Despite decades of conservation effort by people, governments, and organizations like the Sierra Club, the destruction of earth’s wild creatures and places – our life support systems – is accelerating. Now, Sierra Club is part of the global 30x30 movement to protect biodiversity, stabilize our climate, and advance environmental justice. 30x30 aims to preserve 30% of lands and oceans by 2030, with the broader goal of protecting "half earth", or 50% of lands and oceans, by 2050 or sooner. The 30x30 initiative – which reframes all conservation as part of the existential fight for a just and livable world – can supercharge local conservation wins.

California is home to more species of plants and animals than any other state in the nation and is one of 36 global biodiversity hotspots – Earth's most biologically rich and threatened regions. The magnificent and varied ecosystems of California’s deserts, mountains, grasslands, watersheds, and coasts are not “nice to haves.” They sustain our economy and livelihoods, store greenhouse gases, buffer extreme weather impacts, and provide recreation and spiritual restoration for people from all walks of life. Yet, California’s natural life support systems are, like nature worldwide, under intense pressure from habitat loss, climate change, invasive species, pollution, and overexploitation. In the current political environment, even areas and species previously designated for protection – especially in federal lands and waters – may no longer be safe and depend on us to defend them.

In 2020, 30x30 became official state policy via Governor Newsom’s Executive Order on Biodiversity and Climate Change (EO N-82-20), a milestone later codified into state law in 2023 (Senate Bill 337, Min). The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) is tasked with coordinating 30x30 implementation with state agencies, government partners, Native American Tribes, business and community leaders, and hundreds of interested organizations statewide. Collaboratively, CNRA developed Pathways to 30x30: Accelerating Conservation of California's Nature (2022) and publishes annual progress reports. In 2024, California voters approved approximately $1.2 billion over 10 years for land conservation and habitat restoration as part of the Proposition 4 Climate Bond.

Alongside our partners, the Sierra Club contributed to developing the CNRA criteria for 30x30 Conservation Areas: 

“Land and coastal water areas that are durably protected and managed to sustain functional ecosystems, both intact and restored, and the diversity of life that they support."

Hundreds of organizations across California are partnering to achieve 30x30. Sierra Club has a statewide 30x30 campaign that partners with Power in Nature – a coalition of nearly 300 grassroots organizations across California working to protect biodiversity, stabilize the climate, and ensure everyone has equitable access to nature’s benefits. 30x30 offers a chance to transform the conservation movement by building relationships in communities most impacted by loss of nature, pollution, environmental racism, and exclusion by the conservation movement. Sierra Club and our Power in Nature partners are working to uplift the priorities of frontline communities, Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples, and economically disadvantaged communities.

Our California 30x30 campaign leverages Sierra Club California’s vast network of volunteer leaders and activists in 13 Chapters, our legislative office in Sacramento, and the expertise of our national staff and Grassroots Network Teams. The Sierra Club California 30x30 Task Force, led jointly by staff and volunteers from across the state, is working to boost Chapter power to achieve local conservation wins – and we need many more people to join the movement! 

Contact your Chapter (map and links here) to learn about their Local Conservation Priorities and how you can help.

To join the Sierra Club California’s 30x30 Campaign, please fill out the form below:

Everyone is welcome to join. You don't need to have previous advocacy experience. We're looking forward to meeting you! 

Examples of specific 30x30 efforts you might be interested in helping with include: ocean protection, urban greening, private land conservation, working for new parks and national monuments, and defending existing protected areas.

• Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (COP 15 2022; see Target 3)
• 30x30 California (California Natural Resources Agency’s comprehensive website including mapping tools) 
• Pathways to 30x30 in California; Annual Progress Reports (California Natural Resources Agency)
• Power in Nature is a statewide (CA) coalition of organizations
• Sierra Club California: 30x30 Fact Sheet
• Sierra Club California Blog: 2030 Landscapes: Visions for California's Nature and Communities