The Wildlands Conservancy

The Wildlands Conservancy is a nonprofit land trust founded in 1995 that has protected more than 2,300,000 acres (930,000 ha) of land through acquisition and transfer.^[3] It manages 24 nature preserves totaling over 200,000 acres (81,000 ha) in California, Oregon, and Utah. Its preserves are visited by over 1.5 million people annually and offer free outdoor education programs for more than 60,000 youth each year.^[3][1] The conservancy has also played a role in the creation of three national monuments, including through land acquisitions later transferred to public agencies and incorporated into protected areas.^[3]

In 1995, The Wildlands Conservancy was founded to acquire and protect extensive private inholdings within public lands designated under the California Desert Protection Act of 1994, and to provide public access to conserved landscapes.^[4]

From the late 1990s into the early 2000s, the conservancy carried out its California Desert Land Acquisition Project, acquiring large tracts of former railroad and utility lands in the Mojave Desert. More than 500,000 acres were transferred to public agencies, where the lands were incorporated into national parks, wilderness areas, and, later, national monuments.^[5][6][7]

After the desert acquisitions, the conservancy continued to acquire and manage additional preserves as opportunities arose. These acquisitions emphasized scenic landscapes, habitat connectivity, and public access, contributing to the gradual growth of a system of preserves.^[3]

Early in its history, the conservancy’s work expanded beyond land acquisition to include restoration work on its preserves, as well as free, staff-led outdoor education programs that later became a regular part of preserve operations.^[8]

By the 2000s and 2010s, the conservancy operated a growing system of preserves with increasing public use, with conservation, restoration, and education integrated into ongoing land management.^[3]

The Wildlands Conservancy owns and manages 24 nature preserves across three states, totaling over 200,000 acres. It has transferred more than 500,000 acres to public agencies.

The preserves span a wide range of landscapes, including coasts, mountains and valleys, deserts, rivers, and canyons.

• Oak Glen Preserve
• Whitewater Preserve
• Jenner Headlands Preserve
• Wind Wolves Preserve
• Seawood Cape Preserve
• Pioneertown Mountains Preserve
• Sounding Seas Dunes Reserve
• Santa Margarita River Trail Preserve

The Wildlands Conservancy’s preserves span 11 World Wildlife Fund (WWF) ecoregions in California, Oregon, and Utah.

The preserve system includes lands associated with several major western rivers, including the Eel River, Scott River, Russian River, John Day River, and Santa Margarita River.

Four Wildlands Conservancy preserves are located in regions designated as Important Bird Areas by the Audubon. These include Wind Wolves Preserve within the San Emigdio Mountains IBA, Santa Margarita River Trail Preserve within the Camp Pendleton IBA, Bearpaw Reserve within the Santa Ana River – Upper IBA, and West Walker River Preserve within the Topaz Lake IBA.^{[9][10][11][12]}

Some preserves are clustered geographically.

From 1998 to 2004, The Wildlands Conservancy's California Desert Land Acquisition Project acquired and transferred more than 587,000 acres of former railroad and utility lands in the Mojave Desert to public ownership. The lands were added to the Mojave National Preserve, Joshua Tree National Park, and Bureau of Land Management holdings.^[5][6][7] Portions of these lands were later included in Mojave Trails National Monument and Sand to Snow National Monument.^[13][14]

The conservancy's Eel River Emerald Necklace project consists of a series of preserves along the Eel River in northern California.^[15][16]

In 1998, the conservancy started the Santa Ana River Renaissance, a project for a 110-mile trail along the Santa Ana River from the San Bernardino Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.^[17] In 2006, a tri-county Santa Ana River Trail and Parkway Policy Advisory Committee was formed, including the conservancy.^[18]

The conservancy participated in opposition to the proposed Green Path North transmission project, an 85-mile power corridor planned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power that was withdrawn in 2010.^[19]

The Wildlands Conservancy undertakes ecological restoration across its preserve system, often guided by rewilding principles. Work includes wetland and stream restoration, native vegetation recovery, and wildlife reintroduction through both long-term planning and active implementation.

