PLANNING AND CONSERVATION LEAGUE

PLANNING AND CONSERVATION LEAGUE FOUNDATION

CALIFORNIA TODAY
Newsletter of the Planning & Conservation League

June 2007

Volume 37, Number 2

CALCC

Conserving natural resources one at-risk youth at a time... page 3

New Affiliates Unite with PCL Honoring David Hirsch

By: Melanie Schlotterbeck By: Gary Patton

The Planning and Conservation League (PCL) is making a concerted effort to expand its affiliate list. Affiliates benefit by having an ally in the State Capitol that works to enact strong environmental legislation, and to ensure that existing environmental protections remain in place. Affiliates are kept informed about upcoming workshops, local legislative meetings, and events offered by PCL and its sister organization the PCL Foundation. If you are interested in having your organization become an affiliate, please send an email to mschlotterbeck@pcl.org . Some of our most recent affiliates include: Amigos de Bolsa Chica California Resource Connection Chino Hills State Park Interpretive Association Claremont Wildlands Conservancy Clover Valley Foundation Community Conservation International Conservation Action Fund for Education Conservation Biology Institute Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch Endangered Habitats League Friends of Barham Ranch Friends of Coyote Hills Friends of Deer Creek Friends of Harbors, Beaches and Parks Friends of Newport Coast Health and Habitat Orange County Coastkeeper Orange County Interfaith Coalition for the Environment Pacific Rivers Council Pesticide Free Zone Campaign Riverside Land Conservancy Saddleback Canyons Conservancy Santiago Creek Greenway Alliance Santiago Creek Preservation & Restoration Project Sonoma County Conservation Action South Coast Wildlands Project Snowlands Network The Acorn Naturalists Wild Heritage Planners Women For: Orange County

David Hirsch was an original member of the PCL Board of Directors. Today, hes heading the PCL Foundation. On Saturday, April 28th, PCL Board President John Van de Kamp and Executive Director Gary Patton joined Daves family and friends as they celebrated Daves 70th birthday. On behalf of the Board of Directors, they presented Dave with a striking commendation, honoring him for his outstanding, lifetime service to the California environment. Thank you, David Hirsch!

CALIFORNIA TODAY Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation

Dear Friends,
CALIFORNIA TODAY (ISBN 0739-8042) is the quarterly newsletter of the PLANNING AND CONSERVATION LEAGUE AND THE PCL FOUNDATION
1107 Ninth Street, Suite 360, Sacramento, CA 95814 PHONE: 916-444-8726 FAX: 916-448-1789

E-MAIL ADDRESS: pclmail@pcl.org WEB ADDRESS: http://www.pcl.org Membership to PCL is $35 a year and includes a subscription to CALIFORNIA TODAY. Periodicals postage paid at Sacramento, CA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes for CALIFORNIA TODAY to the PCL Office: 1107 Ninth Street, Suite 360, Sacramento, CA 95814

PCLF BOARD OF TRUSTEES

DAVID HIRSCH, Chairman RALPH B. PERRY III, Vice Chairman DANIEL S. FROST, Secretary-Treasurer COKE HALLOWELL, Trustee GERALD H. MERAL, Trustee ARMANDO RODRIGUEZ, Trustee

PCL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

JOHN VAN DE KAMP, President BILL YEATES, First Vice President KEVIN JOHNSON, Senior Vice President SAGE SWEETWOOD, President Emeritus BILL CENTER, Secretary-Treasurer

REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS

ELISABETH BROWN JAN CHATTEN-BROWN PHYLLIS FABER RICK FRANK DOROTHY GREEN RICK HAWLEY DOUG LINNEY DAVID MOGAVERO LYNN SADLER TERESA VILLEGAS

ORGANIZATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS

Big Sur Land Trust Breathe California, Sacramento-Emigrant Trails California Association of Local Conservation Corps California Oaks Foundation California Trout Greenspace - The Cambria Land Trust Golden Gate Audubon Society The Laguna Greenbelt, Inc. Marin Agricultural Land Trust Marin Conservation League Mountain Lion Foundation Sierra Nevada Alliance Southern California Agricultural Land Foundation Train Riders Association of California The Trust for Public Land

