The mission of the California State Lands Commission (Commission) is to manage some 4.5 million acres of land held in trust for the people of California. The State holds these lands for all the peoples of the State for the public trust purposes of water related commerce, navigation, fisheries, recreation, and open space.
Within these State owned lands lie many wetlands. The Commission manages the use of the State owned wetlands through leases to other public agencies and private parties. For example, the Commission has leased wetlands around San Francisco Bay to the California Department of Fish and Game and other lands to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for wetlands and habitat management and restoration. Private parties may also apply to lease lands for wetlands or habitat purposes for environmental mitigation. In its role as Trustee of the Kapiloff Land Bank Fund, the Commission has participated in acquiring wetlands for the inclusion in habitat management projects. The State also retains a public trust easement over some formerly State-owned sovereign lands which have been conveyed into private ownership. The Commission may exercise this public trust easement to constrain the use of those lands consistent with their resource values. For example, the Commission has exercised the easement over the mudflats in the City of Albany to protect their wetlands habitat values.
The Commission has jurisdiction and control over State owned lands
pursuant to Public Resources Code 
6000 et seq. These lands include:
a three mile-wide section of tidal and submerged land adjacent to the coast and
offshore islands, including bays, estuaries, and lagoons; the waters and
underlying beds of more than 120 rivers, lakes, streams, and sloughs; and
585,000 acres of school lands granted to the state by the federal government to
support public education.
For more information on the California State Lands Commission contact:
Robert Lynch, Chief-Division of Land Management, (916)574-1940, lynchr@slc.ca.gov
Dwight Sanders, Chief-Division of Environmental Planning and Management,
(916)574-1890, sanderd@slc.ca.gov
Mailing address:
California State Lands Commission
100 Howe Avenue, Suite 100-South
Sacramento, CA 95825-8202
(916)574-1900
Fax (916)574-1810
This file last modified on: Thursday, January 24, 2002.