# The Wildlands Conservancy

The Wildlands Conservancy is a nonprofit organization with a mission to preserve land for public recreation. It manages 25 preserves, detailed in the list of its preserves, covering over 200,000 acres (81,000 ha) across the western United States. The preserve system encompasses diverse landscapes including mountains, valleys, deserts, rivers, and oceanfront lands. The Wildlands Conservancy buys and restores land, builds public visitor facilities, and provides outdoor education programs for children. All usage (hiking, camping, education programs) is free of charge, attracting over 1.5 million visitors annually.

## 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. From 1999 to 2004, The Wildlands Conservancy undertook an extensive effort to acquire 646,000 acres of private inholdings situated within the California desert. These lands were subsequently transferred to various government agencies to be preserved.
From 1995 to 2000, the organization established a set of preserves in Southern California, including the San Bernardino Mountains and desert canyons. The conservancy 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.
Starting in 2005, The Wildlands Conservancy expanded its efforts into Northern California, preserving land along the Eel River and the Sonoma Coast.
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.
Between 2015 and 2021, The Wildlands Conservancy continued its conservation efforts by establishing various preserves across California, including within the eastern Sierra Nevada region.
In 2022, the organization expanded its initiatives beyond California's borders, venturing into Oregon for the first time. In 2023, it further extended its mission to Utah through the acquisition of land at the boundary of Bears Ears National Monument.

## Regions

The preserves are located in various regions.

### Coast

* Jenner Headlands
* Estero Americano Coast

### Desert

North America has multiple deserts and the conservancy has preserves in many of them.
* Columbia Plateau: Enchanted Rocks Preserve
* Colorado Plateau: Speaking Springs Preserve
* Great Basin Desert: West Walker River Preserve, Two Rivers Preserve
* Mojave Desert: Pioneertown Mountains Preserve
* Sonoran Desert and Mojave Desert ecotone: Mission Creek Preserve, Whitewater Preserve

## Works

* Jack Thompson (The Wildlands Conservancy) (April 19, 2016). Inside the California Desert's Newest National Monuments (Video). Rancho Mirage Library & Observatory.
* "Carmel Valley's Newest Preserve and Kern County's Tule Elk". OpenRoad. Episode 92. April 7, 2024. NBC Bay Area. Retrieved May 5, 2024. OpenRoad had editorial control. The Wildlands Conservancy funded the episode.
* The Wildlands Conservancy (December 28, 2012). Behold the Beauty (1st ed.). The Wildlands Conservancy. ISBN 978-0988819702.
* The Wildlands Conservancy (2021). Behold the Beauty (2nd ed.). The Wildlands Conservancy.