Rooted in Landscape Stewardship & Climate Resiliency
The largest and most
diverse state park system in the
world, California’s parks have 1.6 million acres,
340 miles of coastline, 970 miles of lake and river
frontage, and 4,500 miles of trails. State parks include many
critical ecosystems that provide global significance far beyond park boundaries.
1.6m
acres of
park land
4,500
miles of
trails
miles of lakes & river frontage
970
340
miles of
coastline
In 2022 we focused our stewardship and climate efforts on:
Thousands of species rely on the health of California’s unique park landscapes and habitats. In 2022, we focused on the greatest impacts on parks: climate change and increased visitation, and brought together communities and partners to accelerate and scale landscape stewardship to build toward climate resiliency.
Innovative Tools & Trainings
We work to incubate innovative tools, systems, and approaches that enable California State Parks to steward parks — offering unique nimbleness to advance new partnerships, help to prototype new ideas, and develop proof-of-concepts for parks to integrate. For example, in 2022 we launched a pilot project developing Visitor Use Management Tools to equip park managers with new approaches to providing high-quality and accessible visitor experiences while protecting sensitive resources. Additionally, we collaboratively created Data-Driven Decision-Making Tools to get 21st century data management approaches into the hands of state park staff to more efficiently monitor, evaluate, and prioritize projects.
4,500
miles of
trails
miles of lakes & river frontage
970
At Crystal Cove State Park, our career pathways participants were instrumental in implementing wildlife monitoring innovations, such as: utilizing game camera technology that allows park scientists to better understand wildlife populations and behavior-and how to best care for them.
1.6m
acres of
park land
4,500
miles of
trails
970
miles of lakes & river frontage
In 2022 we focused our stewardship and climate efforts on:
Climate Resilience Strategies
With Parks California’s help, State Parks is evaluating which park resources, values, and assets are most vulnerable to climate change impacts and identifying the resources necessary to address them. Through our Climate Fellowship, we are working with state parks to build tools, templates, and integrated science to help make the most climate-informed decisions to address today and tomorrow’s threats of sea level rise, catastrophic wildfire, flooding, and extreme heat.
"This fellowship helped me to think deeply about climate policy and program implementation."
Ryan Swanson
Parks California's first Climate Fellow
Parks of the Future