With rolling hills, towering oak trees, dense forests of bay laurel, and a remarkable freshwater lake, California’s Santa Rita Ranch is truly a special place. Located along San Luis Obispo County’s North Coast, the 1,715 acre ranch was put up for sale in 2018 and the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County (LCSLO) knew…
Great news out of Nelson, British Columbia! 2021 Conservation Alliance grantee the Cottonwood Lake Preservation Society (CLPS) announced that 121 acres of land above Cottonwood Lake that was previously slated to be clear cut will now be permanently protected. The success of this project was truly a grassroots community undertaking. In 2018, in response to…
Washington has a new community forest to celebrate, thanks to grantee Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC). WRC spent the past four years working in partnership with the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust to purchase 3,714 acres of land and then transfer it to Chelan County for permanent stewardship. The Nason Ridge property is located on the shores of…
Last year, we awarded the Northeast Wilderness Trust (NEWT) a grant to support their project, “Grafton Forest Wilderness Preserve, ” Their initial plan was to acquire and permanently protect 1,388 acres in Western Maine, but in a stunning achievement, NEWT more than quadrupled their goal and acquired 6,045 acres. This is a huge win for…
With the passage of SB 1546, the Elliott State Forest is now on its way to a secure conservation future—with the 82,000 acre forest designated as a nationally unique State Research Forest, and over 60,000 acres permanently protected in forest reserves. Since 2017, the Wild Salmon Center (WSC) has advocated for the protection of the…
Conservation allies can now breathe a sigh of relief for the Skagit River and its headwaters. The fate of this river has been up in the air since March of 2019, when Imperial Metals filed for a mining exploration permit in the area known as the “donut hole.” While much of the land near the…
The Santa Fe River, in northern Florida, is a 75-mile stretch of mostly slow-moving current interspersed with freshwater springs. Located in an area of sparse human population, it’s a biologically diverse watershed for wildlife and flora. Among many other species, bears, Florida panthers, manatees, and turtles rely on this watershed. The Alachua Conservation Trust (ACT)…
In 1965, the Camp Fire organization built the Kwoneesum Dam at the confluence of three creeks in the Washougal River watershed. The purpose of the dam was to create a recreational lake for a girls’ camp—yet when the camp closed in the late 1980s, the dam remained. The dam prevents Coho salmon and steelhead from…
Downeast Lakes Land Trust, in partnership with the Downeast community, the Trust for Public Land, and the Forest Society of Maine, has recently added 2,015 acres to the Downeast Lakes Community Forest. This community forest protects one of the last remaining tracts of developable land along Sysladobsis Lake and contains old growth forest, wetlands, and…
The National Wildlife Federation, working closely with Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting and the Outdoors (HECHO) and others, successfully included 278,000 acres of Special Management Areas in the United States Forest Service management plans for the Carson and Sante Fe National Forests in New Mexico. The plans include multiple forest-wide components that support wildlife connectivity. Elk,…
