According to the California Protected Areas Database (CPAD), in the state of California, United States, there are over 14,000 inventoried protected areas administered by public agencies and non-profits. In addition, there are private conservation areas and other easements. They include almost one-third of California's scenic coastline, including coastal wetlands, estuaries, beaches, and dune systems. The California State Parks system alone has 270 units and covers 1.3 million acres (5,300 km2), with over 280 miles (450 km) of coastline, 625 miles (1,006 km) of lake and river frontage, nearly 18,000 campsites, and 3,000 miles (5,000 km) of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails.

Obtaining an accurate total of all protected land in California and elsewhere is a complex task. Many parcels have inholdings, private lands within the protected areas, which may or may not be accounted for when calculating total area. Also, occasionally one parcel of land is included in two or more inventories. Over 90% of Yosemite National Park for example, is listed both as wilderness by the National Wilderness Preservation System, and as national park land by the National Park Service. The Cosumnes River Preserve is an extreme example, owned and managed by a handful of public agencies and private landowners, including the Bureau of Land Management, the County of Sacramento and The Nature Conservancy. Despite the difficulties, the CPAD gives the total area of protected land at , or 47.05% of the state (not including easements); a considerable amount for the most populous state in the country.

National Park System

The U.S. National Park System controls a large and diverse group of California parks, monuments, recreation areas and other units which in total exceed . The best known is Yosemite National Park, noted for several iconic natural features including Yosemite Falls, El Capitan and Half Dome, which is displayed on the reverse side of the California state quarter. Other prominent parks are the Kings Canyon-Sequoia National Park complex, Redwood National Park, Channel Islands National Park, Joshua Tree National Park and the largest, Death Valley National Park. The NPS also administers the Manzanar National Historic Site in Inyo County. National parks

Channel Islands National Park Death Valley National Park Joshua Tree National Park Kings Canyon National Park Lassen Volcanic National Park Pinnacles National Park Redwood National Park Sequoia National Park Yosemite National Park National monuments (administered by the NPS) Cabrillo National Monument Castle Mountains National Monument César E. Chávez National Monument Devils Postpile National Monument Lava Beds National Monument Muir Woods National Monument Mojave Trails National Monument San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Sand to Snow National Monument World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument National recreation areas Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Whiskeytown National Recreation Area Golden Gate National Recreation Area National seashores Point Reyes National Seashore National preserves Mojave National Preserve

National Landscape Conservation System

The Bureau of Land Management's National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) includes over 850 federally recognized areas and in California, manages of public lands, nearly 15% of the state's land area.http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en.html BLM-California website. The National Landscape Conservation System is composed of several types of units: national monuments (distinct from the same-named units within the National Park System), national conservation areas, forest reserves, outstanding natural areas, national scenic and historic trails, wilderness, wilderness study areas, and others. National monuments (administered by the BLM) Berryessa Snow Mountain (also administered by the Mendocino National Forest) California Coastal Carrizo Plain Santa Rosa and San Jacinto MountainsNational conservation areas California Desert King Range Forest reserves Headwaters Forest Outstanding natural areas Piedras Blancas Historic Light Station National scenic and historic trails California National Historic Trail Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail Old Spanish National Historic Trail Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail Wilderness and wilderness study areas Total BLM-managed wilderness land in California is .BLM California data page.

National Marine Sanctuaries

The National Marine Sanctuary System is managed by the Office of Marine Sanctuaries, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. California has four of the thirteen U.S. National Marine Sanctuaries:

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary - one of the largest in the world at .

National Wildlife Refuges

National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is an extensive system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants. Many of the state's refuges are important stops and destinations for millions of migrating birds along the Pacific Flyway corridor. One, the Butte Sink Wildlife Management Area, has the highest density of waterfowl in the world. There are 38 units in the refuge system in California, including both wildlife refuges and wildlife management areas, divided into 9 different regional areas. Combined the areas equal about . Hopper Mountain NWR Complex Bitter Creek NWR Blue Ridge NWR Hopper Mountain NWR Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes NWRSan Diego NWR Complex San Diego NWR San Diego Bay NWR Seal Beach NWR Sweetwater Marsh NWR Tijuana Slough NWR Humboldt Bay NWR Complex Humboldt Bay NWR Castle Rock NWRSan Francisco Bay NWR Complex Antioch Dunes NWR Don Edwards San Francisco Bay NWR Ellicott Slough NWR Farallon NWR Marin Islands NWR Salinas River NWR San Pablo Bay NWR Kern NWR Complex Kern NWR Pixley NWR San Luis NWR Complex Grasslands WMA Merced NWR San Joaquin River NWR San Luis NWR Klamath Basin NWR Complex Clear Lake NWR Lower Klamath NWR Tule Lake NWR Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR Complex Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR Coachella Valley NWR Sacramento NWR Complex Butte Sink WMA Colusa NWR Delevan NWR North Central Valley WMA Sacramento NWR Sacramento River NWR Sutter NWR Willow Creek-Lurline WMA Other refuges Modoc NWR

Wild and Scenic rivers

Rivers designated as Wild and Scenic are administered by one of four federal land management agencies: The Bureau of Land Management, The National Park Service, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or The U.S. Forest Service. There are 26 rivers in California with portions projected. Listed in miles.

