photo credit: Sonoma Land Trust
Hikers exploring McCormick Ranch.

California's Habitat Conservation Fund escaped the budget axe for the past two years -- but this week, the state Senate is considering a bill to extend it through 2035.

The money goes to buy land to establish wildlife corridors and keep habitat pristine.

Beth Pratt, California regional executive director for the National Wildlife Federation, said the fund benefits species all across the state.

"Whether you're a humpback whale in the Pacific Ocean, a monarch butterfly overwintering on California's coast, a Chinook salmon spawning in the Sacramento River, or mountain lions roaming in L.A.'s Santa Monica Mountains," said Pratt, "this fund is critical to ensuring that wildlife have a future in California."

In 1990, voters approved Proposition 117, which established the Habitat Conservation Fund and allocated $30 million per year.

It has been central to the new wildlife crossing, currently under construction, over the 101 Freeway in Southern California. The crossing will allow mountain lions access to other breeding populations.

Since 1990, the fund has provided more than $1 billion to conservation efforts and has protected more than 1.2 million acres. State Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, authored the bill.

"Our entire state budget is $320 billion," said Blakespear. "So this $30 million every year for habitat conservation is not going to make a difference in that overall budget, but it is critically important to support our ecosystems."

Projects made possible by the Habitat Conservation Fund in Sonoma County include the contribution of $650,000 towards the purchase of 198 acres of McCormick Ranch to "protect the wildlife corridors and the Columbian black-tailed deer and mountain lion habitats," according to California State Parks. The Sonoma Land Trust said in a 2023 press release, "we are thrilled to announce that the last of the remaining undeveloped parcels of what was the historic McCormick Ranch property has been acquired, and will be protected forever. It will be added to Hood Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve and the Napa County portion will be owned by Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District, after transfer from the Napa Land Trust."

In 2024, the fund contributed $92,000 to renovate the Sonoma Overlook Trail and add retaining walls in the city of Sonoma.

In 2019, the fund contributed $220,000 to add 54 acres to the Taylor Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve, including a half-mile of Cooper Creek.