By Nicole Padron | Contributing Columnist

Land trusts throughout California work locally and in unison to create a network of protected private lands across the state.

Federal agencies like the US Forest Service manage more than 45% of California’s land. I learned this statistic as an undergrad in college and for this reason I assumed the best career option for me was to become a USFS ecologist, working to restore the unique California habitats I was taught about. What I didn’t learn until several years later is that an estimated 48% of the state is privately owned, and that land trusts play a pivotal role in protecting private lands for their important species and resources.

A land trust is a nonprofit that conserves land by acquiring and stewarding land or through voluntary conservation agreements with landowners to protect their land’s conservation values.

California’s land trusts have permanently protected more than 5% of the state’s open space (5.7 million acres) on private lands, and this number continues to grow. Land trusts work throughout California to conserve land, ranging from pocket parks in highly urbanized areas, to agricultural fields, to wilderness areas.

Most land trusts are local or regional in scale, such as Rivers & Lands Conservancy, whose community programs serve the people of the Inland Empire but whose land conservation program includes all Southern California. Other land trusts, like the Sierra Foothill Conservancy and Mojave Desert Land Trust, protect land in the Western Sierra Nevada and California deserts, respectively. The California Council of Land Trusts is the thread that weaves our work together to create a tapestry of protected land and water statewide.

According to CCLT, their purpose is “to conserve California’s extraordinary land and water resources through a strong network of land trusts with one cohesive voice across urban and rural communities.” CCLT is a nonprofit led by Executive Director Caroline Godkin and is comprised of 52 member land trusts working to conserve land in our respective service areas, which cover all 58 counties.

In 2024, the CCLT Action Fund was a leader in the Yes on Proposition 4 coalition. On Nov. 5, 2024, California voters approved a historic investment of $10 billion in bond funding to provide safe drinking water, support wildfire prevention and conserve and protect open space. This funding is critical to support private land conservation by California’s land trusts.

One of the most impactful ways CCLT supports land trusts is by holding an annual Land and Water Conservation Conference to bring together land trust staff and board members across the state for continuing education and relationship building. Joined by public agency staff, policy makers, experts and others interested in land and water conservation, we convened at Tenaya Lodge in Yosemite March 31 through April 2 to learn from 85 speakers and experts on a range of topics, from the implementation of Proposition 4 to creating relationships with Indigenous partners to protecting wildlife connectivity.

This year, I had the privilege of bringing the newest team members of Rivers & Lands Conservancy, Amy Tims and Angie Leon, to their first CCLT conference. They each chose education pathways unique to their personal interests and expertise. They left inspired to better serve the land and the people of the Inland Empire. Perhaps most importantly, they learned we are part of a network of dedicated and passionate organizations that we can lean on and learn from as we navigate unexpected challenges and new opportunities.

There are many pathways to support conservation while working for a land trust, whether that is in communications or land stewardship. Watching our newest staff network with their peers, I found myself hoping that more of our young people will discover that they too could someday work at a land trust.

I was not aware that a career at a land trust was an option for me until I received a job announcement for an entry-level position at Rivers & Lands Conservancy in grad school. I saw it as an opportunity to make a tangible difference in my own community. Nearly 12 years later I am delighted to still be a part of this dedicated organization.

Do you know your local land trust? Visit calandtrusts.org/membership/ to learn about the land trusts that work where you live and get involved. We’re certain they would love to hear from you!

Rivers & Lands Conservancy connects our community to natural, wild, and open spaces of Southern California through land conservation, stewardship, and education.

Nicole Padron is the co-executive director of Rivers & Lands Conservancy, has a master’s of science in biology from Cal Poly Pomona and is passionate about inspiring the next generation of land stewards.