Julie Rentner and Manuel Oliva
2021 presents opportunities for decisive and positive action, including the launch of the United Nationsâ Decade on Ecosystem Restoration which reinforces the importance of healing degraded ecosystems around the world before itâs too late. It gives us great hope to know that California is committed to leadership through investment and sharing lessons learned from decades of experience.
Our diverse ecosystems, abundant natural resources and a mild climate have helped attract millions of residents and developed Californiaâs world-class economy. Sadly, our approach to economic progress has imperiled our unique wetlands, grasslands, rivers and mountain meadows â natural assets directly responsible for purifying and storing our drinking water, sequestering carbon, providing recreational opportunities, supporting diverse wildlife habitat and so much more.
Four years of Trump administration attacks on California s public lands, and the lasting impacts
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President Donald Trump visits a neighborhood impacted by wildfires in Paradise, Calif.Evan Vucci/Associated Press
Over the past four years, President Donald Trump s repeated attacks on the public lands of California and beyond have inflamed the conservation community. The administration gutted conservation laws. It denied climate change. It attempted to slash budgets and hollow out crucial agencies.
Together, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the United States Forest Service and the National Park Service manage more than 40% of the land in California. And despite a dramatic increase in visitation to California’s federally managed parks, forests and rangelands in the past few years, the Trump administration has routinely attempted to reduce resources for those agencies.