San Vicente Redwoods facts for kids

San Vicente Redwoods is a huge natural area in Davenport, California. It covers about 8,500 acres (34 km²) of land. This makes it the largest privately owned piece of land in Santa Cruz County, California.

Since 2011, several groups have owned and managed this land together. These groups are part of the Living Landscape Initiative. They include the Peninsula Open Space Trust, the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, The Nature Conservancy, the Save the Redwoods League, and the Sempervirens Fund. They bought the land for $30 million from a company called Cemex. Foundations like Packard and Moore helped with the money. The park is named after San Vicente Creek, which flows through it. Another small part of the land is near Laguna Creek.

What San Vicente Redwoods Is Used For

Protecting Nature and Research

San Vicente Redwoods is a home for many wild animals. Some of these animals are in danger because their natural homes, like old-growth forests, are being destroyed.

Important animals living here include the California red-legged frog. This frog is a "threatened species," which means it could become endangered. The endangered Marbled murrelet bird also lives here. Two types of insects, the Mount Hermon June beetle and the Zayante band-winged grasshopper, are found only in this area.

Scientists also study mountain lions here. The Santa Cruz Puma Project uses the area to learn more about these big cats.

The creeks in the area, Laguna and San Vicente Creeks, provide drinking water. Laguna Creek gives water to Santa Cruz, and San Vicente Creek provides water for Davenport.

Fun Outdoor Activities

The land has more than 70 miles (110 km) of gravel roads. These roads were built by the previous owners. San Vicente Redwoods is next to other parks like Big Basin Redwoods State Park and the Fall Creek unit of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. These parks are managed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. It's also near the Coast Dairies land, which is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The Laguna part of San Vicente Redwoods is next to the Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve.

A plan for people to visit the park was shared in 2014. A new plan was approved in 2018. The park was expected to open to the public in 2019.

Careful Tree Harvesting

The new owners of the land plan to carefully harvest some trees. This is done in areas with "second-growth forest," which means trees that have grown back after being cut down before. The money from this tree harvesting will help pay for restoring the land and managing the areas used for recreation.

A plan for this tree harvesting was given to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in 2014. The plan says they will only cut a small number of trees. They will also use methods that do not harm the environment much. They will not cut down any old-growth forest.