The SNC is administering the Strategic Land Conservation Directed Grant Program to support land conservation projects that improve public access and protect lands threatened by conversion to development, particularly lands with significant cultural or natural values and those that provide critical resilience to climate change. Planning and implementation projects for both fee title and conservation easement acquisition are eligible.

The WIP Strategic Land Conservation Directed Grant Program conserves lands through the planning and implementation of fee title and conservation easement acquisitions. Acquisitions should aim to protect, restore, or create one or more of the priorities below:

• Important natural lands and expand connectivity and potential for adaptation to climate change
• Climate resilience by protecting and stewarding key landscapes that store carbon, improve water availability, and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire
• Protect and steward water resources, including watersheds, riparian areas, wetlands, and headwaters
• Unique cultural and/or natural areas
• Land of special significance to a Native American tribe
• Working landscapes including farms, ranches, and forests to help local economies
• Access to public lands and recreation opportunities
  

To be eligible, projects must meet all of the following criteria:

• Be located within the Sierra Nevada Conservancy Region.
• Be consistent with the SNC mission and program areas as defined in the SNC Strategic Plan and the Sierra Nevada Watershed Improvement Program (WIP).
• Result in a clear, demonstrable, and enduring public benefit.
• Engage willing sellers only.
• Be consistent with applicable city or county General Plan.

The Strategic Land Conservation Grant Program supports planning projects and implementation projects, as described below. Each project proposal must identify whether it is a planning or implementation project; the project types may not be combined.

• Planning Projects: Planning projects are limited to pre-project activities necessary for a specific future land conservation acquisition. Activities include the required due diligence to complete a specific land conservation acquisition as described under implementation projects. The property or rights to be acquired must be identified, and a letter of intent from the willing seller must be presented. Planning project proposals must demonstrate the feasibility and likelihood that the planning phase will lead to a completed future acquisition.
• Implementation Projects: Implementation projects should complete a fee-title or conservation easement acquisition, including those which provide access for public use or to public lands. Grant deliverables should include a completed acquisition. Implementation projects should have all due diligence, including a current appraisal, complete at the time of application. However, the completion of a Baseline Conditions Report and Phase I Environmental Site Assessment are eligible activities under implementation grants, as well as planning grants.

For examples of eligible projects, see: https://sierranevada.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/326/2022/03/Strategic-Land-Conservation-Grant-Guidelines-2022.pdf#page=6

For information on eligible costs, see: https://sierranevada.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/326/2022/03/Strategic-Land-Conservation-Grant-Guidelines-2022.pdf#page=7

Additional Geographic Information: