The Wildlands Conservancy

The Wildlands Conservancy

Entrance arch at Oak Glen Preserve, headquarters of The Wildlands Conservancy
Abbreviation	TWC
Formation	1995; 30 years ago (1995)
Founder	David Gelbaum, David Myers[1]
Type	501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
Legal status	Charitable organization
Purpose	Nature conservation and outdoor education
Headquarters	Oak Glen, California
Region served	California, Oregon, Utah
Methods	Land acquisition; ecological restoration; free public access; outdoor education
Fields	Land conservation, ecological restoration, outdoor education
Executive Director	Frazier Haney[1]
Staff	93[2] (2023)
Volunteers	900[2] (2023)
Website	wildlandsconservancy.org

The Wildlands Conservancy (TWC) 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 nearly 210,000 acres (85,000 ha) in California, Oregon, and Utah, visited by over 1.5 million people annually and offering 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 and promotes large-scale conservation by linking its preserves with adjacent public lands.^[3]

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Wildlands Conservancy preserves

History

The California Desert Protection Act of 1994 established two national parks, one national preserve, and 69 wilderness areas. However, private inholdings persisted within these newly designated public lands. The Wildlands Conservancy was founded in 1995 by investor David Gelbaum and conservationist David Myers to help protect such lands and provide free public access to nature preserves.^[4]

By 1996 the organization had become involved in federal efforts to acquire private lands within the newly created Mojave National Preserve, as the largest landholder, Catellus Development Corp., threatened mineral exploration after a government funding impasse. News coverage that year identified Myers and the conservancy as working with the Bureau of Land Management to help broker an alternative purchase arrangement.^[4]

From 1998 to 2003, The Wildlands Conservancy partnered with the Bureau of Land Management and California State Coastal Conservancy in a landmark public–private effort to acquire more than 500,000 acres of desert inholdings from Catellus, reconnecting habitat between Joshua Tree National Park, Mojave National Preserve, and the Mojave Trails region. The transactions, financed through a combination of private donations and federal appropriations, were described in contemporaneous reports as the largest nonprofit land purchase in California history.^[5][6][7]

From 1995 to 2000, the conservancy also established a set of preserves in Southern California, including the San Bernardino Mountains and desert canyons. It acquired a historic trout hatchery and rehabilitated the area in 2005, resulting in the creation of the Whitewater Preserve, which provided access to the San Gorgonio Wilderness.^[8]

Starting in 2005, The Wildlands Conservancy expanded its efforts into Northern California, preserving land along the Eel River and the Sonoma Coast.^{[9][10][11][12]}

President Obama designated three national monuments in 2016: Sand to Snow National Monument, Mojave Trails National Monument, and Castle Mountains National Monument. The Sand to Snow National Monument encompassed the Whitewater Preserve and Mission Creek Preserve, and substantial land previously acquired and transferred by the conservancy contributed to the Mojave Trails National Monument.^[13][14][15]

In 2021, the conservancy acquired the 26,600-acre Eel River Canyon Preserve, which includes 18 miles of river frontage.^[16]

In 2022, the organization expanded its initiatives beyond California's borders, venturing into Oregon for the first time.^[17] In 2023, it further extended its mission to Utah through the acquisition of land at the boundary of Bears Ears National Monument.^[18]

In 2023, the conservancy acquired the 12,400-acre Rana Creek Preserve in Carmel Valley and partnered with the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County for co-stewardship. The following year, a portion of the property was transferred to the tribe, marking one of California’s first state-supported tribal land returns.^[19][20][21]

In California, the organization expanded acquisitions and restoration projects in the 2020s; some were supported by state conservation programs associated with the 30x30 conservation initiative, while others were privately funded by the conservancy.^[22][23]

Holdings

Further information: List of The Wildlands Conservancy preserves

The Wildlands Conservancy owns and manages 25 nature preserves across three states, totaling about 212,000 acres. In addition, it has transferred more than 500,000 acres to public agencies.

