The non-profit North Coast Center for Biodiversity and Sustainability formed August 30, 1993. In March of 1997 it was renamed LEGACY – The Landscape Connection.

LEGACY-The Landscape Connection (TLC) has worked on developing a biodiversity conservation strategy for the North Coastal Basin (NCB) of California. We provide information for protection and restoration of native biodiversity in the Klamath Ecoregion.

LEGACY-TLC is a collaboration of community members, landowners, professional scientists, educators, researchers, and students united under the vision of creating an ecological-based, science-informed, and collectively built conservation strategy to reconnect the fragmented landscapes of our ecoregion.

LEGACY-TLC supports local conservation efforts by providing a regional perspective on biodiversity and sustainability issues in northwestern California.

LEGACY-TLC is a California-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  Our expertise and dedication to conveying the complex biological messages of our place, provide a regional context for various groups in their land management decisions.

Mission Statement

LEGACY-TLC’s mission is to provide information for protection and restoration efforts in the Klamath Ecoregion. We promote conservation of native biodiversity through integration of local knowledge and science.

WHY WE EXIST
LEGACY-TLC arose out of an emerging need for effective conservation strategizing within the Klamath Ecoregion.  The remaining wilderness of the North American Temperate Rainforest is fragmented and threatened due to unsustainable landuse patterns.  The rich and diverse biota that characterizes this region is globally unique and is worthy of conservation planning that transcends political, jurisdictional, land ownership and watershed boundaries.

SCOPE AND FOCUS
Through education, training, and supplying GIS services, LEGACY-TLC coordinates active communication between grassroots watershed groups. We ask their help and advice in locating places of special ecological value and identifying management strategies. The collected data is then incorporated into regional and watershed Geographic Information System (GIS) data layers.  GIS maps are then produced that illustrate the positions of these places in relation to each other, as well as to watershed boundaries, riparian areas, roads, and urban centers.  This information allows us to create a sound vision for the future while meeting our needs today.

GOAL
Based on scientific analysis and community input, we are delineating ecologically important areas in the North Coastal Basin (NCB) of California. Upon establishing where these areas of importance are, we will develop a Biodiversity Conservation Strategy that responds to the site-specific requirements of both human and biological communities of our ecoregion.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES
Since 1993 LEGACY has compiled data, created planning maps, analyzed data, and developed working relationships with community organizations, watershed groups, and landowners within the NCB. Using a proactive approach, we are creating a biodiversity conservation strategy for California's North Coastal Basin that encompasses information gathering, organizing, and sharing; community outreach and cooperation; developing regional conservation strategies; environmental education; Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, and ecological research.  In order to accomplish these goals we have set several objectives:

• Provide information and education regarding native biological diversity and sustainable ecosystem management;

• Promote social, cultural, and economic practices that maintain or restore the region's ecological integrity:

• Investigations into the patterns of interrelationships between human and biological communities.
• Assessment of appropriate human needs and demands placed on the resources that we use.

• Work with inhabitants of the region to develop meaningful and effective conservation strategies by:

• Helping individuals and organizations conduct ecological inventories, perform landscape assessments, and implement site-specific conservation or land-use practices.
• Providing information management tools including a Geographic Information System, community networking, and other training to establish a scientifically sound and community based approach to land management.

These goals and objectives are carried out through a variety of programs and projects

Community