NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – On Sept. 6 the Sacramento Zoo awarded Tuleyome with a large grant from their Quarters for Conservation Program.

This grant is targeted toward habitat restoration in the region in the wake of this year’s wildfires in the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument region and is in addition to the smaller grant given to Tuleyome by the zoo in July of this year to purchase field equipment for citizen science projects related to Tuleyome’s Certified California Naturalist program.

The zoo’s Quarters for Conservation grant will cover a two-year span, 2019 through 2021, and funding will be awarded in multiple payments which may reach up to $30,000 in total.

Some of the funding will be based on a percentage of the votes cast by members of the public at the wishing wells in the front of the zoo throughout the grant period, starting in January of 2019.

Of the many wildfires that impacted the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument region this year, the ones that caused the most destruction were the Pawnee Fire (Lake County), the County Fire (Napa and Yolo County), and the Mendocino Complex Fire (Lake, Mendocino, Colusa and Glenn Counties).

Tuleyome’s Silver Spur Ranch property in the heart of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument was completely inundated by the fire.

In response to the destruction, Tuleyome, a nonprofit conservation organization based in Woodland, intends to do an on-the-ground assessment of areas impacted by the wildfires where there are resident populations of American Black Bears (Ursus americanus), Mountain Lions (Puma concolor), and endemic Tule Elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes), and start the work necessary to restore habitat vital to those species.

Restoration efforts may include, but will not be limited to, restoring trails and other points of access to make it easier to get personnel and equipment into the selected areas, clearing of fallen trees and brush, replanting native plant species, soil stabilization and erosion control, eradicating invasive plant species, in-stream habitat work, and other related efforts.

It is Tuleyome’s intention to use primarily staff, volunteers, naturalist students and citizen scientists to assist with the assessments, and the restoration work that will follow.

Phase One of the restoration project will be field assessments of the burned areas and selecting those sites that can most effectively be restored.

Phase Two will consist of the actual restoration work and creating a long-term management plan to better protect the selected sites from further wildfire damage.

Members of the public who want to assist with the restoration efforts can contact Mary Hanson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to be put on the volunteer list.

The Quarters for Conservation program is a facet of the Sacramento Zoo’s commitment to conservation. It supports exciting field conservation projects both locally and around the globe. As patrons enter the zoo, they receive a token (“quarter”).

The token enables them to vote for a conservation project of their choice, and the number of tokens collected helps the zoo to determine how much funding each project receives.

Guests have an opportunity to learn more about the projects and cast their vote at the “wishing wells” in the zoo’s Entry Plaza.

Tuleyome has a long 15+ year history of doing important conservation work in the region and was the organization that spearheaded the campaign to have the Berryessa Snow Mountain region designated as a National Monument.

This year marks the first time that Tuleyome and the Sacramento Zoo have joined forces to conserve, enhance and restore important wildlife habitat in the region.