods on private lands were logged. By the 1960s, industrial logging had removed almost ninety percent of all the original redwoods."
  4. Guinness World Records says "its precise location is kept a closely guarded secret to try and protect it."
  5. See temperature and precipitation data in the table below and the Köppen-Geiger criteria.
  6. Studies on assisted migration were conducted by groups including the USFS, the Save the Redwoods League, and the Canadian government.
  7. Norman et al. set out in 2009 to correct the record by improving measurements by sampling at 10 to 30 centimetres (3.9 to 11.8 in) of tree height. Earlier studies were conflicting and found fires ranging from rare to frequent; studies finding rare fires were typically measured at 150 to 250 centimetres (59 to 98 in)). Analysis of the new samples found 1- to 5-year frequency only around park open grasslands known as prairies and not in Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. Direct comparisons cannot be made, but researchers found frequency of at least 6 to 10 years (more than 5 years) for other areas near the parks.

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