These are challenging times for those of us who stand for the public interest. Here at CalWild, tenacity, commitment to California’s beautiful wild places, and years of experience help to keep us positive, motivated and working hard to protect them.
In the past month, the Trump administration has:
- Declared that it will suspend or override bedrock conservation laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA);
- Announced a “review” of all protected public lands—including existing national monuments—with an eye towards opening them for oil and gas exploration (see article below for details);
- Fired thousands of hard-working employees of federal land management agencies such as the National Park Service, US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management;
- Appointed an EPA director who has sued EPA several times and whose history shows a complete hostility to the agency’s mission;
- Appointed Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture with deep ties to the fossil fuel and timber industries; and
- Issued Executive Orders declaring in essence that America’s forests exist only for purposes of timber production.
There is more, and I could go on, but the point is made: this Presidential administration is the most hostile to our wild places, public lands and environment that the United States has ever seen.
Meanwhile, the Congressional majority pushes forward with legislation targeting our public lands it hopes to ram through with budget reconciliation.
At CalWild, we are picking our battles and playing to our strengths. We have deep relationships in Congress we can leverage for intelligence, guidance and collaboration. We have a strategic understanding of the political landscape we can use to help us reach members of Congress who may be on the fence about some of the radical proposals under consideration. With the margin of votes between parties historically narrow, even peeling off a vote or two can make all the difference.
And we have you: our thousands of supporters throughout California and beyond.
Working in coalitions with local, state and national organizations and helping to lead the strategic conversations about how we blunt the force of this assault on our public lands, CalWild plays a critical role in defending the places we love.
Given the fire hose of action taking place, I want to let you know that we may send out more than one action alert each month for awhile. There is just too much happening to limit our grassroots organizing efforts to one. It shouldn’t ever be more than three in a month. Thanks for your understanding and engagement!
Also, it’s time again for Happy Hour with the Executive Director! Please join me on March 20 from 5-6 PM on Zoom to visit, answer questions and get to know one another. The link is HERE. I hope to see you there!
In any event, we appreciate your support as we work to protect what makes California so unique and amazing. We couldn’t do it without you.
For the wild,
Mark Green
Executive Director
