There’s one vital group of Californians that perhaps gets praised the least for promoting a healthy environment across the state: landowners.

Because more than 50% of all land in California is privately owned, how these folks manage their properties has a dramatic and lasting effect on the environment — from climate change, to clean air and water, to wildlife. They are the front-line defenders in protecting the quality of our air and water, landscapes that protect people and wildlife alike, and ensuring a healthy climate for the state. Moreover, the fate of imperiled species, 90% of which make their homes on private land, largely rests in these individual’s hands.