Shasta County is a biologically diverse part of the state with 43 of the 59 identified different wildlife habitat classifications, according to the California Wildlife Habitat Relationship System. A variety of habitat in our region support various species including many that are endangered and threatened. By conserving landscapes with diverse habitats, wildlife, and plant species, we can protect resources necessary for natural communities to survive in our changing climate.

Strategic Actions:

• Identify and conserve critical habitats that will support California’s biodiversity and ecosystems.

• Protect habitats necessary for shelter, food, and breeding that are critical for the survival of special status species.

• Conserve core habitats and the lands that connect them to allow diverse species to move between resilient ecosystems in order to support their long-term survival.

Water sustains life and has immense economic, ecological, and cultural importance. 

Our region is situated within the ecologically significant Sacramento River Watershed, with numerous subwatersheds. These watersheds provide vital water resources necessary for the survival of local populations, wildlife, and native ecosystems. The rivers, lakes, streams, cold water springs, and other riparian and aquatic habitats in our area are crucial sources of water for the environment, agriculture, households, fire protection, Tribal Nations, and recreation in our community. 

As temperatures rise due to climate change, increased evaporation reduces surface water, decreases snowpack, dries out soils and vegetation, and leads to extreme precipitation events, such as flooding and drought. By protecting valuable watersheds, we can safeguard aquatic resources that may prove crucial in a changing climate.

Strategic Actions:

• Include Adaptive Management Plans with each conservation easement project that focus on proactive climate-smart management of wetlands and riparian areas for the purpose of enhancing water quality and supply.

• Conserve groundwater recharge zones within priority watersheds, including rivers, wetlands, and irrigated pasture.

• Protect intact headwaters, cold spring habitats, aquatic ecosystems such as vernal pools, and high priority streams.

Soil carbon sequestration is a process in which carbon dioxide (CO2) is removed from the atmosphere and stored in a carbon pool, often in the soil, or in biomass, meaning leaves and other organic material. Current global projections require cutting 30 gigatons of carbon emissions a year by 2030 if we are to keep global temperature increases well below the target goal of 2 degrees Celsius, (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). If carbon-storing forests, grasslands, wetlands and farmlands are protected and allowed to serve necessary ecological functions, natural carbon sequestration processes can reduce more than one-third of the emissions needed to hit this goal (Nature Conservancy, 2019).

By conserving lands with high carbon stores or high carbon sequestration potential, we can proactively keep carbon out of the atmosphere. 

Strategic Actions:

• Use conservation easements to strategically protect forested properties with high carbon storage capacity and/or potential.

• Conserve properties with grasslands that have a high carbon storage capacity and are at risk of development or conversion to other land uses.

The scaling effects of climate change combined with a rising global population make it harder to ensure a stable food supply in the future. Farms and ranchlands not only provide the food that we eat, but also provide vital ecosystem functions. With good stewardship, these lands can also sequester carbon in the soil, maintain soil health, protect water quality, and provide healthy ecosystems for native plants and animals. 

By protecting agricultural lands and promoting best management practices, we can encourage and assist agricultural landowners to support healthy ecosystems while safeguarding our community from potential climate change impacts to food supply chains.

Strategic Actions:

• Co-develop Adaptive Management Plans with landowners for agricultural conservation easements focusing on proactive vegetation management and soil health to increase soil carbon and function for improved fertility, crop production, and forage growth. 

• Prioritize the protection of properties with active land management utilizing climate-smart agricultural practices.

• Protect large, intact, working landscapes in order to sustain local food networks.