Great Basin

From the alpine meadows and creeks of the Lake Tahoe Basin to the Pah Rah Mountains of Nevada, ALC has conserved more than 80,000 acres in Nevada and along the Eastern Sierra. Projects such as the acquisition of High Meadows, the largest private inholding in the Tahoe Basin, and the use of conservation easements to preserve scenic Bridgeport Valley have had a significant impact on the region’s land use, biological resources and recreational opportunities. Still, many of the most picturesque and productive landscapes of the West remain at risk. These lands are increasingly threatened by development due to population growth, land use change and the expansion of urban boundaries in towns such as Reno, Las Vegas, Elko and Salt Lake City.

ALC has expanded its work in Nevada and the Eastern Sierra to encompass the entire American Great Basin. The Great Basin is a vast and rugged region, stretching across parts of five states. Beginning at the crest of the Sierra Nevada and extending east to the slope of Utah’s Wasatch Range, reaching north into southern Oregon and southeastern Idaho, and south to the southern edges of Nevada, the Great Basin is an open landscape of high plateaus, mountainous slopes and fertile valleys.

ALC’s Great Basin Program seeks to protect the open spaces, natural resources, and productive rangelands that are inextricably linked to the history of the American West.