It relies on donations from private individuals as well as funding from foundations, corporations, government agencies, and investments to buy, restore, and provide public access to redwood forest lands.

[5] In addition to purchasing and protecting land, Save the Redwoods League supports restoration, research, and education programs, and gives small grants to other organizations involved in ecological conservation.

In 1917, National Park Service Director Stephen Mather asked conservationists John C. Merriam, Madison Grant, and Henry Fairfield Osborn to travel to northern California to investigate the status of the old-growth coast redwoods that were reportedly being logged in vast numbers for building materials.

It was in 1908 that the Humboldt County Federation of Women’s Clubs sent a children's petition with over 2,000 signatures to the U.S. Forest Service requesting that President Theodore Roosevelt establish a national redwood park.

In 1945, the League and the Garden Club of America raised money to create the 5,000-acre National Tribute Grove in that same park honoring World War II service members.

In 1948, dawn redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), thought to be extinct were discovered in China and the League funded scientist Ralph Chaney's trip to investigate.

In 2002, the League purchased the 25,000-acre Mill Creek Forest, its largest acquisition to date which became part of Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park.

[15] The League’s Vibrant Forests Plan attempts to provide a science-based conservation strategy for the remaining coast redwood and giant sequoia ecosystems.

[16] Conservation decisions made by the League are guided by the Vibrant Forests Plan's strategies, helping to set priorities for land acquisitions, stewardship, and restoration initiatives.

Some key threats include the amount of unprotected forests, number of trees with old-growth characteristics, level of human encroachment, and fire preparedness status.

[17] The League has an active scientific research program that seeks to expand the understanding of the coast redwood and giant sequoia forests and ecosystems of which they are a key component.

Their Research Grants Program provides funding to leading scientists studying redwood forest ecosystems, threatened and endangered species, and climate change impacts.

[26] In 1921, Boone and Crockett Club member Dr. John C. Phillips donated $32,000 to purchase land and create the Raynal Bolling Memorial Grove in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

[28] In 1931, Major Frederick Russell Burnham commissioned a survey near Bull Flat Creek in Humboldt County, a spot where League founder Madison Grant believed the world's tallest tree might be found.