The Preserve

The Cosumnes River Preserve consists of over  50,000 acres of wildlife habitat and agricultural lands owned by seven land-owning Partners. The Partners include The Nature Conservancy, Bureau of Land Management, California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Sacramento County Regional Parks, Department of Water Resources, Ducks Unlimited, and the California State Lands Commission. The Preserve is centered along the Cosumnes River, its floodplains and riparian habitat. This habitat is buffered by a variety of agricultural operations. The Preserve provides numerous social, economic, and recreational benefits to local communities and to people residing in the larger Sacramento and San Joaquin areas. The habitat supports wildlife, including birds that migrate throughout the Pacific Flyway.

Vision Statement

The Cosumnes River Preserve Partnership envisions the permanent protection of floodplains, wetlands, valley oak riparian forests, vernal pool grasslands, and compatible agricultural lands within the lower Cosumnes River watershed and the upper Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.  The Partnership will continue to utilize inter-disciplinary programs that integrate environmental protection, restoration, and long-term land management with education, stewardship, science, and public policy strategies to sustain a dynamic mosaic of habitats that support native plant and animal species.  The Partnership will reduce potential barriers and provide opportunities so that all people may appreciate the flora and fauna of the Cosumnes River Preserve.

Our Mission

The mission of the Cosumnes River Preserve Partnership is to collaboratively protect, restore, and manage land and water to conserve Central Valley native plant and animal species, while also providing a diverse public with opportunities for environmental education, outdoor recreation, and scientific research.


Our History

The Nature Conservancy, an international non-profit conservation organization dedicated to the preservation of biodiversity since 1951, first became active in south Sacramento County in 1984. The organization purchased a conservation easement on 85 acres of valley oak riparian forest. In 1987, with the acquisition of more than 1,400 additional acres, the Conservancy officially established the Cosumnes River Preserve. Since then, the Preserve has grown with the aid of our many supporters. Ducks Unlimited, the leading non-profit wetlands conservation organization in the U.S., joined as a partner in 1988, along with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.  The California Department of Fish & Game, working with the Wildlife Conservation Board, joined as partners in 1990 by purchasing 840 acres of valley oak woodland and seasonal sloughs, followed shortly by the Sacramento County Department of Regional Parks in 1993. The California Department of Water Resources officially became a partner in 1996, with the purchase of agricultural land.


Parcel Map

To download an overall parcel map, please click here: overall parcel map