A Living Legacy of Conservation

*A hiker crests a hill and takes in views of the Pacific at Jenner Headlands Preserve. Photo by Elba Mora.*

For thirty years, The Wildlands Conservancy has delivered on our audacious vision through bold action. Our timeline, found later in this newsletter, highlights this record of impact — from supporting outdoor education across Southern California, to advancing major trail and public access initiatives, to securing the largest land conservation gift in U.S. history.

Of all these achievements, we are most proud of our 24 nature preserves spanning 210,000 acres across California, Oregon, and Utah. This preserve system has been the foundation for us to pursue our deepest vision: restore ecosystems, rewild native species, and open preserves daily for free to all people for outdoor education and recreation.

These preserves consistently turn bold vision into lasting and tangible outcomes you can experience today — endangered least Bell’s vireo singing in restored willows at Whitewater Preserve, children exploring native gardens and discovering wildlife at Oak Glen Preserve, or sweeping views of the Pacific from the coastal grasslands of Jenner Headlands Preserve. Together, they form a living legacy of conservation action.

While our work began in California, the need for stewardship reaches far beyond. Wild, irreplaceable places across the American West — and the plants, animals, and human communities that depend on their beauty and resilience — face increasing threats. These landscapes need champions willing to act boldly and swiftly, with a strategy for lasting conservation outcomes that will withstand the winds of political change.

“At a time when wild places face increasing threats, our preserves offer both refuge for nature and access for people.”
- Dana Rochat, Acquisitions Director, The Wildlands Conservancy

Today, the need is greater than ever. Federal and state land agencies are grappling with budget shortfalls and growing obstacles to protecting new lands, even as a wave of vast legacy ranches comes onto the market. Meanwhile, more people across an ever-urbanizing West are seeking the refuge and renewal of nature. These realities demand a conservation approach that is lasting, active, and accessible to all.

This is our focus for the decade ahead. Our roots will always be in California, where our founders proved that our model can succeed. But the need for lasting protection stretches across the West, and with your partnership, we will continue to carry forward a simple truth that has guided us from the start: safeguarding important landscapes, restoring their beauty, rewilding wildlife, and opening them freely to all people is not only possible, it is essential to protecting the environment and the wild beauty that sustains us all

Rewilding the Landscape