Representative landscapes

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

• 
  Jenner Headlands Preserve
• 
  Whitewater Preserve
• 
  Oak Glen Preserve
• 
  West Walker River Preserve
• 
  Estero Americano Coast Preserve

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) ecoregions

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

WWF ecoregion	Preserves
California Central Valley grasslands	Wind Wolves
California coastal sage and chaparral	Santa Margarita River Trail; Mariposa
California interior chaparral and woodlands	Rana Creek
California montane chaparral and woodlands	Oak Glen; Galena Peak Wilderness; Bearpaw; Bluff Lake; Wind Wolves
Colorado Plateau shrublands	Speaking Springs (Utah)
Great Basin shrub steppe	West Walker River; Two Rivers
Klamath–Siskiyou forests	Beaver Valley Headwaters; Eel River Canyon; Emerald Waters; Spyrock
Mojave Desert	Pioneertown Mountains
Northern California coastal forests	Seawood Cape; Sounding Seas Dunes; Eel River Estuary; Jenner Headlands; Estero Americano Coast
Snake–Columbia shrub steppe	Enchanted Rocks (Oregon)
Sonoran Desert	Whitewater; Mission Creek

Audubon Important Bird Areas

Four preserves within the system lie inside 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.^{[24][25][26][27]}

Conservation

Conservation campaigns

The Wildlands Conservancy’s largest conservation initiative was the California Desert Land Acquisition Project, a seven-year public–private campaign to purchase and donate more than 587,000 acres of former railroad and utility lands in the Mojave Desert. At the time, billboards advertising former railroad parcels for sale stood within view of Mojave National Preserve boundaries, underscoring the urgency of the acquisition effort. Beginning in 1998, TWC negotiated discounted sales with Catellus Development Corporation, the real-estate successor to the Southern Pacific Railroad, and raised more than $45 million in private donations to match federal Land and Water Conservation Fund appropriations. The transactions, completed between 1999 and 2004, were described as the largest nonprofit land acquisition ever donated to the American people.^{[5][6][7][28]}

At the project's completion, more than 85,000 acres were added to the Mojave National Preserve, 20,000 acres to Joshua Tree National Park, and over 210,000 acres to Bureau of Land Management wilderness areas, reconnecting habitat corridors across a 50-mile swath of desert between Barstow and Needles. Maps produced by TWC and later analyses by the Desert Sun illustrate the checkerboard of former railroad lands consolidated into public ownership.^[29]

The desert acquisition established the foundation for later federal designations, including Mojave Trails National Monument and Sand to Snow National Monument, which together protect more than 1.6 million acres of adjoining public lands.^[30][31][32]

Independent coverage at the time of the monument designations noted that much of the Mojave Trails landscape had been acquired years earlier by The Wildlands Conservancy and transferred to federal ownership for conservation.^[33]

In Humboldt County, the organization launched the Eel River Emerald Necklace, an initiative to protect a series of preserves located a day’s rafting apart along the lower Eel River valley.^[34][35][36]

In Southern California, The Wildlands Conservancy also participated in the regional "Save the Saints" initiative, a cooperative effort among multiple land trusts to protect private inholdings and habitat corridors linking the San Bernardino, San Gabriel, San Jacinto, and Santa Ana Mountains within the National Forest system.^[37][38]

In 1998, The Wildlands Conservancy launched a “Santa Ana River Renaissance” to revive plans for a 110-mile trail from the San Bernardino Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.^[39] In 2006, the three-county Santa Ana River Trail and Parkway Policy Advisory Committee was established, with The Wildlands Conservancy serving as a voting member.^[40] Through this partnership, state bond measures provided more than $60 million for corridor acquisitions and trail planning.^[41]

The conservancy also joined community and environmental groups in opposing the proposed Green Path North transmission project (2007–2010), a plan by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to construct an 85-mile power corridor through the eastern Mojave and San Bernardino Mountains. The utility withdrew the project in 2010 following widespread local and conservation opposition.^[42]

Restoration

The Wildlands Conservancy restores land and wildlife across its preserve system, from large ecosystem projects to small habitat and species recovery efforts. Work generally seeks to return altered landscapes and disrupted ecological communities to more natural conditions—restoring streamflows, wetlands, native vegetation, and supporting the return of keystone species.

