Restore

Once we have conserved the land, the second step is restoration. 

Notwithstanding their spectacular beauty and ecological richness, many of the properties we acquire have legacy resource challenges that must be addressed. Those challenges include forests overstocked with small trees after a century of logging and fire suppression and meadows degraded by erosion or before channelization of adjoining creeks. 

The good news is that most of these problems can be fixed if one invests the time and funds necessary to do so. The process starts with developing a long-term management plan for each property that prioritizes the work needed and the funding required. Thankfully, a number of state and federal agencies have programs to support resource restoration on private lands.  While restoration requires a multi-year commitment, the reward is a healthier landscape, one that is more resilient to natural disturbance like fire and flood, as well as to climate change.  NSP partners currently have restoration efforts underway throughout the region, including at Royal Gorge, Independence Lake and Heart K Ranch. 

In addition to implementing restoration projects on partner-owned properties, NSP – with The Nature Conservancy in the lead – is helping to advance an exciting initiative to accelerate the pace and scale of ecological forest restoration efforts on public lands in the Northern Sierra.  Read more about that critically important effort here.