PCL/PCL FOUNDATION STAFF

GARY A. PATTON, Executive Director TINA ANDOLINA, Legislative Director JASON AVINA, Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Member BARB BYRNE, Water Policy Assistant REN GUERRERO, Project Manager - Legislative Advocate CHARLOTTE HODDE, Water Policy Specialist DR. MONICA HUNTER, Central Coast Water Project Manager MINDY McINTYRE, Water Program Manager JONAS MINTON, Senior Water Policy Advisor GERALD PEREZ, Administrative Director MATT VANDER SLUIS, Global Warming Project Manager CHRIS WARD, Database Manager MELANIE SCHLOTTERBECK, Grants & Outreach Consultant

PCL has eight registered lobbyists on staff, and our weekly email publication is called the Insider. PCL really is an insider group, with a strong presence in the State Capitol. Incidentally, our lobbyists call it The Building. What happens in The Building is of vital importance to all of us. Actions taken by the State Legislature can either promote, or undermine, public health. They can either protect, or destroy, the natural environment. And lets not shortchange what happens in The Horseshoe, which is what we call the Governors Office. Thats pretty important, too! PCL staff members are working for public health and environmental protection every day the Legislature is in session. We focus on the Governor, too. A couple of weeks ago, in fact, we were scheduled to meet with the Governor to present a big picture idea on how to restore water quality in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, while increasing the security of our water supply at the same time. Unfortunately, the Governor cancelled out on us - but were still seeking an opportunity to present this path breaking plan! Weve been working with housing and social equity advocates on a bond proposal that will vastly improve the livability of our cities - and that will help stop the sprawl that is destroying farmland and habitat. But PCL is a lot more than an insider organization. The strength of PCL comes from the outside, too - from the grassroots, in every area of the state. From our affiliates! In mid-May, in a meeting arranged by Senator Negrete McLeod meeting. PCL, environmental activists from the Inland Empire met with Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod. In March, PCL affiliates and activists met with Senator Pat Wiggins, in her office in Sonoma. In February, we met with Assembly Member Jared Huffman, in San Rafael. I was at every one of these meetings, and I can tell you that Senator Negrete McLeod, Senator Wiggins, and Assembly Assembly Member Huffmans meeting. Member Huffman took note of what those local activists said. I want to thank each one of these officials, personally, for proving the truth of what Im telling you now. Our Legislators and the legislative process can and will respond. But to protect and restore our environment, we need to mount a full court press. We need to work the inside, and we need to work the outside. Members of the Legislature will help us - here in Sacramento, and there, in their districts. But thats only when were organized. Only when were inside, and outside, and all around!
Melanie Schlotterbeck

Gary Patton

California Affiliate National Wildlife Federation

Gary A. Patton Executive Director

CALIFORNIA TODAY Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation

California Association of Local Conservation Corps

The California Association of Local Conservation Corps (CALCC) represents the 12 certified conservation corps covering most of the states urban areas from San Diego to Marin. Local corps work with over 2,200 at-risk youth (ages 18-25) each year. Most of their corpsmembers (participants) are low-income, people of color, who have dropped out of high school. They are provided with job/career training by performing such fee-for-service activities as landscaping, park construction, fire fuel load reduction, non-native weed removal, graffiti abatement, and recycling. Corpsmembers are concurrently enrolled in charter high schools affiliated with or operated by corps as they work towards a high school diploma. is not to say that volunteerism and community service is not a laudable goal. Volunteers play a pivotal role in such litter abatement projects as Adopt a Highway and the CA Coastal Commissions annual Coastal Cleanup Day. These events prove immensely successful. Yet, our highways and beaches continue to endure substantial environmental and aesthetic impacts from rampant litter. This is why CALCC plans on working with the conservation community over the next year to identify sustainable sources of funding to combat the growing litter (especially plastic) epidemic with regular, scheduled conservation corps-led cleanup events. Californias environmental organizations have long recognized the double value provided by local corps. When a local corps is hired to do the project, not only does the work get done (and done well), but the corps is able to hire and train additional young men and women desperate for the opportunity to begin turning their lives around. These corpsmembers are not looking for a handout, but a hand up. They have reached a point in their lives when the all too real threat of dead-end minimum wage jobs, incarceration, and life-risking affiliations have become a reality. A nationwide study of local conservation and service corps demonstrated a high return on investment and dramatically reduced recidivism rates. Local corps have a model that works. To learn more about Californias local conservation corps movement contact CALCCs Association Manger, Scott Dosick, at 916-285-8743 or visit us on the web at: www.CaliforniaLocalConservationCorps.org.

