Environmental protection: Natural Resources Agency: resource of statewide significance: Santa Cruz Mountains

The law directs state natural-resources entities to encourage collaborative conservation of a major habitat, watershed, recreation, and working-land landscape. It does not authorize new land-use or working-land regulations.

What the law does ​

• Defines the covered Santa Cruz Mountains areas in San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz Counties.
• Requires the Natural Resources Agency and its boards, departments, and conservancies, when resources are available and appropriate, to encourage collaborative stewardship.
• Supports ecosystem and wildlife-habitat restoration, healthy forest and watershed management, trails and recreation, and conservation of working lands.
• Encourages collaboration with local tribes on cultural-resource protection, restoration, management, access, cultural practices, and potential comanagement of ancestral lands.
• Promotes voluntary stewardship on public and private land through technical assistance, conservation easements, incentives, and multibenefit projects.

Who it affects ​

• Public agencies, private landowners, and working forest, ranch, timber, and agricultural land operators in the defined area.
• Local tribes, conservation partners, recreation users, and communities relying on the region’s water, habitat, and open space.

Context ​

The Legislature identifies the region as ecologically, culturally, historically, and environmentally significant, including as a wildlife corridor and climate-resilience resource.