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The Nature Conservancy

Set for January 8-9, 2026, in Sacramento, this symposium will bring together conservation practitioners from around the state to work toward a vision to connect California’s diverse ecological landscapes and catalyze support to implement this vision by 2050.

Registration is free and will open in Fall 2025. Please check this webpage for the most up-to-date information.

Celebrating and Building Upon 25 years of Connectivity Conservation

People with name tags reviewing a map together.
Missing Linkages Symposium Over 150 conservation practitioners convened at the 2000 California Missing Linkages Symposium to map priority linkages across the state. © SC Wildlands

This symposium marks the 25th anniversary of the landmark event Missing Linkages: Restoring Connectivity to the California Landscape, a seminal endeavor that brought habitat connectivity to the forefront of conservation thinking in the state. In November 2000, scientists and conservation practitioners in California came together to identify linkages critical for sustaining the state’s biodiversity. The result was a groundbreaking assessment of connectivity targets, challenges, threats and opportunities that catalyzed finer-scale connectivity initiatives across California, such as the South Coast Missing Linkages, California Essential Habitat Connectivity and the Resilient Connected Network.

Map of state of California from 2001 California Missing Linkages Report.
California’s Missing Linkages 2000 In November of 2000, conservation practitioners identified over 200 linkages throughout the state.

The 2026 symposium presents an opportunity to celebrate the advancements in habitat connectivity as well as identify the conservation gains, losses, opportunities and threats to the over 200 linkages identified across the state in 2000. These and other data will be used by symposium participants to prioritize critical linkages for conservation focus in the next 25 years, as well as highlight the partnerships, policies and funding needed to support this ambitious effort.

Collaborating for Connectivity

A group of pronghorn antelope, some gazing toward the camera, stand in an open, grassy field.
Pronghorn antelope Pronghorn antelope graze at Carrizo Plain in San Luis Obispo County, California. © Larry Lamsa/Creative Commons

This symposium reflects the efforts of an interagency Steering Committee and planning team, including The Nature Conservancy and SC Wildlands (Co-Chairs), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Department of Transportation, California State Parks, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Geological Survey, CalWild and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

The Importance of a Connected California

As more and more species throughout the state are impacted by habitat loss and fragmentation, their survival increasingly depends on whether they can move to find food, shelter and mates; escape threats; and respond to changes in their environment.  

A California mountain lion caught on camera trap.
A butterfly with black and light yellow wings lands on light yellow and orange flowers.
A quail with black, white, gray, and beige markings stands surrounded by grass in a field.
Close-up image of a desert tortoise peering through its shell.
A California mountain lion caught on camera trap.

Mountain Lion: Mountain lions are one of California’s most iconic species that need improved connectivity in order to maintain healthy populations. © John Stuelpnagel

A butterfly with black and light yellow wings lands on light yellow and orange flowers.

Pale Swallowtail Butterfly: A butterfly with wings spread. © Greg Ballmer

A quail with black, white, gray, and beige markings stands surrounded by grass in a field.

California Quail: Photographed at daybreak at Point Reyes National Seashore in Northern California. © Joshua Pelta-Heller/TNC Photo Contest 2019

Close-up image of a desert tortoise peering through its shell.

Desert Tortoise: This long-lived creature is a threatened species. © Dtehshuh Images

Maintaining and restoring functional connectivity is essential for sustaining California’s biodiversity, yet there are still critical linkages that have not been conserved while linear infrastructure barriers such as roads, railways and canals continue to isolate vast wildlands.

Fortunately, there are actionable solutions. By conserving landscape-scale connectivity, creating dedicated wildlife crossings and improving existing infrastructure to be more amenable to wildlife movement, we can reestablish a vast network of connected ecosystems where wildlife can thrive. Whether they walk, hop, slither or fly, all native wildlife will benefit from this network, becoming better able to adapt when threatened by events like wildfire or extreme heat.

A woman standing on a hillside adorned with purple wildflowers, overlooking an expansive plain below with large patches of yellow wildflowers.
Carrizo Plain Super Bloom Hiker overlooks a super bloom in Carrizo Plain National Monument. © Sue Pollock

Making this connected California a reality is a huge but essential undertaking. It requires sustained collaboration of a variety of entities — government agencies and tribes, landowners, scientists, policy makers, non-governmental organizations and many others — as well as the shared vision and science to inform connectivity priorities.

We believe that the California Missing Linkages 25th Anniversary Symposium is a critical and exciting part of achieving this vision.

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