California announced $44 million in funding for 15 conservation projects across 11 counties to support tribal stewardship, salmon recovery, and habitat protection, according to Governor Gavin Newsom's office. The investments advance the state's goal of conserving 30 percent of California's lands and coastal waters by 2030.
The grants, awarded through the Wildlife Conservation Board, include $32 million in voter-approved Climate Bond funds. Projects range from purchasing ancestral tribal lands to restoring stream habitat and protecting desert wildlife corridors.
A core component strengthens tribal partnerships. The Tribal EcoRestoration Alliance received funding to purchase approximately 80 acres in Lake County on ancestral Robinson Rancheria and Pomo Indian lands, expanding an ecological restoration training center. The site will protect oak woodlands and wetlands while offering job training and cultural programs for tribal communities.
In Siskiyou County, The Wildlands Conservancy received $11.5 million to expand the Beaver Valley Headwaters Preserve, acquiring approximately 14,177 acres that connect over 20,000 acres of habitat to protect salmon and steelhead runs. The property also provides critical habitat for elk, deer, bear, and native bird species.
Other projects include stream and floodplain restoration near Granada in Siskiyou County, mountain meadow restoration along Lake Tahoe's largest tributary, and conservation of approximately 1,093 acres in the Eastern Mojave to protect desert tortoise habitat and Joshua tree woodlands.
The state has previously announced progress on salmon restoration. Commercial ocean salmon fishing resumed for the first time since 2022, and in November 2025, the state announced repopulation efforts in the Klamath River. A June 2024 project released seven beavers into the South Fork Tule River watershed for the first time in over a century to improve water supply and drought resilience.