California’s rich natural landscapes provide economic, environmental, cultural, and aesthetic value.
More than 50 million acres in California are protected. Performing ongoing stewardship of this land poses financial and management challenges. Meanwhile, over one-half of California’s land is privately owned. Sustaining natural systems relies on developing and demonstrating practices that private owners can apply to steward their land.
California has an opportunity to enhance its varied landscapes – from coastlines to agricultural valleys to forested mountains – for people and nature. The Foundation’s strategies focus on advancing land management and conservation systems to ensure the long-term vitality of California’s land resources.
Learn more: Strategy Snapshot (PDF)
STRATEGIES
Advancing Durable and Relevant Protected Lands
The Foundation invests in advancing the durability and relevance of California’s protected lands network to enhance local communities, preserve wildlife habitat, and provide recreational opportunities for all.
The Foundation wants to ensure that California is home to vibrant, sustainable, and valued State and National Parks, with partnerships that steward large landscapes across jurisdictional and sector boundaries.
Through its grantees, the Foundation is:
- Implementing the Parks Forward Commission’s recommendations for State Parks.
- Enhancing collaborations between National Parks and their nonprofit partners.
- Demonstrating opportunities for large-scale landscape stewardship.
Learn more: Staff Reflections (PDF)
Expanding Conservation Through New Tools and Innovations
The Foundation invests in aligning incentives and removing barriers to increase conservation on private and unprotected lands throughout California.
The Foundation wants California to have a strong field of conservation organizations that use innovative tools and approaches, especially to expand and enhance California’s migratory bird habitat and maximize benefits from habitat mitigation funds.
Through its grantees, the Foundation is:
- Supporting the development of innovative conservation tools, especially bird-friendly land management approaches.
- Identifying and demonstrating promising models for aligning incentives and removing barriers to conservation.
- Building the capacity of the California conservation field through investments in leadership development, organizational resiliency, and strategic partnerships and collaborations.
Learn more: Staff Reflections (PDF)
GRANTEE HIGHLIGHT
Conservation That Works
Sustainable Conservation partners with businesses, government agencies, and nonprofits to solve California’s environmental problems. Together, it works to find solutions that are based in science, are economically sustainable, and demonstrate real results.
Sustainable Conservation’s efforts make effective conservation “business as usual.” The organization’s Healthy Waterways for People and Wildlife initiative in particular accelerates the restoration of impaired rivers and lands to boost clean air, abundant water, and wildlife throughout the state.
