Public Lands Network

CalWild and its partners are united in facing threats coming from Congress, the White House, and from within California. Badly-managed (or special interest-led) developments, such as the Reyes Peak timber harvest, and President Trump’s attempt to rescind or shrink National Monuments, are just a few recent examples. It’s our mission to engage advocates who are opposed to short-sighted and inequitable policies that chip away at the resiliency of wild places like the Cadiz Valley and McCloud River.

Luckily, we know that the majority of Americans support public lands and wilderness areas (an astounding 93% according to this 2016 study). CalWild’s multi-decade track record of garnering public support for wild places illustrates that grassroots activism can generate real change at every level, even against the toughest odds. Our team of experts creates resources that encourage citizens to speak up to politicians and decision-makers that don’t act or vote for healthier public lands.

AJR15 Rally in Sacramento, June 2017. State legislators Bill Dodd (left) and Cecilia Aguilar-Curry (third from left) with CalWild cofounder Bob Schneider (right front). Photo by Mariana Maguire.

Public Lands Network

We lead the statewide Public Lands Network (formerly the Public Lands Defense Network) to help facilitate communication and collaboration among conservationists working to defend California’s public lands. The group consists of partner NGOs, foundations, and grasstops leaders throughout California (and some in Washington D.C.). So far the group has helped develop strategy for key campaigns, organize localized rallies, create and disseminate action alerts to wide audiences, and influence legislation at the state and federal levels. Our long list of successes include:

• the passage of a statewide bill, SB 307, which effectively shuttered the irresponsible Cadiz, Inc. project in the Mojave Desert
• convincing the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to protect certain populations of mountain lions under the California Endangered Species Act
• convincing the Bureau of Land Management to suspend gas and oil drilling along one million acres of public lands in Central California
• stopping a gold mining operation by K2Gold Corp in Conglomerate Mesa. The coalition around this effort is now looking to protect the area as a National Monument

If you’d like to be part of our regular Zoom meetings, email Senior Policy Director Ryan Henson.

Stand By Your Lands Workshops

Do you ever visit our public lands and see abuses to their natural resources, habitat being destroyed, or trails and campgrounds falling into disrepair? Have you ever said to yourself, “Why doesn’t somebody do something about this?”

Would you like to learn how you can make a positive difference for how our public lands in northwestern California are managed? If so, CalWild offers action-based workshops geared at training public lands advocates to meet the political moment. These trainings are free and led by the state’s premiere wilderness expert, Senior Policy Director Ryan Henson. During these sessions, attendees will learn how they can best contribute to managing their National Forests, National Parks, and Bureau of Land Management lands and ensure that they are:

• well-funded,
• well-managed,
• accessible to all, and
• can support thriving populations of native plants and wildlife.

We’ve so far held SBYL workshops in Redding, Fresno, Bakersfield and online. Request a SBYL for your community or group by emailing Ryan.