Major projects include the Eel River Estuary Preserve, where partners are reconnecting tidal sloughs and wetlands for salmon and shorebirds; the Santa Margarita River Trail Preserve, where a new bridge will replace a low-water causeway to restore fish passage for southern steelhead and reduce flood closures; and the Beaver Valley Headwaters Preserve, where in-stream restoration maintains flows for trout and other aquatic species during summer low water. At Whitewater Preserve, the former trout-farm property was converted to a public nature area through removal of old facilities and planting of native trees and shrubs.^{[43][44][45][46]}

The conservancy has also supported species reintroduction as part of its broader restoration philosophy. At Wind Wolves Preserve, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reintroduced tule elk beginning in 1998, with 88 animals released by 2005. The population has since grown naturally to become one of the largest in California, monitored through annual volunteer surveys.^[47][48]

Smaller restoration efforts are widespread: cactus and grassland recovery at Wind Wolves Preserve, pond and wetland work at Estero Americano Coast Preserve, and oak-woodland and riparian planting at Rana Creek Preserve. Partners include the California State Coastal Conservancy, California Trout, and the Wildlife Conservation Board.^[49][50][51]

The conservancy also manages recovery after natural disasters. Following the 2020 Water Fire, Whitewater Preserve repaired facilities and replanted native species; the 2023 Tropical Storm Hilary floods damaged Mission Creek and Whitewater corridors, prompting trail and access repairs. At Oak Glen Preserve, an experimental oak woodland tests pest- and drought-resistant species, while Pioneertown Mountains Preserve continues to recover from the 2006 Sawtooth Complex Fire.^{[52][53][54][55]}

Connectivity

The Wildlands Conservancy’s preserves contribute to regional wildlife corridor planning. The South Coast Missing Linkages study identifies several linkages that include or adjoin TWC properties, including Wind Wolves Preserve, Pioneertown Mountains Preserve, Mission Creek Preserve, and Oak Glen Preserve.^[37]

In 2000, the conservancy contributed to the protection of the Coal Canyon Wildlife Corridor, a project that established a permanent linkage between Chino Hills State Park and the Santa Ana Mountains, connecting with the Cleveland National Forest. The effort, supported by state and nonprofit partners, provides safe passage for mountain lions and other wildlife across one of Southern California’s most urbanized regions.^[56]

In the Eastern Sierra, Two Rivers Preserve lies at Sonora Junction within a mule deer migration corridor documented by county transportation studies. In 2024–2025, Caltrans carried out construction of two wildlife undercrossings on U.S. 395 at Sonora Junction to reduce vehicle collisions and maintain movement across the corridor, work that involved temporary highway closures in September 2024.^{[57][58][59][60]}

Education and public access

Education is a core part of The Wildlands Conservancy’s mission to connect people with nature. Through its free outdoor education programs, the organization introduces thousands of students each year to diverse natural ecosystems, with field lessons that emphasize ecology, habitat stewardship, and direct experience in the outdoors.^[61]

Major education centers are located at Wind Wolves Preserve, Oak Glen Preserve, Whitewater Preserve, and Mission Creek Preserve, which maintain full-time education staff and facilities such as restrooms, ramadas, and outdoor meeting areas for school field trips and community programs.^[62] Other preserves offer public programs such as guided hikes, volunteer projects, and collaborative activities with nearby schools and community groups that extend the same outreach goals on a smaller scale.

The organization describes itself as operating under a "Visitorship" rather than a membership model and maintains all preserves free of charge as part of its mission to connect people with nature.^[63]

A 2021 Island Press volume on rewilding California farmlands includes a chapter by Wildlands Conservancy educators describing the role of community and school programs in habitat restoration.^[64]

Works

• "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.
• Jack Thompson (The Wildlands Conservancy) (April 19, 2016). Inside the California Desert's Newest National Monuments (Video). Rancho Mirage Library & Observatory. YouTube.
• 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.
• The Wildlands Conservancy (December 28, 2012). Behold the Beauty (1st ed.). The Wildlands Conservancy. ISBN ISBN 978-0988819702.