At the Eel River Estuary Preserve, restoration efforts have focused on reconnecting tidal sloughs and wetlands after planning with regional partners.^[20] In the Scott River watershed, work at the Beaver Valley Headwaters Preserve has involved stream and habitat restoration as part of a broader restoration effort in the region.^[21]

Species restoration has included the reintroduction of tule elk at Wind Wolves Preserve, led by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife beginning in 1998. The reintroduction contributed to the growth of one of the largest tule elk populations in the state and remains a significant wildlife restoration effort within the preserve system.^[22]

The Wildlands Conservancy’s preserves are included in regional wildlife corridor planning. The South Coast Missing Linkages study identifies several linkages that include or adjoin conservancy-owned properties, including Wind Wolves Preserve, Pioneertown Mountains Preserve, Mission Creek Preserve, and Oak Glen Preserve.^[23]

The conservancy contributed to the protection of the Coal Canyon Wildlife Corridor, which established a linkage between Chino Hills State Park and the Santa Ana Mountains and connects with the Cleveland National Forest. The effort, supported by state and nonprofit partners, provides wildlife passage across one of Southern California’s most urbanized regions.^[24]

In the Eastern Sierra, Two Rivers Preserve lies at Sonora Junction within a mule deer migration corridor documented by county transportation studies. Along U.S. 395, Caltrans constructed wildlife crossings and fencing to reduce vehicle collisions and maintain movement across the corridor.^{[25][26][27][28]}

The Wildlands Conservancy operates outdoor education programs at its preserves as part of ongoing land management and public access. Programs include guided field trips and site-based educational activities conducted in natural settings.^[29]

Education programs are based at several preserves, including Wind Wolves Preserve, Oak Glen Preserve, Whitewater Preserve, and Mission Creek Preserve, which maintain on-site education staff and facilities such as restrooms, ramadas, and outdoor meeting areas used for school field trips and community programs.^[8] Other preserves host smaller-scale public programs, including guided hikes, volunteer activities, and partnerships with nearby schools and community groups.

The conservancy maintains all preserves free of charge and open to the public.^[30]

• "Carmel Valley's Newest Preserve and Kern County's Tule Elk". OpenRoad. Episode 92. NBC Bay Area. April 7, 2024. NBC Bay Area. Retrieved May 5, 2024. OpenRoad had editorial control; The Wildlands Conservancy funded the episode.
• Stefan Van Norden (host) (June 26, 2023). "Episode 98: The Wildlands Conservancy – Behold the Beauty" (Podcast). Nature Revisited. Noorden Productions. Interview with Executive Director Frazier Haney. Official site.
• The Wildlands Conservancy (2021). Behold the Beauty (2nd ed.). The Wildlands Conservancy. Official site.
• Jack Thompson (The Wildlands Conservancy) (April 19, 2016). Public lecture: Inside the California Desert's Newest National Monuments (Video). Rancho Mirage Library & Observatory. YouTube.

• Yaffee, Steven L.; Schueller, Sheila K.; Wondolleck, Julia M. (2011). Preserving Wild California: An External Assessment (PDF) (Report). Resources Legacy Fund Foundation. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
• Penrod, Kristeen; Beier, Paul; Luke, Chris; Spencer, William; Cabañas, Carolyn (2003). South Coast Missing Linkages: A Wildland Network for the South Coast Ecoregion (PDF) (Report). South Coast Wildlands Project. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
• Butterfield, Scott (2021). Rewilding Agricultural Landscapes: A California Study in Rebalancing the Needs of People and Nature. Washington, DC: Island Press. ISBN 978-1642831269.
• Ritter, Matt (2018). California Plants: A Guide to Our Iconic Flora. San Luis Obispo, California: Pacific Street Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9998960-0-6.

• Official website
• ParkInfo