From the shores of pristine Lake Chelan to the mouth of the Pacific Ocean, the Fund, working in cooperation with public and private partners, has helped to safeguard more than 7,500 acres across Washington.

Lake Chelan

Stehekin, a remote settlement within Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, was once targeted for condominium development. In partnership with the National Park Service and the local community, the Fund reached agreement with the landowner to acquire 27 acres on behalf of the Park Service as an addition to the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area.

Stehekin at Lake Chelan, Washington.

Photo by Angel Quant/Flickr

Lewis and Clark National Historical Park

In honor of the bicentennial celebration of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Fund embarked on a major campaign to commemorate the legendary journey by protecting open space, river corridors and resources associated with the passage. Through our Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Initiative,with our partners we have set aside more than 25,000 acres along the famous route.

Thanks in part to support from the Centex Land Legacy Fund, we protected more than 1,000 acres in 2005 for the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park in Oregon and Washington, including land critical to the Fort to Sea Trail and Clark’s Dismal Nitch. Dismal Nitch marks Lewis and Clark’s dramatic arrival at the Pacific Ocean. In 1805, the Corps of Volunteers for Northwest Discovery spent six days trapped along the rocky shoreline near the mouth of the Columbia River. Members of the Corps battled thunderstorms, wind and high waves before they abandoned most of their supplies, buried their canoes and sought shelter in the cedar forest.

Today the stands of spruce and hemlock surrounding the sites shelter beaver, black bear, mountain lion and Roosevelt elk.

In Oregon the Fund and its partners have preserved more than 70,000 acres of the state’s cultural and natural treasures—including forests and the historic landscapes associated with the Lewis and Clark expedition—for the enjoyment of future generations.

Recent Projects:

Gilchrist State Forest

We've saved more than 1.5 million forest acres across the country and continue developing promising conservation strategies to meet the challenges of a changing forestry landscape. As part of our efforts, we helped to establish Gilchrist State Forest, the first addition to Oregon’s state forest system in more than 60 years. In addition, we will purchase 25,000 acres adjacent to the new forest, with plans to retain them for a future purchase by the state. Both tracts will be managed as a single unit.

The Oregon Board and Department of Forestry will manage the land to provide a broad range of benefits over the long term, including wildlife habitat, timber to provide jobs and revenue to support local government services, and public access for recreation.

For much of the 20th century the land making up the new state forest was part of larger holdings owned by the Gilchrist Timber Company. The community of Gilchrist was the site of the company mill and home to many of its workers. The lands were harvested heavily and replanted in the early 1990s, after the Gilchrist Company sold them.

“The Gilchrist lands have been treasured in this part of Oregon for decades. Thanks to the support and vision of the community, the Board of Forestry, The Conservation Fund and others, we can celebrate the beginning a great new era for these forests.” — Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski

Read the press release >>

Photo: Michael Lemmon/Flickr

Past Projects

Lewis and Clark National Historical Park and Trail

In honor of the bicentennial celebration of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Fund embarked on a major campaign to commemorate the legendary journey by protecting open space, river corridors and resources associated with the passage. Through its Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Initiative, the Fund and its partners have set aside more than 25,000 acres along the famous route.

Our efforts also include protecting lands—more than 1,000 acres—for the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park in Oregon and Washington, including land critical to the Fort to Sea Trail and Clark’s Dismal Nitch. Today the stands of spruce and hemlock surrounding the sites shelter beaver, black bear, mountain lion and Roosevelt elk.

We also negotiated the gift of Jean Baptiste Charbonneau’s gravesite from private landowners to Malheur County, ensuring its permanent protection. Charbonneau was the son of Lewis and Clark Expedition members Sacagawea and Touissant Charbonneau. He was born mid-journey in 1805 and as an infant crossed the continent with the famed Corps of Discovery.

From the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the outskirts of Las Vegas, the lands and waters of Nevada support vital habitat for wildlife and provide a playground for outdoor enthusiasts. To date The Conservation Fund has protected more than 1.2 million acres here.

Strategic Conservation Planning With Nevada Land Conservancy

Nevada has been America's fastest growing state for the past two decades. The Nevada Land Conservancy invited the Fund to help think strategically about western Nevada, the Sierra Front range and areas along border states of California and Oregon—a vast expanse covering 30 million acres.
Learn more about our efforts.

Clark County Wetlands Park

The Clark County Wetlands Park is an uncommon facet of Las Vegas, providing a glimpse of the region’s geographic and wildlife history. In 2002 the Fund and the Bureau of Land Management helped Clark County purchase 80 acres of environmentally sensitive lands to expand the park, which offers hiking trails, flowing streams and quiet ponds.