See also

• List of North American deserts

References

1. Woo, Elaine (March 11, 2025). "Wildlands Conservancy co-founder David Myers, who saved vast stretches of land from development, dies". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
2. "IRS Form 990: The Wildlands Conservancy (Fiscal Year Ending June 30 2024)" (PDF). The Wildlands Conservancy. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
3. Financial Statements for the Fiscal Years Ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 (PDF) (Report). Kennedy & Kennedy, Certified Public Accountants. April 18, 2025. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
4. Clifford, Frank (October 31, 1996). "Firm Threatens to Mine, Build in Mojave Preserve". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
5. Clifford, Frank (July 17, 1998). "$52-Million Deal Seeks to Save Desert Land". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
6. "U.S. Takes Control of Desert Land". Los Angeles Times. January 12, 2000. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
7. "U.S. to Acquire 62,000 Acres of Desert for Conservation". Los Angeles Times. February 20, 2003. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
8. Smith, Yasuko (October 3, 2021). "Discovering Whitewater Preserve". Palm Springs Life. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
9. "A closer look at the $25 million Eel River Canyon preserve set to become California's newest wildland park". Press Democrat. December 2019. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
10. "Two Projects for the Eel River Gain Momentum". Bay Nature. July 9, 2021. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
11. "5,630-acre Jenner Highlands saved for public". SFGATE. October 28, 2009. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
12. "Conservation groups purchase Estero Ranch in $3.8 million deal". Press Democrat. January 7, 2016. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
13. "Feinstein introduces desert preservation act". The Sun. February 9, 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
14. Murphy, Bernadette (September 1, 2016). "Monumental Achievement: One of the West's great natural wonders — the Sand to Snow National Monument — has finallly been given the recognition and protection it deserves …and it's in the Coachella Valley's backyard". Palm Springs Life.
15. Thompson, Jack (April 19, 2016). Inside the California Desert's newest National Monuments (Video). United States: Rancho Mirage Library & Observatory.
16. "A closer look at the $25 million Eel River Canyon Preserve set to become California's largest nonprofit preserve". Press Democrat. September 29, 2021. Retrieved 2025-08-24.
17. Plaven, George (April 21, 2022). "Conservancy purchases Oregon ranch, plans 'climate preserve'". Capital Press.
18. Bree, Jenna (July 25, 2023). "Conservation nonprofit acquires 320-acre piece of private property in Bears Ears National Monument". Fox 13 Utah.
19. Rogers, Paul (June 18, 2023). "Apple co-founder to sell huge Carmel Valley ranch for $35 million to become public nature preserve". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved 2025-08-24.
20. Schmalz, David (March 28, 2024). "Rana Creek Ranch – a vast, majestic property in Carmel Valley – is slated to become a recreational treasure". Monterey County Now. Retrieved 2025-08-24.
21. "Esselen Tribe reclaims 1,720 acres in $8.6M state-funded deal". Tribal Business News. April 17, 2025. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
22. "30x30 California". California Natural Resources Agency. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
23. "Impact 2024". The Wildlands Conservancy. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
24. "San Emigdio Mountains Important Bird Area". Audubon. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
25. "Camp Pendleton Important Bird Area". Audubon. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
26. "Santa Ana River – Upper Important Bird Area". Audubon. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
27. "Topaz Lake Important Bird Area". Audubon. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
28. "California Desert Land Acquisition". The Wildlands Conservancy. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
29. Editorial Board (August 9, 2023). "The West has a checkerboard problem". The Desert Sun. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
30. "Volcanic spires and Joshua trees: Inside the California desert's new national monuments". Los Angeles Times. February 12, 2016. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
31. "How Dianne Feinstein helped preserve the California desert". Los Angeles Times. March 2, 2023. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
32. Murphy, Bernadette (September 1, 2016). "Monumental Achievement: One of the West's great natural wonders — the Sand to Snow National Monument — has finally been given the recognition and protection it deserves …and it's in the Coachella Valley's backyard". Palm Springs Life. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
33. Clarke, Chris (February 12, 2016). "New Desert National Monuments Will Help Protect California's Wildest Landscapes". PBS SoCal / KCET. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
34. "A closer look at the $25 million Eel River Canyon preserve set to become California's newest wildland park". Press Democrat. December 2019. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
35. "Two Projects for the Eel River Gain Momentum". Bay Nature. July 9, 2021. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
36. "Eel River Emerald Necklace". The Wildlands Conservancy. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
