Center for Natural Lands Management

What Center for Natural Lands Management does

The Center for Natural Lands Management (CNLM) is a nonprofit land trust founded in 1990 and headquartered in Temecula, California, that protects and manages imperiled species and their habitats in perpetuity across California, Oregon, and Washington. CNLM owns preserves in fee simple (including the 26,400-acre Panoche Valley Preserve and the 1,957-acre High Country Preserve), holds perpetual conservation easements over private and public lands, operates the Ohlone West Conservation Bank in Alameda County for species mitigation credits, and runs the Washington Native Plant Nursery, which produces more than 1,700 pounds of native seed annually for prairie restoration. Its core technology stack is an adaptive management framework that combines ecological monitoring, wildlife camera grids, and the proprietary Property Analysis Record (PAR) cost-analysis app used to calculate long-term stewardship endowments. CNLM is Land Trust Alliance accredited since 2008 and staffs Ph.D. scientists, ecologists, and legal counsel to deliver science-based stewardship.

CNLM's business model blends nonprofit revenue streams: individual donations through online portals, government grants (California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bonneville Power Administration, Bureau of Land Management), foundation grants (Roger I. and Ruth B. MacFarlane Foundation), conservation easement monitoring and enforcement fees tied to endowments established by developers or agencies, and transactional mitigation credit sales from the Ohlone West Conservation Bank. Customers and partners include federal and state wildlife agencies, county and municipal governments (Riverside County, City of Temecula, Sacramento County Airport System), tribal nations (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs), private landowners (Davies-Rowan Family), developers (Fletcher Conservation Lands, Newhall Ranch), and academic institutions (California State University San Marcos, CSU Stanislaus). The organization pursues additional revenue through its recently launched Species Research and Recovery Program, public trail access at select preserves, and volunteer engagement.

Name

Center for Natural Lands Management

Legal name

Center for Natural Lands Management

Website

https://cnlm.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CNLM is a nonprofit land trust founded in 1990 that protects imperiled species and habitats across California, Oregon, and Washington through fee ownership, conservation easements, mitigation banking, and science-based adaptive management.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Conservation Land Management and Land Trust Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219), Administration of Conservation Programs (92412), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wildlife, Biodiversity & Habitat Conservation Administration (BPAIAMAG), Conservation Easements & Land Trust Services (AFAMAMAH), Facilities Maintenance & Environmental Services (Waste, Water, Trail Maintenance, Restrooms) (THAAAGAI)

Keywords

• Land conservation management
• Habitat restoration services
• Conservation easement stewardship
• Endangered species recovery
• Mitigation banking services

Headquarters

HQ city

Temecula

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: CNLM accepts public donations through online portals (donationpay.org) to support preserve management, species protection, and conservation programs. The organization relies on charitable giving from individuals passionate about conservation.
2. Conservation Easement Fees: CNLM holds conservation easements over private and public lands, receiving compensation for long-term monitoring, enforcement, and defense responsibilities. Easements are often funded through endowments established by developers or government agencies.
3. Mitigation Banking: CNLM operates conservation banks (Ohlone West Conservation Bank) that provide environmental mitigation credits for projects affecting endangered species and habitats. Credits are sold to developers needing to offset environmental impacts.
4. Government Grants: CNLM receives grants from government agencies including California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bonneville Power Administration, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and private foundations (Roger I. and Ruth B. MacFarlane Foundation) to fund specific conservation projects.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Center for Natural Lands Management is a nonprofit land trust that owns, acquires, and perpetually manages conservation preserves for the protection of imperiled species and their habitats across California, Washington, and Oregon. Its core services include fee-simple preserve management, conservation easement monitoring and enforcement, mitigation banking through the Ohlone West Conservation Bank, science-based species recovery research, and native plant nursery operations supporting habitat restoration.

