Restoring Redwoods: A Forester on the Roles Humans Should Play in Repairing Iconic Ecosystems

Stepping into an old-growth redwood forest and taking in the immense size and deep history of its trees can be a humbling experience. Forester Ben Blom likens it to stepping into a time capsule — and not a recent one at that: Some redwoods can be thousands of years old.

Over the last century, there’s been a successful movement to protect such places and end myriad destructive acts such as unchecked logging and development. But protection, as Blom has discovered, isn’t always enough.

In “Restoring Redwoods,” Blom will share the expertise he’s built both as the Director of Stewardship and Restoration for Save the Redwoods League and as a former Bureau of Land Management (BLM) field manager who oversaw restoration and management operations across 300,000 acres of California’s public lands. Join us as he explores the key question: Once we protect forests, why can’t we just sit back and let nature heal itself?

Bio

Ben Blom is the Director of Stewardship and Restoration for Save the Redwoods League. In this role, Blom oversees the League’s portfolio of projects designed to rehabilitate California’s iconic coast redwood and giant sequoia forests. Blom also oversees the care and management of all League-owned lands, as well as the League’s conservation easements.

Prior to coming to the League in June 2022, Blom spent 12 years with the BLM, where he oversaw restoration and management operations in 10 central California counties. Blom is a graduate of the Yale School of the Environment, where he earned a Master of Forestry in 2010. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in neuroscience from Colgate University.