37. Penrod, Kristeen (2003). South Coast Missing Linkages: A Wildland Network for the South Coast Ecoregion (PDF) (Report). South Coast Wildlands Project. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
38. Santa Monica–Sierra Madre Connection (PDF) (Report). South Coast Wildlands Project. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
39. "Santa Ana River Trail and Parkway". The Wildlands Conservancy. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
40. Santa Ana River Parkway and Open Space Plan Final Report (PDF) (Report). California Coastal Conservancy and Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority. 2018.
41. Santa Ana River Trail Vision Study (Blue Ribbon Report) (PDF) (Report). City of Costa Mesa with The Wildlands Conservancy grant support. 2008.
42. Sahagun, Louis (March 11, 2010). "DWP Drops Plan to Build 85-Mile Power Transmission Line Across the Desert". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-10-20.
43. "Russ Creek and Centerville Slough Restoration Project". Humboldt County Resource Conservation District. August 4, 2022. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
44. "Staff Recommendation: Santa Margarita River Bridge Replacement and Fish Passage Barrier Removal Project" (PDF). California State Coastal Conservancy. December 1, 2022. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
45. "Transforming the Beaver Valley Headwaters Preserve: A $5 Million Effort to Restore Salmon Habitat". Siskiyou News. January 25, 2024. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
46. "Whitewater Preserve". The Wildlands Conservancy. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
47. Hamilton, Denise (December 7, 2022). "Rounding the Horn: The return of the protected tule elk to Southern California". Alta Online. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
48. "Volunteers and Wildlands Conservancy staff come out for annual count of tule elk". The Bakersfield Californian. September 2023. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
49. "2022 Bakersfield Cactus Progress Report—Wind Wolves Preserve" (PDF). California Native Plant Society, Kern Chapter. 2022. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
50. "Estero Americano restoration improves coastal wetlands". Sonoma Index-Tribune. May 5, 2023. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
51. "Rana Creek Preserve". The Wildlands Conservancy. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
52. "Whitewater Preserve cleans up three months after the Water Fire". The Desert Sun. November 16, 2020. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
53. "Hiking With T: Whitewater Preserve has reopened after storm damage". Coachella Valley Independent. December 18, 2023. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
54. "The Wildlands Conservancy Launches New Oak Woodland Venue". The Wildlands Conservancy. November 7, 2024. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
55. "2006 Sawtooth Complex Fire photo gallery". The Desert Sun. June 19, 2015. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
56. Parkland Acquisition Partners (PDF) (Report). California Department of Parks and Recreation. 2008. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
57. "Highway 395/203 Wildlife Crossing Study" (PDF). Mono County Local Transportation Commission. 2023. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
58. "Sonora Junction Shoulder Widening Project". California Department of Transportation. 2024. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
59. "Wildlife Crossing Project to Close U.S. 395 Through Sonora Junction for Two Weeks". Mammoth Times. July 8, 2024. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
60. "U.S. 395 closing Sept. 24 for Caltrans project in Mono County". SFGate. September 20, 2024. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
61. "Outdoor Education Programs". The Wildlands Conservancy. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
62. O’Connor, Rebecca (February 28, 2020). "Wildlands Conservancy wants children to know the wonder and joy of nature". Palm Springs Desert Sun.
63. Estero Americano Coastal Access Project, Exhibit 4 (Report). California Coastal Commission. November 14, 2024. Retrieved 2025-10-06. A non-profit with a mission to provide free access to over 200,000 acres of privately owned nature preserves in California, Utah, and Oregon.
64. Peppel, Landon; Wainwright, Brooke; Dabulamanzi, Melissa; Carrillo, Daisy (2021). "Using Environmental Education and Community-Based Programs to Rewild Habitat". In Butterfield, H. Scott; Kelsey, T. Rodd; Hart, Abigail K. (eds.). Rewilding Agricultural Landscapes: A California Study in Rebalancing the Needs of People and Nature. Washington, D.C.: Island Press. pp. 223–236. ISBN 978-1642831269.

Further reading

• Butterfield, Scott (2021). Rewilding Agricultural Landscapes: A California Study in Rebalancing the Needs of People and Nature. Washington, DC: Island Press. ISBN 978-1642831269.
• Penrod, Kristeen; Beier, Paul; Luke, Chris; Spencer, William; Cabañas, Carolyn (2003). South Coast Missing Linkages: A Wildland Network for the South Coast Ecoregion (Full report PDF). South Coast Wildlands Project. PDF.
• Ritter, Matt (2018). California Plants: A Guide to Our Iconic Flora. San Luis Obispo, California: Pacific Street Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9998960-0-6.
• Yaffee, Steven L.; Schueller, Sheila K.; Wondolleck, Julia M. (April 15, 2009). Preserving Wild California: An External Assessment (PDF) (Report). Resources Legacy Fund Foundation.

External links

• Official website
• ParkInfo