Ventana Wilderness Alliance
Founded in 1998, the Ventana Wilderness Alliance (VWA) is a California nonprofit corporation with IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. It is dedicated to protecting the wildlands of California's northern Santa Lucia mountain range. VWA is composed of people from all walks of life who share a love of Wilderness and a goal to ensure it remains wild in perpetuity.
Who We Are
In 1998, the newly-formed organization inventoried lands within the Los Padres National Forest to determine their suitability for federal designation as Wilderness. The VWA presented their findings to US Congressman Sam Farr, thereby providing a basis for the Big Sur Wilderness and Conservation Act, signed into law in December, 2002. The VWA then initiated projects to benefit the now-expanded Wilderness, its visitors and the wild species that call it home.
VWA volunteers have since dedicated tens of thousands of hours to stewardship and advocacy projects. While most reside in the Central Coast and San Francisco Bay Area, VWA’s 800-plus members hail from 26 US States and all walks of life. Initially an all-volunteer organization, VWA hired its first paid staff member in 2008 and its first Executive Director in 2010.
Spring 2020 Newsletter
Calendar of Events
Want to Volunteer? Join the VWA Meetup Group here:
Ventana Trails Forever Campaign
For over a decade the Ventana Wilderness Alliance has led the grassroots effort to protect the wilderness qualities of the Ventana Region, along the Big Sur Coast. VWA volunteers also contribute thousands of hours each year maintaining the public trails in the Ventana back country. I support their conservation work and endorse the Ventana Trails Forever campaign.
- Robert Redford, Actor, Director, Conservationist
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