Clark County Grazing Allotments

Since 1996 the Fund has worked with local ranchers, the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Clark County to purchase willing sellers’ grazing allotments on public lands that contain habitat for the desert tortoise and banded gila monster. In 2001 the Fund negotiated the purchase of grazing rights on 76,384 acres of the Sand Hollow and Beacon allotments, bringing protected lands to more than 730,000 acres. The Fund’s new initiative on grazing rights is an effort to strengthen ranching communities by helping landowners retire marginal allotments and thereby providing them with new money to reinvest in more productive operations.

Washoe Valley

In one of the grandest conservation accomplishments under the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, the Fund helped the Bureau of Land Management acquire 533 acres of environmentally sensitive land and 2,938 acre-feet of associated water rights in Washoe Valley just east of Lake Tahoe. With additional support from the Bureau of Land Management, Falcon Capital, the USDA Forest Service and Washoe County, to date the Fund has conserved more than 2,000 acres of open space and 3,200 acre-feet of surface and ground water within Washoe Valley at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

By joining forces with state and federal agencies and local communities in California, our balanced approach to conservation has helped to safeguard nearly 400,000 acres here—including 40,000 acres of watersheds and forestlands.

Ongoing Projects

North Coast Conservation Initiative

On California’s North Coast, we’re pioneering new ways to protect and sustainably manage working forests. At our Garcia River, Big River and Salmon Creek forests, we’re restoring more than 40,000 acres of watersheds and forestland. In addition to restoring the forests’ watersheds and supporting local economies, our efforts support the fight against climate change: Our forest properties were among the first and largest to receive verification as a source of greenhouse gas reductions under the protocols of the Climate Action Reserve.

Learn more about our North Coast Conservation Initiative Projects >>

Recent Projects

Elfin Forest and Sage Hill, San Diego

The Fund has helped save nearly 400 acres of critical coastal sage scrub habitat in the San Diego area, protecting it from residential development.

Read about our conservation successes in the San Diego area.

Past Projects

Sawtooth Mountains Wilderness

Hugging the edge of the Sawtooth Mountains Wilderness and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, near San Diego, is a small piece of land with enormous conservation value. Once a traditional Native American passage between the Peninsular Mountain Range and the vast Colorado Desert, this land is now regularly crossed by bighorn sheep, cougars and other wildlife. In 2008, we worked with the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation and the Bureau of Land Management to protect the 80-acre parcel, complementing an earlier purchase of 1,800 acres.

Photo: Jeremy Bradfod/Flickr

California Desert Conservation

Nearly 250,000 acres of critical habitat for bighorn sheep and desert tortoise are now protected within the East Mojave National Scenic Area thanks to support from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and a cooperative effort involving the Bureau of Land Management, California Cattle Growers Association, National Park Service, private landowners and The Conservation Fund. By purchasing and then retiring grazing permits from willing landowners, the Fund and its partners are working to implement comprehensive management plans across the Mojave Desert and the California Desert Conservation Area.

Lost Coast Ranch

From the green ridges of the Lost Coast, the Pacific stretches to the horizon. The steep cliffs, frequent washouts, rocky hillsides and deep forests kept road builders inland and until now, made this part of Northern California a wonderful and wild stretch of the state's long coastline. To preserve this pristine area and guard against inappropriate residential development, we purchased 225 acres known as Lost Coast Ranch with support from the California Coastal Conservancy. We then conveyed the property to the Bureau of Land Management. Now these dramatic cliffs, coastal streams and isolated beaches will provide shelter for a diverse population of migrating birds, anadromous fish and other wildlife.

Mendocino National Forest

Just a three-hour drive north of San Francisco and Sacramento, the forests of Mendocino stretch across almost one million acres of mountains and canyons, beckoning adventurous outdoor enthusiasts. Through a partnership with the USDA Forest Service and state of California, the Fund transferred nearly 23,000 acres along the eastern spur of the Coastal Mountain Range to Mendocino National Forest.

Tule River Watershed

The clear waters of the Tule River, flowing fast and cold from the high Sierras, are renowned for their high-quality fish habitat and outstanding kayaking adventures. Backed by the California Wildlife Conservation Board, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Packard Foundation, we purchased a 722-acre easement for the Sierra Los Tulares Land Trust to conserve the Tule River riparian corridor and watershed.

Read about the following projects in detail: