The Blue Ridge Berryessa Natural Area is a conservation area forming a contiguous corridor of 800,000 acres (3,200 km2) in northern California. It is a mix of public and private lands overseen by the Blue Ridge Berryessa Natural Area Conservation Partnership. The Partnership was founded in 1997 as a forum for land managers to discuss land use activities, primarily Homestake Mining Company surplus acreage at McLaughlin mine. The meetings evolved into a regional conservation focus and effort.
The purpose of the Blue Ridge Berryessa Natural Area is preservation of recreational lands, wild areas, agricultural lands and rural ranches. Also, protection against urban sprawl through conservation easements, public ownership and voluntary participation by private landowners and businesses. [1]
In 2002, the Partnership received the California Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, California's highest environmental honor, in the category Watershed Management.[2]