Joint Effort Launched to Upgrade Redwood National and State Parks

This summer, members from local, state, and federal entities are working together to improve Redwood National and State Parks for visitors.

The Yurok Tribe, Department of Defense, staff from the Redwood National and State Parks, and trainees from the Air National Guard’s Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) Program are collaborating to restore multiple park facilities.

“We have a dual mission. And our mission is to preserve the parks that are created and provide for public enjoyment of them,” Patrick Taylor, interpretation and education program manager for Redwoods National and State Parks, told The Epoch Times.

“Revitalizing these sites across the parks is not only preserving a piece of our past, but also investing in the future of conservation,” Leonel Arguello, superintendent of Redwood National and State Parks, said in an announcement in June.

Work includes infrastructure on the Wolf Creek Education Center, rehabilitation of the Kuchel Visitor Center, and restoration of Redwoods Rising.

Every year, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve members complete a two-week training requirement to offer hands-on building experience.

Between June and August, about 250 members will be in the rotation. So far, they have completed preparing two of seven student cabins for the winter, adding electricity, heaters, windows, and lights. Outside, they laid out concrete to make paths wheelchair accessible.

“What this project is doing is really resolving a lot of those basic needs, so the kids can just focus on having fun and enjoying their parks, not worrying about whether their sleeping bag is warm enough, and things like that,” Taylor said.

They have also added accessible trails around the campus, installed lighting along trails, and helped restore 30,000 acres of forest. After the program, about 10 to 12 facilities would be improved.

“So imagine if the troops are deployed somewhere, and you have to quickly build an airfield for the Air Force to come land and have housing for their pilots and things like that. As part of that practice, each year, those units would be going somewhere in the country to do some sort of training program, and we were able to partner with them,” Taylor said.

Taylor added that this is the first time members of the Department of Defense have conducted their training at the Redwoods National and State Parks.

According to Taylor, a staff member for the Redwoods National and State Parks heard of the IRT Program, noticed a high skill match, and sent an application to request and invite the military to conduct their annual training at the national park this year.

“The groups that rotate through here, they’re literally from all over the country, so a lot of the people out doing the work, you know, it’s not that they’ve never been to the redwoods before. Many of them have never been to California before, the West Coast before, so it’s just a good experience for them to come work in a new environment,” he said.

The Yurok Tribe, experts in the landscape, oversees the project and provides materials needed to complete construction.

“Air Force Civil Engineers bring skilled craftsmen who work closely with our highly capable Yurok Tribe partners to mentor younger airmen and deliver lasting, high-quality results for the park and surrounding community,” Maj. Josef Kallevig, the officer in charge, said in the announcement.

The joint effort comes after the Great American Outdoor Act was passed in 2020, with a goal to invest in national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, recreation areas, and Tribal schools.

Up to $1.6 billion annually will go toward public lands and Tribal schools, and $900 million annually for the Land and Water Conservation Fund to preserve watersheds and wildlife ecosystems.