We’ve spent a good deal of time reflecting on last week’s election results, sifting through the rubble and sorting out what it means for places like the Los Padres National Forest, the Carrizo Plain National Monument, and other public lands throughout our region and across the country.
It’s going to take some time to make sense of it all. But right now, today, one thing’s abundantly clear:
we’re ready to do whatever it takes to meet the challenges that lie ahead.
We’ve all fought so hard to preserve our country’s natural treasures, and now — as the political winds shift — it all seems to hang in the balance. Whatever path we took to get here, it’s a rather harsh lesson on how we must always remain vigilant, on how our victories are never permanent.
Our work is cut out for us. And we’re poised and ready to fight for our public lands like we’ve never had to fight before.
For the last 13 years, ForestWatch has served as a small but mighty force for the conservation of our region’s public lands. We advocate for strong protections, demand accountability, educate our friends and neighbors about these special places, and offer opportunities for us all to get outside and get involved. Our successful track record shows that local grassroots action is one of the most successful ways to protect these places right here in our own backyard.
With this momentum behind our backs, we will use every tool in the toolbox to push back against those who want to dismantle our nation’s environmental progress. We’re not going to let them get away with this.
We will stop them the way we always have — by building a powerful network of folks throughout the Central Coast who care about our region’s natural treasures. We will pack their meetings, flood their mailboxes, jam their phone lines, defeat their legislation, take them to court, and VOTE in the next election, which won’t be here soon enough.
Our commitment to wildlife, wilderness, clean water, and healthy communities is unwavering. We will regroup, reenergize, and work harder every day. We’ll mobilize our volunteers. Build our staff. Shuffle our resources. Form coalitions. Replenish our Emergency Fund. And meet this challenge head-on with renewed determination and a clear vision of what’s best for the future of this planet.
They will not be able to ignore us.
As we do everything we can to prepare for the next four years, I am calling on you to help us rise to meet this challenge. Volunteer. Renew your membership. If you already renewed, double down and renew it again. If you’re not already a member, become one. Donate to a special project, or donate to our core support fund so that we can keep the lights on and keep our momentum going.
It’s time to turn our worries and fears into action. The next four years will be decided by how hard we fight today.
Your support, and your voice, will ensure that we have the resources necessary to confront and defeat what will surely be a flurry of attempts to develop, privatize, and plunder America’s legacy of public lands that has been a century in the making.
This election was a rough one. Let today mark the day when you and I and our friends and neighbors throughout the region all join together to do everything we can to uphold the conservation legacy of this already-great country of ours.
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