California State Lands Commission

Government AdministrationUnited States201-500 Employees

The Commission consists of two Constitutional Officers; the Lieutenant Governor and the State Controller, and the Governor's Director of Finance. Established in 1938, the Commission manages four million acres of tide and submerged lands and the beds of navigable rivers, streams, lakes, bays, estuaries, inlets, and straits. These lands, often referred to as sovereign or public trust lands, stretch from the Klamath River and Goose Lake on the north to the Tijuana Estuary and Colorado River on the south, and from the Pacific Coast three miles offshore on the west to world-famous Lake Tahoe on the east, and includes California’s two longest rivers, the Sacramento and San Joaquin. The Commission also monitors sovereign lands granted in trust to approximately 75 local jurisdictions and administers the mineral rights on lands under the jurisdiction of other agencies. The Commission also manages lands granted by Congress to support public schools.

The Commission protects and enhances these lands and natural resources by issuing leases for use or development, championing public access, resolving boundaries between public and private lands, and implementing regulatory programs to protect state waters from oil spills and invasive species introductions. Through its actions, the Commission secures and safeguards the public's access rights to waterways and the coastline and preserves irreplaceable natural habitats for wildlife, vegetation, and biological communities.

The Commission also protects state waters from marine invasive species introductions and prevents oil spills by providing the best achievable protection of the marine environment at all marine oil terminals in California and at offshore oil platforms and production facilities.

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