California

Ackerson Meadow's unrivaled location and scenic beauty have also attracted the attention of developers. Understanding that the threat of development is real, we are working quickly to protect the land as an addition to Yosemite National Park for millions of visitors to enjoy and for wildlife to thrive.

In 2012, Santa Barbara voters overwhelmingly defeated a plan that could have led to the development of Veronica Meadows, once home to the Veronica Medicinal Springs Water Company. For many years, the oak-dotted land along a creek had been a popular place to stroll or commune with nature—so beautiful that it was a favorite location for local artists to set up their easels.

In Los Angeles County, where 98 percent of coastal wetlands have been filled in and developed, conservationists worked for three decades to protect the last remnant of the historic Ballona Wetlands near the Los Angeles International Airport.

We helped develop  a new third of an acre park on Maywood Avenue. One of California's most densely populated and park-poor cities, Maywood is located on the edge of the Los Angeles River and surrounded by heavy industrial areas.

Located in the city of Hawthorne, Bicentennial Park is a proposed park renovation that will transform unused and run-down tennis courts into a lively neighborhood park.

Once scheduled for sale as nine development parcels, the ranch was purchased by TPL in 2002 for addition to Los Padres National Forest. The project created an 11-mile stretch of permanently protected coastline between the bridge and Andrew Molera State Park.

In April 2010, following a year-long fundraising campaign, The Trust for Public Land protected Cahuenga Peak, the 138 acres behind the world famous Hollywood Sign. 

In an underserved Los Angeles neighborhood where no green or public spaces exist within a half-mile radius, we're creating a .2-acre park on an abandoned lot that has been vacant since the mid-1990s.

The Trust for Public Land's Central Coast Program works to protect the irreplaceable resources of the California Coast in Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties, encompassing almost 400 miles of coastline.

In 2010, The Trust for Public Land protected more than two miles of Cold Stream, the remarkable Cold Stream Meadow, and nearly three miles of the popular Mount Lola Trail.

It's called "the cornfield" because crops grew there in the 19th century. More recently, this 32-acre property on the edge of LA's downtown and Chinatown was an abandoned railyard slated for a one-million-square-foot industrial development.

Cowell Ranch, the 4,000 acres of oak-studded hills flanking Mount Diablo,a fast-growing region of the state, were earmarked for urban development before TPL completed the $13-million deal to purchase and preserve the land in 2002.

In 2002, TPL protected the 2,500-acre El Capitan Ranch, nearly doubling state park land on California's Gaviota coast.

Ellwood Mesa is a 137-acre coastal bluff near the community of Goleta, north of Santa Barbara. TPL helped protect this property in 2005.

This recent addition to Gaviota State Park supports several species in multiple habitats that include grasslands, chaparral and coastal sage scrub, and is part of a larger effort to consolidate up to 10,000 contiguous acres of wildlands and open space.

In December 2010, TPL was able to pull a bright conservation success story out of the bleak economic downturn, and purchase Bruin Ranch, now known as the Harvego Bear River Preserve, which will eventually underpin a regional wilderness trail and park.

With a generous donation from the Helen Diller Family Foundation, The Trust for Public Land is completely redesigning two existing playgrounds at Civic Center Plaza that are heavily used by children in surrounding neighborhoods where parks and open space are limited.

Ryan Creek is a tributary of the Humboldt Bay, a coastal lagoon on California's rugged North Coast. We are working with Green Diamond Resource Company to preserve 7,550 acres in this area as a community forest outside of Eureka.

In the fall of 2015, The Trust for Public Land purchased the Preserve's 688 acres from the family that has owned the land for most of the 20th century. The newly established Kashia Coastal Preserve restores coastal access to the Kashia, protects important cultural sites, and provides a place to connect present and future generations of the Kashia with their heritage

Liberty Island, on the northwestern fringe of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, is one flooded tract whose flooding has yielded unexpected, and encouraging, results.

The Trust for Public Land is working with City of El Cerrito to purchase the Madera Hillside property and unite the Hillside Natural Area forever.

In the 1960s, the headlands were slated for a 30,000-person housing development. The architects of the deal to conserve this area included three founders of The Trust for Public Land.

Since 1942, Midland School students have enjoyed the open classrooms of the school's fields, forests, and gardens. But in 2006, the school became concerned about encroaching development and reached out to The Trust for Public Land for help.

Mount Eddy is named in honor of Olive Paddock Eddy, who in the 1880s became the first woman to climb this picture-perfect peak. Today, Mt. Eddy is popular with hikers and curious botanists: many endemic species thrive near the creeks and fens, and in midsummer, a range of butterfly species crowd the wildflowers.

To date, TPL has conserved more land in the Sierra Nevada than any other nonprofit organization —more than 145,000 acres including Waddle Ranch in the Martis Valley and parts of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Our Los Angeles Program concentrates on the health and well-being of the region's nearly 10 million residents, working from the mountains to the ocean, and from inner city to wilderness.

Bisected by a meandering section of the Little Truckee River, the
remote, snow-covered Perazzo Meadows property was in imminent danger of
being sold to developers until TPL and its partner, the Truckee Donner
Land Trust, purchased the land in 2009.

Located on a particularly scenic portion of the Northern California coastline, Point Arena is known for its dramatic coastal shelves and bluffs, spring-fed waterfalls.

When a 190-acre golf course along the Carmel River went up for sale, a coalition of local nonprofits and public agencies knew whom to call to save the property from development. The coalition contacted The Trust for Public Land, because it knew we could marshal the resources and expertise needed to act quickly and close the deal.

At more than 3,000 acres, Rancho Monte Alegre the largest remaining undeveloped landscape in the Carpentaria foothills.  

The 3,000-acre Royal Gorge property, which straddles the Sierra Crest at Donner Summit, has it all—sharp granite peaks, lush mountain meadows, old growth forests, crystal clear streams, and a rich human history.

Every year as many as two million people escape the bustle of Los Angeles to hike in Runyon Canyon Park. Located in the Hollywood Hills next door to one of the city’s most crowded neighborhoods, Runyon Canyon is a popular place to meet with friends, walk dogs, hike, and enjoy expansive views.

The Trust for Public Land is working with San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department to engage the community in a participatory design process. The renovation will be anchored in the context of existing recreational facilities and programs within the Tenderloin.

Located in the highest-elevation headwaters of three major rivers—the Middle Yuba, the Little Truckee, and the Feather-nearly 1,200 acres are now protected through the first-ever conservation easement acquired from Sierra Pacific Industries.

The planned quarter-acre South Victoria Avenue Park would reflect the community’s diverse interests and backgrounds.

In May 2011, The Trust for Public Land helped the town of Atascadero in San Luis
Obispo County acquire a new park replete with a popular swimming hole and network of trails connecting to the Los Padres National Forest and, ultimately, the Pacific Ocean.

Located in a popular Sierra Nevada recreation area between Lake Tahoe and North Star ski area, 1,400-acre Waddle Ranch was once slated for the development of 800 homes.

When plans for a housing development fell through, the prospect of giving local children and their parents a safe, welcoming place to meet and play motivated neighbors to step forward and support the creation of a community park in Los Angeles' Watts neighborhood.

The 3,000-acre Webber Lake property is a look back in time.  Once a stop along the Henness Pass Road, the original Webber Lake Hotel—built in the 1860s—still stands on the property.