Foothills Forever
haku k-ič’ -ičantik’ - Hello - Hola
NEW $1 MILLION STEWARDSHIP FUND CAMPAIGN KICKS OFF!
Every nature preserve needs a circle of “friends” to ensure ongoing care and protection.
Now that the San Marcos Foothills Preserve has grown to 301 acres combined, it’s become clear we need to secure additional, consistent funding for the regular upkeep of the entire Preserve and shore up legal protections for the full acreage. Please join us in caring for this entire unique and beautiful nature preserve by donating
to the new $1 Million San Marcos Foothills Preserve Stewardship Fund.
Learn More about this Stewardship Fund HERE.
Contribute
Make a tax-deductible contribution to the Stewardship Fund today.
Make checks payable to: Foothills Forever, Inc, with “San Marcos Foothills Preserve Stewardship Fund” in the memo line.
Mail to: Foothills Forever, Inc., P.O. Box 92233, Santa Barbara, CA 93190
For more information or to donate gifts of stock or other assets, please contact us directly:
Nancy Weiss (805) 895-9211 or Dani Lynch (805) 617-9584 or info@foothillsforever.org
First Grant Cycle a Success!
In June 2025, we held our inaugural grant cycle and made grants to Channel Islands Restoration for a Chumash Ethnobotanical Garden, long-term research and monitoring on the prescribed sheep grazing project, and installation of burrows for burrowing owls, a California Species of Special Concern. Sign-up for the FFI newsletter to receive updates and visit our Grants Page to learn more about our Grants Program
OUR ROLE & COMMITMENT
We serve as community stewards and trusted partners in the long-term care of the San Marcos Foothills Preserve. Through collaboration with Santa Barbara County and local conservation partners, we help guide restoration efforts, oversee endowment funds, and support thoughtful management of this treasured public open space.
We’re committed to preserving the natural and cultural richness of the Foothills - balancing restoration, public access, and stewardship so that these lands remain protected and well-cared for as public open space and vital wildlife habitat.
Honor Chumash Heritage. Enable Chumash stewardship, ritual, and ceremony on the land.
Protect Open Space.
The foothills are a beautiful natural open space and fire buffer visible from throughout Santa Barbara and Goleta.
Provide Environmental Education Opportunities. Public access allows children and adults to explore and learn in nature.
Maintain the Trail Experience
in balance with the natural environment.
Community groups led by Save San Marcos Foothills and Channel Islands Restoration were successful in purchasing the 101 acres of the West Mesa at the San Marcos Preserve in June 2021. Thousands of Foothills Forever trailblazing donors and volunteers banded together in just 90 days to raise $18.6 million in cash and loans to preserve the San Marcos Foothills’ last remaining 101 acres on the West Mesa. At that time, we also initiated an effort to start a $1 million habitat restoration endowment fund.
We are so grateful for everyone’s support with this Herculean effort!
All told, over 5,500 volunteers and donors joined in, believing that together we could preserve the land to honor Chumash heritage, create 301 acres of contiguous wildlife habitat, provide environmental education, and ensure public open space during the pandemic and for future generations. Saving the San Marcos Foothills continues our community’s legacy of saving important open space lands forever, including The Douglas Family Preserve, Carpinteria Bluffs, Sperling Preserve at Ellwood, Veronica Meadows, and Elings Park.
a’ho no’no k-aq inal -iyuw - Thank you - Gracias
About Foothills Forever
Foothills Forever grew from a powerful grassroots campaign that united thousands of neighbors and community members to save the San Marcos Foothills from development.
In June 2021, community groups led by Save San Marcos Foothills and Channel Islands Restoration, together with thousands of donors and volunteers, raised $18.6 million in just 90 days to purchase the 101 acres on the West Mesa. In June 2023, the West Mesa was transferred to the County of Santa Barbara and combined with the existing 200 acres to create the 301-acre San Marcos Foothills Preserve.
That effort inspired the creation of Foothills Forever, Incorporated, a nonprofit organization formed to carry forward the community’s vision: to protect the foothills, enhance cultural and biological resources, and ensure it remains open and welcoming to all.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: info@foothillsforever.org
Become A Foothills Forever Volunteer
If you would like to volunteer on the San Marcos Foothills including but not limited to, becoming a sheep docent, site steward, or weed warrior, please join our volunteer email list here.