Mailliard Redwoods State Natural Reserve was named for conservationist John Ward Mailliard Jr., who before his death in 1954 was an active member of the Save-the-Redwood League and whose surviving family owns property that surrounds the unit.

The purpose of Mailliard Redwoods State Natural Reserve, in Mendocino County, is to preserve and protect, in an essentially natural condition, the coast redwood forest and associated wildlife habitat which occurs along the Garcia River and adjacent watersheds.