Redwood National and State Parks

The Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) are located in the United States, along the Pacific Ocean coast of northern California. With an area of 112,512 acres (45,500 ha), the parks protect 45% of the remaining groves of coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) trees, the tallest and one of the most massive tree species on Earth. In addition to the redwood forests, the parks preserve grassland prairie, cultural resources, and 37 miles (60 km) of pristine coastline.

In 1850, old growth redwood forest covered 2 million acres (810,000 ha) of the north California coast, an area which had been inhabited by Native Americans for 3,000 years, when a minor gold rush brought miners and loggers who began cutting down the trees. The efforts of the Save-the-Redwoods League, founded in 1918, to preserve three large redwood groves eventually resulted in the establishment of Prairie Creek, Del Norte Coast, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Parks. Redwood National Park was created in 1968, by which time nearly 90% of the original redwood trees had been logged. The National Park Service and the California Department of Parks and Recreation 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.

The ecosystem of the RNSP preserves a number of threatened animal species such as the brown pelican, tidewater goby, bald eagle, chinook salmon, northern-spotted owl, and Steller's sea lion. In recognition of the rare ecosystem and cultural history found in the parks, the United Nations designated them a World Heritage Site on September 5, 1980, and an International Biosphere Reserve on June 30, 1983.