The mission of the Natural 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 Natural Resources, a member of the Governor's Cabinet, sets the policies and coordinates the environmental preservation and restoration activities of 26 various departments, boards, commissions and conservancies, and directly administers the Sea Grant Program, Ocean Protection Council, California Environmental Quality Act, Environmental Enhancement Mitigation Program, River Parkways, Urban Greening, and the California Cultural and Historical Endowment grant programs.

The Natural Resources Agency consists of the departments of Forestry and Fire Protection, Conservation, Fish and Wildlife, Parks and Recreation, and Water Resources; the California Conservation Corps; Exposition Park; the State Lands Commission; the Colorado River Board; the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission; the Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission; the Wildlife Conservation Board; the Delta Protection Commission; 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; the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy; the Native American Heritage Commission; and the Special Resources Program.

The 2014-15 Governor's Budget reflects legislation that moved the California Cultural and Historical Endowment from the State Library to the Natural Resources Agency in 2014-15, as the California Cultural and Historical Endowment mission more closely aligns with that of this agency.