Conserving Watershed Lands

The Stewardship Council's Land Conservation Program exists to ensure that over 140,000 acres of watershed lands throughout California are conserved for a broad range of beneficial public values. These values include:

• Outdoor recreation
• Sustainable forestry
• Agriculture
• Habitat protection
• Open space preservation
• Protection of cultural and historic resources

Located across 22 counties, the land encompasses some of California's most beautiful wilderness landscapes. The parcels, almost 1,000 in total, stretch from Shasta county in the north to Kern county in the south, from the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges to the Eel River watershed in Mendocino County and the Carrizo Plains in San Luis Obispo County. See our Status of Land Planning Effort page for information about our Land Conservation Plan, which will address the donation and stewardship of these lands.

Land Conservation Program Funding Policy

The Stewardship Council's has created a Land Conservation Program Funding Policy to help guide future planning and decision-making regarding funding of the long term management and stewardship of the watershed lands. The Stewardship Council's Board of Directors adopted the following policy at a public board meeting in Sonora, California on September 17, 2009.

  Land Conservation Program Funding Policy (81 kb)