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Santa Lucia Conservancy

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Santa Lucia Conservancy

The Santa Lucia Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) non-profit land trust incorporated in 1995 to conserve th

The permanently protected lands administered by the Santa Lucia Conservancy are located within a residential community known as the Santa Lucia Preserve. Created in the early 1990's, the Preserve's development design permanently protected 18,000 acres of the 20,000 acre "Rancho San Carlos" to ensure its ecological, scenic, and scientific values are sustained.

04/06/2026

Happy California Poppy Day! May all your paths be golden.

03/27/2026

Come see us for California Wildlife Day! We have so much to show you this Sunday, March 29, at Palo Corona Regional Park. Doors open at 11 a.m., and we'll be there till 3 p.m. We can't wait to meet you and celebrate the natural wonders of the Central Coast!

01/06/2026

Wild pigs are a nuisance; they tear up landscaping, behave aggressively, and eat just about anything they find. So when a drove boldly entered a grazing pasture this week, our mama cows weren't having it. They charged down and sent the pigs running. We love our herd for a lot of reasons, and they just gave us one more. ❤️

📷 Caroline Hogan

12/30/2025

The environmental scientists of the Santa Lucia Conservancy are expanding our understanding of the extraordinary biodiversity found on Preserve lands. Often, their work brings them joy as well.

Restoration Manager Breanna Rodgers comments, “Through our inventory of streams across the Santa Lucia Preserve this year, the complexity and diversity within San Clemente Creek have been a true joy for us, as it represents the many ways that water can move across a landscape and support native species along the way. We saw fish near the highest point of the stream today! Those are likely steelhead, a population we hope to encourage here!!”

Please DONATE NOW to support the Conservancy’s work! By making your tax-deductible donation through our Monterey County Gives campaign your gift will be matched! Today is the last chance to receive a 2025 tax deduction and have your donation matched. Click here to give now https://montereycountygives.com/santalucia Thank you for your support!

Photo Credit: Suzanne Gill

12/26/2025

Do you ever get that feeling ... of awe? Redwoods will do that to you. Here's a reflection from Breanna Rodgers, the Conservancy's Restoration Manager:
“I have been thinking deeply about the interactions between people and redwoods across the Preserve and our relationship over time. Through conversations with redwood researcher Steve Sillett, we learned that some trees at the Preserve show signs of selective logging of redwoods going back to the mid 1800s by original land grantees. Today, we steward redwoods to create space for biodiversity and stand structure, preserving the big trees and their habitat into the future.”
Here's to that tall, rugged future!

12/17/2025

The Santa Lucia Preserve lies within one of the world’s great biodiversity hotspots, where coastal and inland climates come together to create an extraordinary mix of habitats—from redwood forests and oak woodlands to grasslands, creeks, wetlands, and ponds. 🌿 With more than 90% of the 20,000-acre Preserve permanently protected by the Santa Lucia Conservancy, this landscape provides vital habitat and wildlife corridors for countless species.

At the Santa Lucia Conservancy, we practice adaptive land management—using on-the-ground observations and monitoring to guide conservation actions and adjust our approach as the land responds. Our work includes tracking rare and endangered species, restoring habitat, and improving ecological resilience across the Preserve. Current projects include creek and floodplain restoration, Monarch and Smith’s blue butterfly habitat recovery, and ongoing surveys for the California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, tri-colored blackbird, and Central California Coast steelhead trout.✨

In this season of giving, consider a tax-deductible donation to the Santa Lucia Conservancy.
👉 Donate here: https://slconservancy.org/donate/

Photo Credit: Rachael Anderson

12/10/2025

Each year the Conservancy brings nearly 3,000 participants to our outdoor classroom on the Santa Lucia Preserve for lessons that integrate science, natural history, nature journaling, and art.

Informed students become environmental advocates, choose careers in the science fields more often, and become environmentally conscious decisionmakers!

Your contribution is needed to continue this critical work with Monterey County schools. In this season of giving, consider a donation to the Conservancy through our Monterey County Gives! campaign. Your donation will help pay for field trip transportation, materials, and curriculum development. Donations will be matched! Click here to give http://montereycountygives.com/santalucia
Thank you for your support!

Photo Credit: Kirsten Stember

12/02/2025

We hope you all enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday with celebration and gratitude for the love, laughter, health, resilience, and shared connections in your lives.

We are grateful for supporters throughout the Preserve, Carmel Valley, and the Monterey Peninsula who cherish the natural beauty and rich biodiversity of this region. Together, we can continue to conserve and restore the wildlands and wildlife that make this place so special. On Giving Tuesday, with your support we will:

• Share scientific knowledge of the biodiverse ecosystem through our Environmental Education Program.
• Conserve and enhance sensitive natural communities on the Preserve by conducting inventories of species, restoring native plants like buckwheat and milkweed to support dwindling pollinator populations, and manage rotational cattle and goat grazing to reduce thatch and encourage native grassland expansion.
• Strengthen wildfire resiliency by reducing ladder fuels, conducting selective controlled burning, and eliminating flammable invasive species.

Your support is needed to continue this critical work. In this season of giving, consider a donation to the Conservancy through our Monterey County Gives! campaign. Donations will be matched! Click here to give http://montereycountygives.com/santalucia

Address

5240 Carmel Valley Road
Carmel, CA
93923

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm

Telephone

+18316268595

Website

http://www.slconservancy.org/

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