California nonprofit group Save the Redwoods League has named Steve Mietz as its next president and CEO. Mietz will replace Sam Hodder, who has held his role since 2014 and will complete his tenure on March 31.
Mietz has over two decades of experience in executive leadership and natural and cultural resource management roles across multiple national parks. Most recently, he served as the superintendent of Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) for almost eight years. The National Park Service named him Superintendent of the Year in 2022 for his work. Prior to that, he worked on Point Reyes National Seashore, Grand Canyon National Park, Pearl Harbor National Memorial and Great Basin National Park. He holds a master of science degree from the University of Montana and a bachelor of science degree from Cornell University.
“We are thrilled to have someone with Steve’s incredible track record of leadership, entrepreneurial vision and passionate commitment to the long-term conservation of redwoods as the League’s next leader,” said League Board of Directors Chair Sara Clark. “In addition to his deep expertise in redwood forest management and restoration, the League will benefit enormously from Steve’s extensive partner relationships with government agencies, tribal groups and redwood landowners.”
Mietz has a long record of developing new programs and partnerships, particularly with tribal groups, which have offered sustainable new models for public land management. He previously partnered with the League and California State Parks to lead Redwoods Rising, a public-private partnership that improved restoration work across 70,000 acres of logged redwoods parkland. He also worked with the League and the Yurok Tribe to create a visitor gateway to RNSP that the parks and Yurok Tribe will co-manage.
“The opportunity to join and lead the League — an organization that I have come to know and admire deeply as a close partner — is one of those rare moments in life when your personal and professional passions converge,” Mietz said of an organization that over the past century-plus has worked to protect more than 220,000 acres of redwood forests in Santa Cruz County and elsewhere. “Over the past decade, I have become an unapologetic champion for the redwoods. I am inspired to focus all my energy on healing the forest, its people and advancing the League’s second-century goals amid the unique challenges and opportunities of our times.”
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