Product overview

CNLM operates as a land trust organization offering a unified suite of conservation land management services. The core offering consists of preserve management services and conservation easement monitoring, supported by the Species Research and Recovery Program (SRRP) for wildlife research, the Property Analysis Record (PAR) cost analysis app for endowment planning, and the Washington Native Plant Nursery for native plant propagation. Additional services include the Ohlone West Conservation Bank for mitigation credits and public trail access at select preserves. The organization protects and manages imperiled species and their habitats across California, Washington, and Oregon through professional, science-based stewardship in perpetuity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Preserve Management Services Fee-simple ownership and perpetual management of conservation preserves protecting imperiled species and their habitats through professional, science-based stewardship, delivered across California, Washington, and Oregon.
• Conservation Easement Monitoring and Enforcement CNLM holds conservation easements over private and public lands, providing perpetual monitoring, enforcement, and defense of conservation values, with easements funded through endowments established by developers or government agencies.
• Species Research and Recovery Program (SRRP) Science-based research and conservation program focused on protecting at-risk wildlife and their habitats, studying disease ecology, wildlife health, and conservation management for species including San Joaquin kit foxes and riparian brush rabbits.
• Washington Native Plant Nursery Native plant and seed program in Washington State growing approximately 100 native species—including rare and endangered plants—for prairie ecosystem restoration, harvesting over 1,700 lbs of native seed per year.
• Ohlone West Conservation Bank Conservation bank providing environmental mitigation credits for projects impacting California tiger salamander, California red-legged frog, Alameda whipsnake, and Callippe silverspot butterfly habitat, sold to developers needing to offset environmental impacts.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,700 lbs of native seed harvested annually for prairie restoration
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• California State University, StanislauscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2025ESRP was administered at CSU Stanislaus for 33 years before funding cuts. CNLM integrated remaining ESRP staff into its new Species Research and Recovery Program (SRRP), continuing conservation work in the Central Valley.
• Oregon Department of Fish and WildlifecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025ODFW administered the Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program funding for the Molalla River and Forest Preserve conservation easement. CNLM works with ODFW to permanently protect important fish and wildlife habitat in the Willamette Basin.
• Bonneville Power AdministrationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025BPA provided funding through ODFW's Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program to permanently protect salmonid habitat along the Molalla River. This funding fulfills BPA's obligations under the Northwest Power Act and Endangered Species Act.
• Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of OregoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde have ancestral ties to the Molalla River land dating back thousands of years. Their support was instrumental in establishing the conservation easement, and tribal interests including ceremonial use, fishing, and plant harvest are incorporated into the preserve management.
• Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of OregoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025The Warm Springs Tribe's ancestral ties to the land date back thousands of years. Their support for the conservation easement helped protect culturally significant plants including salal, salmon berry, huckleberry, and blackberry.
• California Department of Fish and WildlifecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025CDFW representatives visited Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve to review desert pupfish recovery efforts at Simone Pond. CDFW collaborated with CNLM and USFWS on decade-long invasive species control to prepare the pond as pupfish refugium.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025USFWS collaborated with CNLM and CDFW on invasive species control and pupfish recovery at Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve. USFWS also maintains Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge within the preserve system.
• Save the SnakesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Sacramento nonprofit partnered with CNLM, State Senator Roger Niello, and California Rice Commission to draft Senate Bill 765 making giant gartersnake the official California State Snake.
• California Rice CommissionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnered with Save the Snakes and CNLM to draft Senate Bill 765 for giant gartersnake state symbol designation, supporting conservation awareness efforts.
• Davies-Rowan FamilyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2024The Davies-Rowan family held land along the Upper Molalla River for over a century. CNLM partnered with the family to establish a conservation easement protecting 143.9 acres of mixed forest and riparian habitat and 0.9-mile stretch of the river. The family was instrumental in protecting the property from logging and development since the 1940s.
• California State University San MarcosminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024CNLM partnered with CSU San Marcos for Roripaugh Ranch Preserve to provide educational and research activities enhancing student experience in natural sciences while contributing to science-based management.
• Sacramento County Airport SystemcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024SCAS constructed Prichard Lake Preserve in 2008 as mitigation for giant gartersnake protection and granted conservation easement and perpetual management to CNLM. SCAS staff assisted during 2024 wildfire.
• Trust for Public LandminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Patrick Gardner, Land Acquisitions Program Manager, previously worked across Colorado and the Southwest managing projects for Trust for Public Land.
• U.S. Forest ServiceminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023CNLM staff have experience managing land exchange projects involving U.S. Forest Service at federal level as part of prior conservation work.
• Department of DefenseminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023CNLM preserve managers have experience working with Department of Defense on land exchanges and conservation projects, and Dana Point Preserve is near Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
• The Nature ConservancycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013TNC was a major force behind the Coachella Valley Preserve System formation. TNC transferred ownership of Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve to CNLM in 2013.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• The Nature Conservancy: One of the world's largest environmental nonprofits, directly comparable to CNLM as a conservation land trust protecting imperiled species and habitats. TNC previously transferred Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve to CNLM, illustrating a direct operating overlap and the same conservation banking/easement model at much greater scale.
• Ducks Unlimited: Large habitat-focused nonprofit conserving wetlands and associated species through fee ownership, easements, and government partnerships. Comparable to CNLM in conservation banking/government work, but with a wetland/waterfowl specialization and much larger footprint.
• Defenders of Wildlife: National wildlife conservation nonprofit that works on endangered species policy, habitat protection, and land acquisition. Overlaps with CNLM on ESA-listed species recovery (desert pupfish, San Joaquin kit fox) and government partnership-driven land protection.

Direct peers

• Trust for Public Land: National nonprofit focused on land conservation, conservation easements, and creating parks for public access. TPL is highly comparable to CNLM given shared conservation easement work, mitigation, and partnerships with agencies, and a CNLM land acquisition staffer previously worked there.
• Western Rivers Conservancy: Regional land trust that acquires land along rivers and streams in the western US to protect salmonid habitat, often partnering with BPA, ODFW, and tribal nations. Highly comparable to CNLM's Molalla River and Forest Preserve work and Pacific Northwest salmonid conservation model.
• Pacific Forest Trust: Regional nonprofit focused on forest and watershed conservation through working forest easements in the Pacific Coast states. Highly comparable to CNLM's California/Oregon/Washington footprint, conservation easement model, and Forest Preserve work along the Molalla River.
• The Conservation Fund: National nonprofit that acquires and manages conservation lands, working forests, and mitigation projects for federal, state, and private partners. Highly comparable to CNLM in operating model, working-lands focus, and government partnership orientation, but at much larger national scale.
• Mojave Desert Land Trust: California-based land trust focused on desert ecosystems and imperiled species across the Mojave region. Closely comparable to CNLM's desert preserve work (Panoche Valley, Thousand Palms, Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard) and California-focused conservation easement operations.

Regional players

• Environmental Defense Fund: National environmental nonprofit working on habitat, species, and ecosystem markets including mitigation credit programs. Compares to CNLM on science-driven conservation and biodiversity offset market development, though EDF is more policy/market focused than direct land stewardship.

Others

• Land Trust Alliance: National umbrella organization that accredits land trusts and represents the broader land trust community. CNLM holds LTA accreditation since 2008; LTA is not a direct peer but is the closest ecosystem association and sets the standards CNLM must meet.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Center for Natural Lands Management