California

California is an enormous landscape, comprising an incredible diversity of ecosystems, habitats, and species. From high meadows in the Sierra Nevada to the redwood stands along the North Coast; from hot, dry deserts to fog-shrouded rugged coastlines; from expansive coniferous forests, to rolling oak savannah, to steep and sprawling chaparral, California represents some of the most stunning environments in the world. California is home to more species of plants and animals than any other state, and of the estimated 5,500 plant species found in California, 40 percent are found nowhere else on the planet.

Over the past 50 years, California’s population has grown exponentially, presenting additional pressures on the state’s strained natural resources. Moreover, a century of fire suppression contributed to some of the most devastating wildfires in California state history in recent years.

Conservation Needs & Strategies

The vision of the California Forests and Watersheds Business Plan is to protect and restore California’s forests and watersheds from the headwaters to the coast to advance species conservation and landscape resilience to future fire, drought, and other stressors. Building on NFWF’s experience and investments in this landscape, this plan outlines focal species and habitat goals for forest and freshwater systems that it aims to achieve over the next 10 years.