These are challenging times for those of us who love and advocate for the wild places of our state. With the administration’s ongoing assaults against our public lands, every day requires us to gather intelligence, devise action plans, work up communications where appropriate, and take action to defend our unique and magical wild places. See elsewhere on this site for details on all the many fronts CalWild is fighting on.
There are, however, some bright spots. I joined our Policy Director, Ryan Henson, and about 250 Tribal members, coalition supporters and outdoor recreationists at a celebration of the creation of the new Sáttítla Highlands National Monument in McCloud, just south of the Oregon border. It was a warm and happy celebration of this beautiful new area of conserved land, and a moment when we could focus on something other than the threats that have been pouring out of D.C.
Another happy occasion is that we welcome Hilary Stamper as our new Development and Communications Director! Hilary has more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit communications and development space and is just a delight to add to our team. Welcome, Hilary!
On a more somber note, however, we lost two conservation heroes this month. On March 13th, Congressman Raúl Grijalva, a Democratic member of the House of Representatives from Arizona, died of cancer. Representative Grijalva earned CalWild’s gratitude by serving on the House Natural Resources Committee first as a member, then as Chairperson of that Committee from 2019-2023, and finally as “Ranking Member” (which means that he was the most senior Democrat on the Committee). Representative Grijalva was a strong and consistent champion for public lands conservation who helped permanently protect over 1,663,000 acres of federal land in California. He will be deeply missed.
In addition, David Myers, visionary conservationist, co-founder and Board President of The Wildlands Conservancy, passed away on March 16th.
With David at the helm, the Conservancy, which he co-founded in 1995, built a reputation as one of the most effective land conservancies in the country with a unique vision that combined land stewardship with environmental education for young people.
David’s steadfast pursuit of his dreams over the last 30 years has left The Wildlands Conservancy — and the world — with an enduring and incredible legacy: more than 2.3 million acres of protected lands (the largest nonprofit nature preserve system on the West Coast), and more than 1.3 million children connected with nature through free outdoor education programs. David was an inspiration to all of us at CalWild who knew him.
Working in conservation is about the long view. We do our stint, then hand on the baton to others. Rep. Grijalva and Dave Myers leave very large shoes to fill; we aspire to match their tremendous achievements for our wild places.
For the wild,
Mark Green
Executive Director
Images: Rep. Raul Grijalva; David Myers.
