Northern Sierra Partnership (NSP) is a collaborative initiative of five nonprofit organizations working together to conserve, restore, and expand opportunities to enjoy the Northern Sierra Nevada, one of California’s most ecologically significant regions. Since its launch in 2007, NSP has helped to conserve over 164,000 acres across the region, earning a reputation as one of the most ambitious and effective conservation campaigns in the nation.

The secret to the Partnership’s success is collaboration. Each of its five organizational partners brings unique strengths, from local knowledge to scientific expertise and national networks. The partners work together across jurisdictions and landscapes, aligning resources and expertise to achieve outcomes otherwise unachievable. This highly collaborative approach, refined over almost two decades, has enabled the Partnership to take on increasingly ambitious, multi-year projects to address the region’s most pressing environmental challenges.

A recent priority has been conserving the Tahoe Martis Headwaters, one of the last large unprotected landscapes near Lake Tahoe. The project reflects NSP’s broader approach to conservation, which prioritizes landscape connectivity, water resource protection, and collaborative stewardship. Protecting these lands also plays a role in reducing wildfire risk. By working with public agencies, private landowners, and local communities, the Partnership advances solutions that are both locally informed and regionally significant.

Four years ago, NSP teamed up with the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California and the Feather River Land Trust in a multi-year collaboration to restore more than 20,000 acres in the Washoe homelands to the ownership and care of the Washoe People. In February 2026, the Tribe’s new land trust – the Waší·šiw Land Trust – acquired 10,274 acres 20 miles north of Reno, one of the biggest land returns in California history. The acquisition almost tripled the amount of land under Washoe ownership, protected critical wildlife habitat, and reconnected the Washoe to lands their ancestors had stewarded for millennia.

NSP’s work with the Washoe reflects a broader belief that conservation and community prosperity must advance together. Future plans for the WélmeltiɁ Preserve include restoration guided by Washoe Ecological Knowledge, youth cultural and language programs, protection of sacred sites, and the active engagement of community members in stewardship that heals the land and the Washoe People.

In addition to land conservation and Indigenous land return, NSP supports projects that strengthen public access and deepen community engagement with the natural environment. Investments in initiatives such as the Sierra Valley Preserve Nature Center help create opportunities for education, recreation, and long-term stewardship. These efforts ensure that conservation is not only about preserving land, but also about connecting people to it.
NSP’s work is grounded in the understanding that lasting conservation requires coordination across sectors and sustained commitment over time. By aligning multiple organizations around shared priorities, the Partnership is helping to enhance the connectivity and resilience of landscapes in the Northern Sierra. This model demonstrates how collaborative, landscape-scale conservation can deliver both environmental and community benefits that extend beyond individual projects.

The landscapes of the Northern Sierra Nevada supply much of California’s water, sustain a vibrant recreation economy and support a remarkable diversity of wildlife. Communities within the region depend on healthy ecosystems for their environmental and economic sustainability. Today, climate change, regional population growth and land fragmentation are straining natural systems in the Sierra. NSP works to address these challenges by investing in conservation and restoration strategies designed to enhance the region’s long-term resilience and prosperity.

“This unique partnership has been extremely effective at raising state and private funds, and working with landowners and public agencies, to conserve lands across the northern Sierra. We consider them an indispensable partner.”

– Randy Moore, former Regional Forester, Region 5, U.S. Forest Service