B. Whiteside. In response, White and the Club began a nationwide campaign, asking Congress acquire the land as a public park. Club vice president Mrs. A. D. Sharon met with U.S. President William McKinley. A joint resolution to purchase the property at its market value as timber, sponsored by California Senator George Clement Perkins and Representative Marion De Vries, was signed into law in March, 1900. However, Whiteside refused to sell the land at the offered price, preferring its higher valuation as parkland. A bill to acquire the property by condemnation was promoted by White's California Club, but was blocked by House leaders David B. Henderson and Joseph Gurney Cannon. White renewed her efforts to protect the "Big Trees" in 1904, presenting a petition with 1,400,000 signatures to President Theodore Roosevelt. After periods of patient lobbying, legislation was passed in February, 1909 authorizing the exchange of existing federal forest land for the Calaveras tract. However, Whiteside still refused to part with the property. It was not until long after White's death that Whiteside began to divest. The North Grove became the first unit of Calaveras Big Trees State Park in 1931. The South Grove gained protection in 1954, after John D. Rockefeller Jr. made a key donation. Also in 1954, a smaller portion of the property became Calaveras Big Tree National Forest under the terms of the 1909 act. White stepped down from her posts at the California Club and CFWC in 1902, and in 1903 she began a three-year term as president of the Sempervirens Club. In November, 1904, the California Club launched a campaign to protect a stand of coastal redwoods in Marin County, known as Redwood Canyon. It so happened a foreclosure placed the property under the control of White's husband Lovell and his San Francisco Savings Union bank. When William Kent approached Lovell White about purchasing the lands so that they would be preserved, White lowered his asking price and a deal was struck. In 1907, Kent went on to donate the forest to the federal government; in January, 1908, Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed it Muir Woods National Monument. White hosted a reception honoring Kent for his generosity. Working at the national level, White chaired the forestry committee of the General Federation of Women's Clubs from 1910 to 1912. Locally, in San Francisco, White and the California Club continued their efforts to improve living conditions for city