The long-anticipated expansion of Monte Rio Redwoods Regional Park took a major step forward this week. The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved Regional Parks’ application for an $8 million state grant—key funding toward the $24 million needed to acquire 1,517 acres of forestland near Monte Rio. Save the Redwoods League plans to purchase the property, currently owned by Mendocino Redwood Co., and transfer it to Sonoma County Regional Parks by summer 2025. The acquisition will expand the current 515-acre park to more than 2,000 acres, connecting protected land from the Russian River to the Pacific Ocean. … The land includes young-growth redwoods, Douglas fir, oak woodlands, and essential watershed areas feeding the Russian River—habitat crucial for endangered coho salmon and steelhead trout.