Land Acquisition Program

Overview

The acquisition program is administered pursuant to the Board’s original enabling legislation, "The Wildlife Conservation Law of 1947" (Fish and Game Section 1300, et seq.) and land acquisition is a component of all Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) programs. The WCB acquires real property or rights in real property on behalf of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and can also grant funds to other governmental entities or nonprofit organizations to acquire real property or rights in real property.

All acquisitions are made on a "willing seller" basis pursuant to a fair market value appraisal as approved by the Department of General Services (DGS). The acquisition activities are carried out in conjunction with the CDFW, which generally entails CDFW evaluating the biological values of property through development of a Land Acquisition Evaluation (LAE; used for a single property) or Conceptual Area Protection Plan (CAPP; used for multiple properties). Once these evaluations are completed, they are submitted to CDFW’s Director for review and approval and then sent to the WCB with a recommendation to fund. Typically this process can take anywhere from 6 to 12 months. Concurrent to this the WCB regularly meets with CDFW to help evaluate and set acquisition priorities as new opportunities present themselves.

For additional information on the CDFW land acquisition evaluation process (LAEs and CAPPs), contact the CDFW regional office where the property is located.

Information on Conservation Easement Grants

• New Policies governing Grant Agreements and Conservation Easements, Adopted August 17, 2006 (PDF)
• WCB Minimum Standards for Baseline Condition Reports (Word)
• WCB Minimum Standards for Monitoring Protocol (PDF)
• WCB Conservation Easement Minimum Requirements (Updated January 2019) (PDF)
• WCB Conservation Easement Minimum Requirements Checklist (Updated January 2019) (PDF)
• WCB Appraisal Review and Disclosure Policy (Amended March 2013) (PDF)

Information on Fee Grants

• New Policies governing Grant Agreements and Conservation Easements, Adopted August 17, 2006 (PDF)
• WCB Appraisal Review and Disclosure Policy (Amended March 2013) (PDF)