An effort to save an ancient tract of forest in northern California is staring down an April 1 deadline. Save the Redwoods League (SRL), a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, is trying to raise $7.5 million to buy 426 acres of land that will otherwise be harvested. According to the organization's website, the land holds 123 acres of ancient and old redwood and Douglas-fir forest, which they say accounts for about 30 percent of remaining old forest in the area's Noyo River watershed.
As of February, SRL had raised 93 percent of the $3.5 million they are trying to round up from donors. They have asked for the remaining $4 million from public agencies. A $1 million gift came from the Nancy and Homer Hayward family. It was given in memory of Homer Hayward, a third-generation lumberman whose grandfather's company, Hayward Lumber, is now a leading provider of sustainable lumber.
SRL still needs to raise $274,000 by April 1. They plan to purchase the land and restore habitat on it.
