Promoting Stewardship

PG&E has a long history of managing lands and waters in a responsible and environmentally sensitive manner. Our vast network of pipes and wires can traverse unique and sensitive habitat. PG&E has an obligation to protect these resources while we perform our operations and meet our customers' expectations regarding reliability and service.

Partners in Land Stewardship

PG&E is working in close cooperation with the Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council to permanently protect more than 140,000 acres of watershed lands associated with our hydroelectric system and the 655-acre Carizzo Plains in San Luis Obispo County. The Stewardship Council also administers a grant-making program to fund organizations that connect California's youth with the outdoors.

Since 2006, the Stewardship Council has awarded more than $6.4 million to more than 130 organizations and has connected more than 140,000 youth to the outdoors.

Working Together to Protect Species

Through an innovative Avian Protection Plan, PG&E is working with groups like the Ventana Wildlife Society to reduce the risk that overhead wires and electrical equipment pose to birds, such as the California condor and bald eagles. PG&E adopted this voluntary, proactive plan when the company's related agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expired. PG&E's plan has set the standard for our industry and is one of the most comprehensive in the nation.

PG&E is partnering with more than a dozen organizations, including Sustainable Conservation, to help restore populations of the rapidly declining tricolored blackbird.

We are also working with a host of partners, including federal and state agencies and academic experts, to save the endangered Shasta crayfish.

PG&E is also taking steps to permanently protect high-quality habitat for the Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle to meet our compliance obligations under the federal Endangered Species Act. Last year, to compensate for impacts to beetle habitat elsewhere, we permanently protected approximately 220 acres of high-quality beetle habitat, working in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy and other organizations. PG&E protected 190 acres of existing riparian habitat along the Sacramento River and an additional 32 acres of agricultural land that will be restored to native habitat. Once restored, this land will become part of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge system.

Photo of Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle.

Preventing the Spread of Invasive Species

Quagga and zebra mussels are harmful, invasive mollusks that have been recently discovered in California waters. The further spread of quagga and/or zebra mussels in California waters could pose significant environmental and economic challenges. These mussels can cause a shift in native species and disrupt the ecological balance of entire bodies of water. For more information, visit our Quagga/Zebra Mussel Prevention Program information page.

Photo of quagga and zebra mussels.

Educating Our Customers

We are providing seed funding to Audubon California to support educational programs and habitat restoration at the 6,800-acre Bobcat Ranch. Home to important blue oak, chaparral and riparian habitat, the Bobcat Ranch also connects to the 750,000-acre Blue-Ridge Berryessa Natural Area, a large area of oak woodland and grassland habitat unique to northern California. PG&E is participating with Audubon's Landowner Stewardship Program to enhance native riparian vegetation at the company's natural gas storage facility, located in close proximity to Bobcat Ranch.

A bird box is installed with the help of a local student, as part of Audubon California's large-scale restoration effort at the Bobcat Ranch. Photo: Audubon California Landowner Stewardship Program.

PG&E is also working with the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture to promote yourwetlands.org, an informational Web site aimed at educating the public about the importance of protecting, restoring and enhancing wetlands.

Taking an Innovative, Regional Approach

We have also pursued innovative ways to comply with state and federal endangered species and habitat protection requirements. For example, PG&E gained regulatory approval for an Operations and Maintenance Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) developed for the San Joaquin Valley. For more information, visit our Habitat Conservation Plan information page.

And we have finalized our first safe harbor agreement. The presence of the Bay Checkerspot Butterfly, protected by law as a threatened species, made it challenging for PG&E to access and perform work on five vital transmission lines that cross Tulare Hill in Santa Clara County. PG&E signed an agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allowing us to safely maintain and operate the lines, while enhancing butterfly habitat. The agreement is one of only five of its kind in California and 30 in the United States. PG&E is finalizing a similar agreement for a parcel in Contra Costa County, located adjacent to Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge.

Providing Outdoor Recreation

From camping and picnicking to fishing and boating, we have many public recreational facilities available for you and your family to enjoy. For a complete listing of locations and amenities, visit our Recreation Areas information page.