On March 19-21, Los Padres ForestWatch and more than 100 Coalition members of the America the Beautiful for All Coalition (ATB4All) convened in Washington, DC to advocate for 30×30 and Justice40 initiatives. We met with decision makers across the Biden Administration and Congress to deepen our conservation movement’s and strengthen our relationships across freshwater, public health, ocean, public land, wildlife, and urban parks and green space issues.
The America the Beautiful For All Coalition reflects the diversity of America and centers the voices of people of color and frontline communities working to conserve 30% of lands, waters, and ocean by 2030. It aims to unite land, freshwater, and ocean advocates across communities to catalyze action by the Presidential Administration and Congress through a shared annual policy agenda focused on our twin goals:
- Conserve at least 30% of land, water, and ocean by 2030 to avoid massive species loss, secure equitable access to nature’s benefits, and prevent and repair the impacts of the climate crisis for all communities.
- Implement a Justice40 metric for the America the Beautiful Initiative to ensure at least 40% of investments are made in communities of color and frontline communities that have historically seen little to no investment in conservation and equitable access to nature.
ForestWatch and a few coalition members convened with Under Secretary Homer Wilkes of Natural Resources and Environment at USDA and Under Secretary Robert Bonnie for Farm Production and Conservation at USDA.
During the meeting, USDA leadership outlined their public lands agenda for 2024, with wildfire management being a focal point. ForestWatch and the John Muir Project strongly advocated reallocating funds to communities and emphasized a home outward approach to wildfire protection. Despite USDA’s insistence on prioritizing backcountry work, ForestWatch provided evidence highlighting the importance of addressing wind-driven and human-caused catastrophic wildfires, which can render fuel breaks ineffective. The hour long discussion fell short due to the complex topic and USDA leadership agreed to schedule a follow-up meeting with ForestWatch to specially discuss fire in our region.
On the final lobbying day, we met with State Representatives, including Sarah Swig, Legislative Director of U.S. Senator Padilla where we expressed gratitude for his efforts on the reintroduction of the PUBLIC Lands Act. This legislation aims to protect California’s landscapes, provide community access to open spaces, grow the outdoor recreation economy, and combat the climate crisis by aligning with the goal of conserving 30% of lands and waters by 2030.
Our final advocacy efforts continued with a meeting with Congressmember Carbajal’s Legislative Director, Johanna Montiel, where discussions revolved around the Central Coast Heritage Protection Act, wildfire management, wildlife corridors, and ongoing projects in Los Padres National Forest. ForestWatch raised concerns about the Forest Service’s plans for commercial logging on Pine Mountain and Mt Pinos, utilizing loopholes to bypass environmental studies mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act. Representative Carbajal’s office has played a significant role in safeguarding NEPA and preventing anti-environmental policy riders.
Looking ahead, ForestWatch plans to maintain collaboration with elected officials to protect public lands. As part of our Policy and Legislative Affairs program, we intend to organize site visits for elected officials to proposed project areas in the forest, allowing them to witness firsthand the areas targeted for logging and vegetation clearing. It is crucial for representatives to understand the ecological significance of these areas and the potential consequences of legislative actions.
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