STATEWIDE LAND PRESERVATION ISSUES AND GROUPS

2/2007

CALIFORNIA WILDLIFE MIGRATION CORRIDOR "PINCH POINTS"
(please click to enlarge maps)http://www.calwild.org/resources/pubs/linkages/index.htm and also http://scwildlands.org
------------------------------------------

MAP OF FEDERALLY OWNED LANDS OF CALIFORNIA

--------------------------------------------------------------

P G & E Bankruptcy Settlement Leads to Huge Land Giveaway
The Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council, manages 140,000 acres owned by Pacific Gas & Electric, http://www.stewardshipcouncil.org/ The Stewardship Council is tasked with ensuring the permanent protection of over 140,000 acres of land for the benefit of the citizens of California and is working on plans to donate the land to the government or non-profit land conservation groups.

http://www.sierrafund.org/news.php?10 to see story on Pacific Gas and Electric's offer to donate land to land trusts; click on 2/05/2007 stories

STATEWIDE GROUPS:

BUYING LAND:
California Wildlife Conservation Board, http://www.wcb.ca.gov/
State agency that has purchased 400,000 acres since 1/1/2000 and acquired conservation easements on over 263,000 acres of land

Resources Legacy Fund, http://www.resourceslegacyfund.org/
Works to: Conserve or restore natural landscapes, protect and enhance marine systems, and preserve wildlands and wilderness; Promote and facilitate well-planned community growth;
Preserve prime farmlands threatened by sprawl. The Fund’s Conserving California Landscapes Initiative (CCLI) is the largest land conservation program in American history. Started in March 1998, this innovative and successful five-year, $175 million initiative of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation pioneered numerous collaborative strategies and processes and served as a magnet for over $764 million in leveraged funds that led to the protection of more than 420,000 acres of beautiful, productive, and richly diverse California lands in three regions: the Central Coast, Central Valley, and Sierra Nevada, along with the development of supportive policies and organizations. The Fund also runs the Preserving Wild California program.

The Nature Conservancy, http://www.tnccalifornia.org/, working to preserve land throughout the state. For list of their preserves: http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/california/preserves/

California Rangeland Trust, http://www.rangelandtrust.org/
Works with ranch owners to buy development rights; has worked on the conservation of the Hearst Ranch in San Luis Obispo County, the El Chorro Ranch in Santa Barbara County, and the Sierra Valley north of Lake Tahoe

The Trust for Public Land, to read their 2006 annual report for California: http://tpl.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_item_id=21076&folder_id=266 . In 2006, TPL brokered the preservation of 23,000 acres of land either by sale to the government of full ownership or by the sale of development rights with the land retained by private owners

http://conservationcampaign.org/cms/q.cgi?rm=state&state=CAmobilizes public support for ballot measures and legislation that create public funds to protect land and water resources; receives funding from the Trust for Public Land, the Nature Conservancy and others.

California Council of Land Trusts, http://www.calandtrusts.org
For list of member groups: http://www.calandtrusts.org/trustregions.cfm

TRAILS CREATION:

The above map is part of the California Recreational Trails Plan. Click on it to enlarge. To see the full plan, click here


Pacific Crest Trail Association , http://www.pcta.org
Zigzagging its way from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon and Washington, the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) boasts the greatest elevation changes of any of America's National Scenic Trails, allowing it to pass through six out of seven of North America's ecozones including high and low desert, old-growth forest and artic-alpine country. Indeed, the PCT is a trail of diversity and extremes. From scorching desert valleys in Southern California to rain forests in the Pacific Northwest, the PCT offers hikers and equestrians a unique, varied experience.

