Foothills Forever Raises $1 Million for Restoration Endowment Bringing the $20 Million Campaign to Preserve the San Marcos Foothills West Mesa Across the Finish Line
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Foothills Forever, the coalition that led the 2021 successful effort to purchase and permanently preserve the West Mesa of the San Marcos Foothills in just 90 days, has announced that they have raised 100% of the funds for a
$1 Million Endowment that will help care for the land.
“We are beyond grateful and excited to reach our goal!”, says Peter Schuyler, Co-Chair of the fundraising campaign. “We have been quietly raising money from a small group of very generous individuals and foundations this past year. This is a wonderful and generous community!”
This Restoration Endowment will provide annual funding for habitat restoration projects at the San Marcos Foothills. Purchasing the land was the first step of caring for the land, and this endowment will support ongoing care for the habitat at the Foothills. The Santa Barbara Foundation will be the Restoration Endowment investment manager with the Foothills Forever Board of Directors overseeing endowment distributions through an annual funding program.
For more information and to see the complete list of donors, please visit foothillsforever.org –
About Foothills Forever
Community groups led by Save San Marcos Foothills and Channel Islands Restoration were successful in purchasing and permanently preserving the 101 acres of the West Mesa at the San Marcos Preserve in June 2021. Santa Barbara Foundation has served as the fiscal sponsor. More than 5,500 Foothills Forever trailblazing donors, foundations, the State of California, the County of Santa Barbara, and hundreds of volunteers banded together in just 90 days to raise $18.6 million to preserve the San Marcos Foothills’ last remaining 101 acres on the West Mesa.
The countless volunteers and donors who joined the Foothills campaign believed that, together, the community could preserve the land to honor Chumash heritage, create 301 acres of contiguous wildlife habitat, provide environmental education, and ensure public open space for future generations. Saving the San Marcos Foothills continues our community’s legacy of preserving important open space lands forever, including the Douglas Family Preserve, Carpinteria Bluffs, Sperling Preserve at Ellwood, Veronica Meadows, and Elings Park.