In this episode, Scott sits down with Steve Mietz, President & CEO of Save the Redwoods League, for an extraordinary conversation about Redwoods, Sequoias, wildfire, tribal stewardship, and the future of America’s greatest forests.
Steve traces his journey from Eagle Scout in New Jersey to environmental economist at Cornell, to a lifelong career across the National Park Service — including Grand Canyon, Great Basin, Point Reyes, Pearl Harbor, and Redwood National & State Parks. His path ultimately led him to one of the most ambitious restoration efforts in the United States: saving and rebuilding the Redwoods and Sequoias.
Together, Scott and Steve explore:
🌲 Why only 5% of old-growth Redwoods remain — and how we can create the next 5%
🔥 How fire suppression created a crisis, and how tribes & scientists are fixing it
🌊 Restoring buried creeks and watching salmon return within months
🤝 Partnerships with tribes to restore land, culture, and ecological balance
🏞️ Why Redwoods are Earth’s greatest carbon sink — even more than the Amazon
💡 Why hope, not despair, is the key to conservation
🌍 How protecting forests in California benefits people everywhere
Steve also shares inspiring stories about working with the Yurok Tribe to restore ancestral lands, the emotional return of elders to sites they hadn’t seen in 150 years, and how Redwoods “save us” as much as we save them.
This is one of the most powerful conversations we’ve ever had on Naturally Scott — a deep, hopeful look at what’s possible when science, tribes, communities, and passion all work together.
📚 Steve’s Book Recommendation:
A Sand County Almanac — Aldo Leopold
👇 Bonus content & updates live here:
https://naturallyscott.kit.com/5fd12c6752