Coastwalk, http://www.coastwalk.org/
The Coastwalk vision is a completed California Coastal Trail that will stretch continuously from Oregon to the Mexican border, while preserving the fragile coastal environment.
also see http://californiacoastaltrail.info

Rails to Trails Conservancy
http://www.railtrails.org/index.html

American Discovery Trail, From Washington D.C. to San Francisco, 6356 miles long
http://discoverytrail.org

http://latrails.com

http://latrailsproject.org

Anza National Historic Trail, http://www.solideas.com/DeAnza/TrailGuide/

FIGHTING GIVEAWAYS OF PUBLIC LAND TO PRIVATE INTERESTS:
http://www.landgrant.org/ 11.5 Million acres of California public land intended for homesteaders was instead given to timber, mining, and real estate corporations. This totals around 12% of the total acreage of California. The railroads were given lands arranged in a checkerboard fashion in a swath 40 miles wide (or 20 miles on either side of the tracks) with the federal government keeping 1/2 the squares and the railroads getting the other half. The failure of the railroad land grant policy is the cause of many of today's economic, political, and environmental problems, including deforestation, toxic waste, and taxpayer subsidies. The Railroads & Clearcuts Campaign intends to hold government and corporations accountable, and to reclaim this land to the public domain.

MAP OF THE 40 MILE WIDE SWATH (YELLOW) IN WHICH HALF OF THE LAND WAS GIVEN TO THE RAILROADS:

Range Watch, http://www.rangewatch.org/
Citizen Watchdogs of Our Industry-Grazed Public Lands. The mission of Range Watch is to reduce the economic and ecological cost to the American public from commercial grazing on our public lands.

http://www.endgame.org/
website on corporate ownership of everything

Who Owns the West, published by the Environmental Working Group http://ewg.org/issues/siteindex/issues.php?issueid=5020
Map shows how Mining and drilling industries actively control public land inside or within
five miles of 70 percent of America's parks, forests, and wilderness areas
http://www.ewg.org/reports/losingground/national.php

WILDLIFE PROTECTORS:
Defenders of Wildlife, http://www.defenders.org/
Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities. We focus our programs on what scientists consider two of the most serious environmental threats to the planet: the accelerating rate of extinction of species and the associated loss of biological diversity, and habitat alteration and destruction.

Mountain Lion Foundation, http://www.mountainlion.org/
dedicated to protecting the mountain lion and their wild habitat to ensure that our wildlife heritage endures for future generations.

California Natural Diversity Database, www.dfg.ca.gov/whdab/html/cnddb.html
Is a program that inventories the status and locations of rare plants and animals in California . CNDDB staff work with partners to maintain current lists of rare species as well as maintain an ever-growing database of GIS-mapped locations for these species.

PROTECTING FEDERAL LANDS AS PRISTINE WILDERNESS:
California Wilderness Coalition, http://www.calwild.org/
working hard for the passage of legislation designating new wilderness areas and wild and scenic rivers in California

California Wild Heritage Campaign, http://www.californiawild.org/
broad based coalition with only one goal - to preserve California's unprotected wilderness and wild rivers for future generations to enjoy

The Wilderness Society, http://wilderness.org/ Our Mission: Deliver to future generations an unspoiled legacy of wild places, with all the precious values they hold: Biological diversity; clean air and water; towering forests, rushing rivers, and sage-sweet, silent deserts.
Our Programs Include: Protecting the last great American wilderness area, the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, from oil and gas drilling; Staving off logging and road building on 58 million acres of roadless lands; Curbing the abuse of our lands by off-road vehicle users; Protecting America's wild places in Alaska and the lower 48 states from rampant oil development.Wilderness Information Network

http://www.wilderness.net/
Wilderness.net is an Internet-based tool connecting the natural resource workforce, scientists, educators, and the public to their wilderness heritage through ready access to wilderness information.

http://www.wildernesslandtrust.org/ The Trust has preserved over 12,550 acres of land in more than 80 parcels in California's designated and proposed wilderness areas. For a list of saved properties, click here http://www.wildernesslandtrust.org/california.html

www.wildernesswatch.org based in Montana
dedicated solely to the protection and proper stewardship of lands and rivers included in the National Wilderness Preservation System and National Wild & Scenic Rivers System.

LITIGATORS:
Center for Biological Diversity, http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/
Combining conservation biology with litigation, policy advocacy, and an innovative strategic vision, the Center for Biological Diversity is working to secure a future for animals and plants hovering on the brink of extinction, for the wilderness they need to survive, and by extension for the spiritual welfare of generations to come.