CALCC

CALCC

Local corps programs provide academic instruction, career guidance, job/vocational training, and life skills development. Their corpsmembers do not have to choose between going to school and working. They get to do both. Actually, they have to do both. If they miss a day of school, they have to make it up, thus missing out on a day of work and realizing a reduction in pay. CALCC has been a proud partner with the Planning and Conservation League (PCL) and other environmental and conservation organizations. Like CALCCs numerous state and local government partners, the non-profit community appreciates the advantage of having a virtual army of conservation workers at their disposal. All too often, conservation projects like tree planting, litter and graffiti abatement, and park construction and rehabilitation, rely upon an untrained, inconsistent volunteer workforce. This

CALCC

CALIFORNIA TODAY Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation

CALCC

An Occassion to Celebrate and Activate

By: Melanie Schlotterbeck

April 14, 2007 marked the annual Environmental Legislative Symposium organized by the Planning and Conservation and the PCL Foundation. The theme this year was How To... Win the Environmental Battles that Test This Generation. With over 230 attendees (a 13 percent increase from last year), 38 speakers, and 30 sponsors the event brought together individuals, attorneys, businesses, and decision makers to name a few.

This year the program included not only information on policy issues, but also skills sessions that emphasized how grassroots organizations could improve their effectiveness at the local, regional, and statewide level. Below is a short recap of the event and awards banquet. You can visit our website to download PowerPoint presentations and handouts at www.PCL.org.

We were honored to have Peter Douglas, Executive Director of the California Coastal Commission, participate as our morning keynote. He launched the Symposium with a powerful and moving appeal for an environmental ethic.

Keith Wagner

The Keynotes
Peter Douglas and PCLs John Van de Kamp.

Congressman McNerney and Gary Patton.

Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein recorded short introductions, which preceded our lunchtime keynote, by Congressman Jerry McNerney. The Congressman and both Senators articulated some of the federal environmental issues that we face as a nation, and emphasized how proposed legislation may reduce those environmental impacts.

Howard DeCruyenaere

How to Organize a Winning Land Use Campaign.

Howard DeCruyenaere

Keith Wagner

Solving Californias Land Use Puzzle.

Caleen Sisk-Franco.

Some of the comments we received...

This was the best conference Ive attend! I loved the action part of the Symposium! When you have a large group of people together, it is great to have them take action and do something like the Step It Up petition and photo! This is my first PCL conference and I think it was fantastic. Invaluable! Best Thanks! This was my first time attending the symposium and I do so because I saw Gary talk at the EFM. I also became a member. There were many great talks and choices.

Participants were able to hear Secretary Linda Adams of the California Environmental Protection Agency at our evening awards ceremony. She stressed the need for appropriate implementation of Californias global warming legislation (AB 32), which still requires additional research and cooperation among many agencies and environmental organizations, including PCL.

Keith Wagner

The Land Use Campaign Workshop alone was worth the flight up from Southern California.
The California Environmental Quality Act.

CALIFORNIA TODAY Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation

Keith Wagner

Our Award Winners

Every year PCL awards deserving individuals and organizations for their contribution to the environment. This year PCL celebrated the successes and hard work of six environmental leaders. Senate President pro Tem Don Perata Speaker of the Assembly Fabian Nez Legislators of the Year Dorothy Green Carla Bard Award for Individual Achievement California Interfaith Power and Light David Gaines Award for Grassroots Organization Jane Williams Environmental Justice Advocate of the Year Bank of America Environmental Business of the Year

