Santa Lucia Conservancy

Conserving Biodiversity

The Santa Lucia Preserve is situated within one of the world’s great ‘biodiversity hotspots,’ globally recognized as a place of exceptional ecological value. At the intersection of coastal and inland climate gradients, The Preserve is a mosaic of habitats: maritime chaparral and coastal scrub, oak woodlands and coast redwood forests, [...]

Reducing Wildfire Risk

Our vision for fire and fuels management on The Preserve is one that harmoniously balances the protection of life, property, and biodiversity with long-term ecosystem resilience. Our proactive wildfire resilience strategy includes shaded fuel breaks, prescribed burns, conservation grazing, invasive plant removal, a Preserve-wide fuel management plan, and lot-specific fuel [...]

Environmental Education

With a place-based, experiential learning approach, our free Environmental Education Program connects students with nature and promotes ecological literacy, environmental stewardship, and social-emotional learning with field trips that integrate science, natural history, and art. Age-appropriate classes are consistent with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and take an ecosystem-level approach to understanding subjects [...]

Fostering Land Stewardship

The Santa Lucia Preserve was founded upon a bold and unique private land conservation model. Over 90% of the 20,000-acre Santa Lucia Preserve is permanently protected and managed by the Conservancy to maintain ecological values. The remaining 10% is zoned for residential development, supporting a vibrant community of people who [...]

Who is the Conservancy?

The Santa Lucia Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) non-profit land trust incorporated in 1995 to conserve the ecological integrity of the protected lands within the Santa Lucia Preserve in Carmel, California. We are dedicated to advancing the art and science of conservation-compatible development through adaptive land management, conservation easement stewardship, ecological research and environmental education programs. Learn more here.

What is The Preserve?

The Santa Lucia Preserve is a private residential community where people and nature thrive together. Extraordinary thought and planning went into the design of this unique community, with the goal of sustainably integrating the human and natural communities for the benefit of both. Learn more.

Recent Blog Posts

Prescribed Burn Planned for the Santa Lucia Preserve June 7-9

CCPBA participants work on mop-up at the 2022 Dairy Field Prescribed Burn. Photo by Alix Soliman. In collaboration with the Santa Lucia Conservancy, the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association (CCPBA) will be conducting a prescribed burn on The Preserve June 7, 8, or 9 as part of the first California Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (Cal-TREX) hosted in the region. Because […]

How to Identify Poison Oak Throughout its Life Cycle

By Alix Soliman, Communications & Outreach Coordinator Children recite “leaves of three, let it be,” but that’s not always specific enough, especially for those most susceptible to poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum). Since poison oak is a deciduous plant, it doesn’t always have leaves. As the seasons change, you’ll find both barren sticks and shiny new sprouts in various hues. The […]

California Clovers: Unsung Heroes of the Meadow

Featured Image: The rare Pacific Grove clover (Trifolium polyodon). Photo by Alix Soliman. By Andrew Evans, Conservation Grazing Associate Clovers are the underdogs of wildflower world. Standing shorter than your hiking boots, often with small flowers, many wildflower lovers miss the stellar diversity of native clovers in California. The Preserve has 13 closely related native species, nine of which are […]