Northern Rockies Loan Fund

Marine Protected Areas

Western Conservation

Sustainable Fisheries

California Water Foundation

Additional Programs, Studies, and Projects

Western Conservation

Recognizing that the North American West contains some of the world’s most iconic landscapes and valuable natural resources, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation (www.packard.org), in collaboration with RLF, launched the Western Conservation program in March 2008 to protect these treasures in the face of population growth and climate change.

In its collaboration with the Packard Foundation, RLF administers specific components of the Western Conservation program. RLF accepts letters of inquiry for projects focused on the following areas and issues:

• Protecting priority habitats in the Sierra Nevada, Northern Rockies, and Northwest Mexico;

• Restoring key natural resource functions including the San Joaquin River;

• Advancing water policy reform in California;

• Ensuring the development and application of renewable energy siting criteria and sound conservation planning; and

• Increasing funding, improving tools, building diverse coalitions, and improving the capacity and effectiveness of conservation organizations across the West.

The Western Conservation program focuses on:

• Protecting important Western landscapes and rivers and their ecological functions. This includes identifying the highest priority lands, waters, buffers, and corridors; ensuring the thoughtful allocation of bond funds to protect and restore conservation priorities; and supporting restoration of key rivers and wetlands. Western Conservation also supports science, policy analysis, and advocacy to ensure that critical lands are managed to protect natural resources. For example, RLF supports efforts to lead land use planning in California toward approaches that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create sustainable communities. RLF and its consultants engage with conservation organizations, public agencies, landowners, and others to leverage funding, maximize policy opportunities, and build a coordinated constituency for protecting high priority lands and water courses.

• Improving water management to create more sustainable use of water. Western Conservation is focused on creating more sustainable approaches to California water policy and governance that protect ecological and economic health, focusing on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

• Expanding the funding available for conservation. Western Conservation seeks to increase the funding available for conservation from federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. Additionally, Western Conservation supports efforts to ensure adequate federal tax incentives for conservation of private land through conservation easements. The program also works to create new sources of funding from markets and other private sources.

• Developing a more diverse, engaged, collaborative, and effective conservation community. All of Western Conservation’s strategies depend upon building the capacity and effectiveness of conservation organizations and broadening conservation constituencies. Building strong, sustainable conservation organizations that work effectively on priority issues is key to the long-term protection of resources and landscapes. Within its focal areas, the program provides leadership training, access to certification, and facilitation to build effective collaborative efforts. It also supports efforts to broaden the range of voices speaking for conservation, including engaging new communities and organizations.

Photograph by Doug Steakley