River Designated Wild Designated Scenic Designated Recreational Total Protected Amargosa River 7.9 12.1 6.3 26.3 American River 23 23 Bautista Creek 9.8 9.8 Big Sur 19.5 19.5 Black Butte River 17.5 3.5 21 Cottonwood Creek 17.4 4.1 21.5 Deep Creek 22.5 11 1 34.5 Eel River 97 28 273 398 Feather River 32.9 9.7 35 77.6 Fuller Mill Creek 2.6 0.9 3.5 Kern River 123.1 7 20.9 151 Kings River 65.5 15.5 81 Klamath River 11.7 23.5 250.8 286 Merced River 71 16 35.5 122.5 North Fork American River 38.3 38.3 North Fork San Jacinto River 7.2 2.3 0.7 10.2 Owens River 6.3 6.6 6.2 19.1 Palm Canyon Creek 8.1 8.1 Piru Creek 4.3 3 7.3 Sespe Creek 27.5 4 31.5 Sisquoc River 33 33 Smith River 78 31 216.4 325.4 Surprise Canyon Creek 5.3 1.8 7.1 Trinity River 44 39 120 203 Tuolumne River 47 23 13 83 Whitewater River 23.5 4.6 28.1

National Wilderness Preservation System

There are 149 wilderness areas in California totaling just over . The largest is Death Valley Wilderness at , the largest federally designated wilderness in the continental United States, and the smallest is the Rocks and Islands Wilderness at . The wilderness areas are managed by the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service. Rarely, if ever, are designated wilderness areas stand alone protected areas, and thus their areas are, in all likelihood, already accounted for in the various agencies' inventories.

National Forests

California has 17 U.S. National Forests, one special management unit (Lake Tahoe) and parts of 3 other National Forests. Total combined area of the forests is and covers over 19% of the state. The largest forest entirely within the state is Shasta-Trinity National Forest, at , the smallest is Cleveland National Forest at . The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is not precisely a national forest in the conventional sense. Instead the Forest Service manages the land with particular attention paid to Lake Tahoe and its relationship with the forests surrounding it, with emphasis on erosion control management and watershed restoration, among other more conventional forest management activities. It is the smallest of the Forest Service units in California, with in its jurisdiction split between California and Nevada.

State Forest Land area (in acres) Angeles National Forest 655,387 Cleveland National Forest 460,000 Eldorado National Forest 596,724 Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest 6,289,821 Inyo National Forest 1,903,381 Klamath National Forest 1,737,774 Lassen National Forest 1,070,344 Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit 150,000 Los Padres National Forest 1,950,000 Mendocino National Forest 913,306 Modoc National Forest 1,654,392 Plumas National Forest 1,146,000 San Bernardino National Forest 823,816 Sequoia National Forest 1,193,315 Shasta–Trinity National Forest 2,209,832 Sierra National Forest 1,300,000 Six Rivers National Forest 957,590 Stanislaus National Forest 898,099

State Forests

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) operates eight Demonstration State Forests totaling 71,000 acres. The forests represent the most common forest types in the state. The State Forests grow approximately 75 million board feet of timber annually and harvest an average of 30 million board feet each year, enough to build 3,000 single-family homes. Revenue from these harvests fund the management of the State Forests. In addition, the forests provide research and demonstration opportunities for natural resource management, while providing public recreation opportunities, fish and wildlife habitat, and watershed protection. Activities include: experimental timber harvesting techniques, watershed restoration, mushroom collecting, hunting, firewood gathering, cone collecting for seed, a variety of university research projects, horseback riding, camping, mountain biking, and hiking.

State Forest Land area (in acres) County City Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest 3,493 Lake Cobb Ellen Pickett State Forest 160 Trinity Jackson Demonstration State Forest 50,195 Mendocino Fort Bragg Las Posadas State Forest 796 Napa Angwin LaTour Demonstration State Forest 9,003 Shasta Redding Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest 4,807 Tulare Springville Mount Zion Demonstration State Forest 164 Amador Soquel Demonstration State Forest 2,681 Santa Cruz Soquel

State parks

The California Department of Parks and Recreation maintains over 270 protected areas, which include almost one-third of California's scenic coastline, including coastal wetlands, estuaries, beaches, and dune systems. The state parks system covers 1.3 million acres (5,300 km2), with over 280 miles (450 km) of coastline, 625 miles (1,006 km) of lake and river frontage, nearly 18,000 campsites; and 3,000 miles (5,000 km) of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails. The largest is Anza-Borrego State Park at , making it one of the largest state parks in the country. The smallest, Watts Towers, owned by the State Park system but managed by the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, is a mere .