Thank You to Our Sponsors

PCL and the PCL Foundation could not have made the Symposium happen without the generous support and assistance from the following sponsors: OAK WOODLANDS SPONSOR ($5,000+) Gallo Family Vineyards Pacific Gas and Electric JOSHUA TREE SPONSOR ($2,500+) Admail West Holland+Knight Metropolitan Water District CALIFORNIA POPPY SPONSOR ($1,000+) Water for California National Wildlife Federation Remy, Thomas, Moose and Manley Temple Coffee and Tea GRASSLANDS SPONSOR ($500+) Adams, Broadwell, Joseph & Cardoza Camp Lotus Chatten-Brown & Carstens Conservation Clarity Conservation Strategy Group Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin Jean Driscoll John Van de Kamp Johnson and Hanson LLP Laguna Greenbelt, Inc. Law Offices of J. William Yeates Phyllis Faber Rossmann and Moore LLP Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP Terry Watt ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATION SPONSOR ($100) Pacific Rivers Council Snowlands Network OTHER SPONSORS Teresa Villegas Frey Winery MM Printing Environmental Law Section of the California State Bar
Howard DeCruyenaere

Cal-EPA Secretary Linda Adams.

Melanie Schlotterbeck

Jan Chatten Brown and Dorothy Green.

We hope to see you again next year!

Rick Maya from Bank of America and Bill Yeates.

Howard DeCruyenaere

CALIFORNIA TODAY Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation

2007 Legislative Session in Full Swing

By: Tina Andolina

For Sacramento lobbyists, the start of a new legislative session can bring back memories of new shoes, a fresh backpack, and the great unknown of the first day of school. Weve seen bills introduced, weve scrambled to find authors to pursue our fantastic bill ideas, weve weathered (more or less) a fierce round of committee hearings and deadlines. Now, with the deadline behind us for the first round of committee hearings, we can sit back and lick our wounds, survey which of those great ideas is still around, and get a sense of what the remainder of the legislative session might have in store. A few things are strikingly clear. First and foremost, any level of clarity is hard to come by! Second, the passage of the bonds last November has caused a virtual feeding frenzy of special interests in Sacramento. Determining how the bonds are spent has dominated nearly every discussion in the Capitol. As of early May, we still have no clear sense when or if any decisions will be made this year. Once the final budget is adopted, due June 15th, well know.

Global warming remains a hot topic in Sacramento, but it has taken on new look. Of the myriad of bills introduced to reach our AB 32 goals several alternative fuels and clean car bills have survived. Also, there are bills that seek to address the link between greenhouse gases and sprawl or water. Speaking of water, the Legislature this year seems relatively committed to enacted comprehensive flood legislation, and is an extremely controversial legislative issue, yet more bonds to build dams thankfully died in the Senate. PCLs sponsored bills all remain alive and well. Two of those bills became two year bills due to lack of votes to pass them in Committee. We will continue to work the halls, reach out to key districts, and in the coming weeks, strive for the 41/21 vote count that will get our bills out of their House of Origin and further along the road to becoming law.
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News on the Sierra

By: Jason Avina

Worldwide, the Sierra Nevada is a symbol of Californias environment. This relationship is more than symbolic, especially now. Sierra land use, watersheds, and climate changes are inextricably linked to our most basic resource challenges. Growing populations compound the regions problems as well. Most common are the low-density ranchette developments of 1-10 acres. Autumn Bernstein, of the Sierra Nevada Alliance (SNA), says Ranchette developments cant utilize centralized water and sewer systems, and must pump vital groundwater.

We look forward to working with PCL on critical air quality and land use issues in the state.
-- Jane Hagedorn, Breathe California

CALIFORNIA TODAY Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation

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According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which accounts for a third of the states surface water, could virtually disappear by the end of the century if global warming continues unabated. Land use is an issue that also contributes to global warming, Ranchettes are too spread out to support public transportation, so residents drive long commutes in their cars, says Bernstein. More needs to be done to protect the Range of Light from environmental degradation, and the Planning and Conservation League, the PCL Foundation, and SNA are among the groups making these essential connections between issues. Together, we are creating the organizational connections that will work for newer and truly integrative approaches towards protecting the incomparable resources of the Sierra Nevada.

