Image courtesy Jenny Binstock
September 25 is Public Lands Day. It’s an annual celebration of our public lands and waters, of the connections between people and the nature around them, and of the stewardship required to maintain those landscapes for this generation and the next.
This past year we’ve seen unprecedented and intersecting crises that, on a daily basis, threatened our sense of normalcy, our shared humanity, and our planet. It was also a year of amazing work on the part of changemakers -- at Sierra Club and beyond -- to protect our lands, ecosystems, and communities. And what better way to celebrate Public Lands Day than to recognize the accomplishments of our California team this year, a group of incredible staff and volunteer leaders coming together to create a better future for our state.
"The health and future of our public lands are fundamentally intertwined with the communities that love and support them."
California can play a key role in the fight against the climate crisis. Environmental leadership in California remains critical for setting the tone of what we do nationwide. Across the state, Sierra Club activists have rallied to protect public lands, working in close coordination with each other and allies. A key part of our work has been to support President Biden’s and Governor Newsom’s initiatives to protect 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030, something scientists say we must do to stave off the worst effects of climate change. Our activists have worked tirelessly to build strong coalitions and a statewide coordinated campaign to advance the local conservation goals of our chapters and California’s 30x30 plans. We rallied activists to public meetings and generated hundreds of citizen comments in support of these plans.
Our new senator, Alex Padilla, took up where his predecessor Kamala Harris left off by championing the PUBLIC Lands Act in Congress. Our teams in DC and in California have worked with local activists and partners to rally support for this critical legislation that would protect over a million acres of land and hundreds of miles of rivers in California, and make nature more accessible for our communities. Our work was rewarded by swift passage of the bill in the House of Representatives. Now, with Senator Padilla’s support, we’re working on passing it in the Senate.
We’re also driven by our values of conservation, protecting the climate, and ensuring all communities across California can thrive. In the Eastern Sierra, we continue to work to stop destructive mining projects that threaten some of the state’s most cherished public lands. We’re highlighting the role California deserts play in addressing climate change by working to protect their ability to sequester carbon, and supporting renewable energy in ways that protect lands and wildlife. And we are committed to supporting our environmental justice partners advocating for communities who live around the threatened Salton Sea.
The health and future of our public lands are fundamentally intertwined with the communities that love and support them. One of the greatest honors of my work with the Sierra Club is the joy, inspiration, and solidarity I find in being in community with our activists around the state who are devoted to a shared vision. In order for our ecosystems to work, we must be living in sound harmony, building healthy and safe communities and working with others across the lines of difference that are too often used to divide us. We believe anything is possible when we take care of each other and hold firm to our values. We’ve done so much together, and we’re only getting started.