The mission of the Resources Agency is to restore, protect and manage the state's natural, historical and cultural resources for current and future generations using creative approaches and solutions based on science, collaboration and respect for all involved communities. The Secretary for Resources, a member of the Governor's Cabinet, sets the policies and coordinates the environmental preservation and restoration activities of 24 various departments, boards, commissions, and conservancies, and directly administers the Sea Grant Program, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), River Parkways, the Sierra Nevada Cascade grant programs, and the CALFED Bay-Delta Program.

The Resources Agency consists of the departments of Forestry and Fire Protection, Conservation, Fish and Game, Boating and Waterways, Parks and Recreation, and Water Resources; the State Lands Commission; the Colorado River Board; the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission; the State Reclamation Board; the Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission; the Wildlife Conservation Board; the Delta Protection Commission; the California Conservation Corps; the California Coastal Commission; the State Coastal Conservancy; the California Tahoe Conservancy; the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy; the Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy; the San Joaquin River Conservancy; the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy; the Baldwin Hills Conservancy; the San Diego River Conservancy; the Sierra Nevada Conservancy; and the Special Resources Program.

The Budget Act of 2006 transferred the executive management and the Science program staff of the California Bay-Delta Authority to the Resources Agency as part of the reorganization of the CALFED Bay-Delta Program.