Earthjustice Legal Fund, http://www.earthjustice.org/
Earthjustice (formerly the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund) is a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment. We bring about far-reaching change by enforcing and strengthening environmental laws on behalf of hundreds of organizations and communities.

Western Environmental Law Center, http://www.westernlaw.org/


PLANTS AND TREES:California Oaks Foundation, http://www.californiaoaks.org/committed to preserving the state's oak forest ecosystem and its rural landscapes

Theodore Payne Foundation for native plants, http://www.theodorepayne.org/
Founded and incorporated in 1960, the Theodore Payne Foundation promotes the understanding and preservation of California native flora. Operates plant nursery and wildflower hill in Northeast Los Angeles

California Native Plant Society, http://www.cnps.org/ Formed in 1965 in the east bay region, the California Native Plant Society works to increase understanding and appreciation of California's native plants and to conserve them and their natural habitats through education, science, advocacy, horticulture and land stewardship.

WATER USE REFORM:
Public Citizen, www.citizen.org/cmep/water/
Public Citizen's Water for All Campaign is dedicated to protecting water as a common resource, stopping water privatization and bulk water sales, and defending access to clean and affordable water around the world.

FARMLAND ISSUES:California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, http://www.crlaf.org/

American Farmland Trust, http://www.farmland.org/
is leading a campaign to transform U.S. farm policy. Our vision is for well-managed, protected farm and ranch land that provides open space, clean water, healthy food, wildlife habitat and a renewed connectedness between the farm community and the rest of America.

Community Alliance with Family Farmers, http://www.caff.org/
is building a movement of rural and urban people to foster family-scale agriculture that cares for the land, sustains local economies and promotes social justice.


RIVERS AND OCEAN:Friends of the River, http://www.friendsoftheriver.org/
Founded in 1973, Friends of the River is dedicated to preserving and restoring California's rivers, streams, and their watersheds as well as advocating for sustainable water management.

Surfrider Foundation, http://surfrider.org/ The Surfrider Foundation is a grassroots, non-profit, environmental organization that works to protect our oceans, waves, and beaches. Founded in 1984, Surfrider Foundation's most important coastal environmental work is carried out by Surfrider Foundation's 60 chapters located along the East, West, Gulf, Puerto Rican, and Hawaiian coasts.

Pacific Rivers Council, http://www.pacrivers.org/, mission is to protect and restore rivers, their watersheds, and native aquatic species. Since 1987, PRC has promoted a whole watershed approach to aquatic conservation based on sound science.
COASTAL PRESERVATION:


Vote the Coast, http://www.votethecoast.org/ Vote the Coast is the only organization focused on the political arena as it pertains to coastal protection and the California Coastal Act.

Sierra Club Great Coastal Places Campaign, http://www.sierraclub.org/ca/coasts/


PHOTOGRAPHS OF NATURE:
http://www.californiacoastline.org/
Over 34,557 photographs of the current California coast are now online, covering from the Oregon Border to the Mexican Border, except for the Vandenberg AFB restricted area. An additional 5833 images from 1972, 8000 images from 1979, 4173 images from 1987, and 1074 images from 1989 are now online.

http://www.visualjourneys.net/
Visual Journeys combines the art of photography with education and activism to take viewers on eye opening trips through our nations most endangered landscapes. Our primary area of focus is the beautiful South Coast, Mojave, and Sonoran Ecoregions of southern California.

DEEP ECOLOGY--SAVING WILDERNESS FOR WILDLIFE, NOT PEOPLE, ETC.:

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande

http://trailkillerz.blogspot.com/ 

OTHER ISSUES:

http://www.sprawl-busters.com/
An International Clearinghouse on Big Box Anti-Sprawl Information

Land Trust Alliance, http://www.lta.org/

The Land Trust Alliance is the convener, strategist and representative of land trusts across America.

http://www.westerncaves.org/dedicated to securing permanent protection for threatened caves in the western United States