This report presents the approach, methods, conclusions, and recommendations of the San Francisco Bay Area Upland Habitat Goals Project, a five-year science-based study to identify the most essential lands needed to sustain the biodiversity of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The project identified the types, amount, and distribution of habitats – the Conservation Lands Network – and the ecological processes needed to sustain healthy and diverse populations of plants, fish, and wildlife in the nine county Bay Area. The Conservation Lands Network is a mosaic of existing protected lands, additional lands to support irreplaceable rare and endemic species, and vast tracts of intact common vegetation types. The network design prioritized ecological integrity and watershed functions to ensure resilience to environmental disturbance.
The Conservation Lands Network is a guide to help conservation practitioners, policymakers, regulators, funders, and landowners make informed investments in biodiversity conservation.
The website for the Conservation Lands Network, www.BayAreaLands.org, makes the project information readily accessible. It includes the Conservation Lands Network Explorer, an online tool that allows the user to draw the boundary of an area of interest and explore the natural resources found on the property. The website also contains the downloadable Conservation Lands Network GIS Database, this report and its appendices, detailed maps, and background material.
