In the verdant expanse of the Santa Cruz Mountains, a pioneering initiative for environmental stewardship has taken root. The Santa Cruz Mountains Stewardship Network (SCMSN), a collaborative of 25 entities, embodies an innovative approach to land stewardship, uniting many of the region’s conservation groups, government agencies, academic institutions, private landowners, and Indigenous communities in an effort to care for a region with a million acres of awe-inspiring landscapes, redwood forests, and ecological treasures.

The Network uses an emergent strategy: It brings member organizations together to discuss issues — fire, forest health, water quality, climate adaptation — and through that interaction discovers opportunities to collaborate on specific projects and programs. The SCMSN is the container in which member organizations can build relationships, generate ideas, and move ideas into action.

Even though the network helps to combine brain power and enhance conservation in our region, this type of collaborative model is often difficult to secure funding for — especially in traditional philanthropic circles.

The Network at Work

In August 2020, the Santa Cruz Mountains experienced a stark demonstration of the ecosystem’s vulnerability — and the immense value of a collaborative that fosters innovative stewardship strategies and regional cooperation — when the CZU Lightning Complex Fire swept through these ancient woods, incinerating over 86,000 acres, including swathes of the iconic Big Basin Redwoods State Park

In the years following the catastrophe, the fire has dominated land stewardship concerns in the region. The Network has provided a forum where members are inspired to combine their expertise and assets to meet the challenges created by the fire — enhancing individual group efforts and enabling more robust protection and preservation of the region and those who call it home.

By engaging in dialogue, sharing updates on projects, and building mutual trust, SCMSN members have initiated hundreds of collaborative land stewardship projects since its formation in 2014. Many collaborative fire prevention and forest health projects have grown out of the network, like the restoration of 180 acres of land in an area that was historically an indigenous village by the Amah Mutsun Land Trust, California State Parks, and the San Mateo Resource Conservation District. The SCMSN also developed a groundbreaking Vegetation Map of the region which, funded by Network members, foundations, and the State of California, combines high-resolution imagery and detailed botanical data to create an indispensable resource for land stewardship. Organizations across the Santa Cruz mountains, including Cal Fire and California State Parks, use it to make decisions about land management — from planning large, controlled burns that reduce fuel loads, to strategizing the conservation of butterflies.

Read the full article about collaborative environmental stewardship by Dylan Skybrook at The Center for Effective Philanthropy.