New Climate Change Initiative

By: Matt Vander Sluis

Dam Deja Vu
By: Mindy McIntyre

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Making Waves...
By: Dr. Monica Hunter

Californias marine policy program for the Central Coast region recently got the green light to implement the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Pilot Program for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The Fish and Game Commission approved the first MPA network consisting of 29 MPAs located in state waters from Pigeon Point in San Mateo County to Point Conception in Santa Barbara County. Joining this effort, PCLF has committed to a new program, the Coastal Zone Watersheds Initiative (CZWI) funded by the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation. The CZWI will build on the success of PCLFs Central Coast Watersheds Program, which has been in place since 2004 and has been very successful. Our coastal watershed-based organizations are integral to achieving the goals of the MLPA. They represent the states best resource for on-the-ground coastal stream restoration and improvements to water quality essential for a healthy nearshore

ecosystem, says Dr. Monica Hunter, who leads the Central Coast Program. PCLF will conduct two CZWI Regional Roundtables early in 2008, targeting San Luis Obispo and Monterey County groups to develop an agenda for regional priorities and funding needs. To find out more about the Central Coast program contact Monica Hunter by email at mhunter@pcl.org.

Clive Sanders

Climate change threatens the things we value most; our health and livelihoods, the lives of our loved ones, and our environment. Thats why PCL and the PCL Foundation are proud to launch a new initiative to cut climate pollution, in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). Together, we are working to deliver California based results that will drive the U.S. towards a national solution to our growing climate crisis. No other program in California better combines NWFs unique strengths - awareness of the national political climate, broad grassroots participation, and expertise on issues affecting wildlife - with PCLs influential relationships with state government, state policy expertise, and coalition building experience. The program also relies heavily on the support of the PCL Foundation for their solutions-oriented resources such as workshops and print materials for decision makers, planners, attorneys, and community members. The new Climate Change program will leverage this suite of strengths to shift our nation away from carbon dependency toward greater economic and environmental sustainability, stronger protection of wildlife, and a fairer, more just society. To find out how our program can support your efforts, contact Matt Vander Sluis by email at mvander@pcl.org.

Last year, PCL and other groups successfully fought to keep harmful dams out of the bond package. Now, just months after voters approved that package, the Governor has resurrected the dam debate by proposing another $5 billion bond to fund new dams. In testimony before the Senate this April, PCL outlined several better, higher yielding options for California. PCL highlighted the fact that states own water plan shows that water conservation has three times the water producing potential of dams. While the Senate again rejected the dam bond, the Governor has vowed to bring back the proposal in the budget fights. PCL is armed with the facts, and will again work to show that this proposal holds no water!

CALIFORNIA TODAY Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation

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PLANNING AND CONSERVATION LEAGUE PLANNING AND CONSERVATION LEAGUE FOUNDATION

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VISIT US ON THE WEB: www.PCL.org or www.PCLFoundation.org

PCL Welcomes New Staff

Tina Andolina
Tina Andolina came onboard as the Legislative Director for PCL in February 2007. Prior to this assignment at PCL, she was the Chief Lobbyist for the Coalition for Clean Air, based in Sacramento. Tina has experience lobbying in both the California Legislature and the United States Congress. She has a bachelors degree in Political Science Public Service from UC Davis.

Jason Avina

Barb Byrne

Charlotte Hodde

Barb Byrne In January 2007, Jason Avina is an joined PCL in the siren song of AmeriCorps March 2007. She the soap-operatic Sierra Nevada is particularly western water Alliance Partnership interested in world of member serving fisheries and habitat restoration California drew Charlotte with the PCL Foundation. issues in the Bay-Delta region Hodde back to the West After receiving a B.A. in and the promotion of sound Coast to work on state water Creative Writing from UC water policy before the resources policy for PCL. She Riverside, he interned at California State Legislature. graduated from Hamilton Capitol Public Radio in Barb received a B.S. in Biology College with a concentration Sacramento as a journalist. and Oceanography from the in Biology, after completing While at PCLF he is University of Michigan and her senior thesis project, a working on a Sierra Nevada has a research background in species introduction plan for environmental non-profit rare Lepidoptera. directory and media outreach. fish ecology.

Do you have your estate plan in place?

A thoughtful estate plan includes a consideration of: Your own financial future and retirement Your familys financial security A safe and healthy environment for future generations
To receive information about how thoughtful estate planning can benefit you, your family, and the environment, please call Gary Patton 916-313-4520.
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1107 Ninth Street, Suite 360 Sacramento, CA 95814

PLANNING AND CONSERVATION LEAGUE PLANNING AND CONSERVATION LEAGUE FOUNDATION