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California Wildlife Program

Connecting Habitat, Protecting Wildlife

WCN’s California Wildlife Program aims to restore and connect fragmented habitat, benefiting pumas and other wildlife in California.

Why is Connectivity Important for Wildlife in California?

Like many populated areas, California’s story is one of habitat loss and fragmentation. However, we have a real chance to change this story. WCN’s California Wildlife Program is striving for a California where people coexist with healthy wildlife populations and ecological integrity is sustained.
Read Our Strategic Plan Explore Wildlife Crossing Map

Protecting Pumas and California's Wildlife

Support the California Wildlife Program

A Unique Landscape

California has long been admired for its magnificent and highly varied landscapes, ranging from arid deserts to breathtaking coastline.

Find out more

The Problem

Sprawling urban areas, freeways, and certain types of agriculture have isolated puma populations and such close proximity to people can lead to conflict.

Find out more

Our Solution

Through this program, WCN is supporting conservation efforts in North America for the first time. Our initial focus will be on restoring and maintaining habitat connectivity for vulnerable puma populations.

Find out more

Projects Supported

With the California Wildlife Program, WCN will support efforts to repair and protect these ecosystems and help vibrant human populations successfully coexist with wildlife.

Find out more

A Unique Landscape

Pumas can be found in nearly all of these landscapes—traversing California’s craggy mountain peaks, rugged shrublands, and scattered forests. But despite this diverse range, these tawny-colored cats are living in a fragmented habitat.

The Problem

Their isolation puts pumas at risk for local extinction and as they are a cornerstone of a robust wild California, without pumas, ecosystems can unravel. The pumas’ fragmented habitat must be restored and connected to maintain healthy wildlife populations.

Our Solution

This focus will help recover isolated puma populations as well as protect the many other species—from foxes to salamanders to owls. From its most cosmopolitan cities to its rural communities, California’s roughly 40 million people live in and around a stunning landscape rich in biodiversity.

Projects Supports

Potential projects include:

  • Supporting policy initiatives, including efforts at the intersections of wildfire resilience, urban sprawl, infill development, housing, and transportation.
  • Catalyzing land purchases to protect key habitats.
  • Advancing the implementation of wildlife crossings at highways and other linear infrastructure.
  • Convening stakeholders for problem-solving, collaboration, and shared learning.
  • Building capacity in local and statewide organizations.
  • Supporting scientific research that might be necessary to inform conservation projects and practice.

A Unique Landscape

California has long been admired for its magnificent and highly varied landscapes, ranging from arid deserts to breathtaking coastline.

Find out more

The Problem

Sprawling urban areas, freeways, and certain types of agriculture have isolated puma populations and such close proximity to people can lead to conflict.

Find out more

Our Solution

Through this program, WCN is supporting conservation efforts in North America for the first time. Our initial focus will be on restoring and maintaining habitat connectivity for vulnerable puma populations.

Find out more

Projects Supported

With the California Wildlife Program, WCN will support efforts to repair and protect these ecosystems and help vibrant human populations successfully coexist with wildlife.

Find out more

A Unique Landscape

Pumas can be found in nearly all of these landscapes—traversing California’s craggy mountain peaks, rugged shrublands, and scattered forests. But despite this diverse range, these tawny-colored cats are living in a fragmented habitat.

The Problem

Their isolation puts pumas at risk for local extinction and as they are a cornerstone of a robust wild California, without pumas, ecosystems can unravel. The pumas’ fragmented habitat must be restored and connected to maintain healthy wildlife populations.

Our Solution

This focus will help recover isolated puma populations as well as protect the many other species—from foxes to salamanders to owls. From its most cosmopolitan cities to its rural communities, California’s roughly 40 million people live in and around a stunning landscape rich in biodiversity.

Projects Supports

Potential projects include:

  • Supporting policy initiatives, including efforts at the intersections of wildfire resilience, urban sprawl, infill development, housing, and transportation.
  • Catalyzing land purchases to protect key habitats.
  • Advancing the implementation of wildlife crossings at highways and other linear infrastructure.
  • Convening stakeholders for problem-solving, collaboration, and shared learning.
  • Building capacity in local and statewide organizations.
  • Supporting scientific research that might be necessary to inform conservation projects and practice.

From California to Kenya, WCN saves wildlife around the world. Sign up to read the stories.

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Photography Credits: (c) Sebastian Kennerknecht, National Park Service
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