Editor’s note: By popular demand, we continue with the Jim Hines Chronicles, which reflects the emails by our premier lobbyist on the ins and outs of environmental activism. This covers the last two months. Jim is our chapter vice-chair and conservation director and belongs to many wildlife groups.
By Jim Hines
April 1: So many of you have been asking me about the status of relisting wolves. The Sierra Club lawsuit is working its way through the federal court system and we are advocating relisting wolves under the Endangered Species Act. Also, we are losing SoCal mountain lions to rat poisons and vehicle collisions.
April 2: It was all about what the Sierra Club is doing to protect our region's wildlands, wildlife, clean water and clean air this morning as I spoke via Zoom to the Morning Breakfast meeting of the Rotary Club of Vandenberg Village.
April 14: Protecting wildlife and wild places in the western U.S. is filling my week. Just minutes ago, the CA Fish and Game Commission extended interim endangered species act protection for mountain lion populations; hearing on permanent status is coming up in Feb. 2022.
April is the month of my father's birth, the man who inspired me to work to protect all which is WILD! In his honor I presented to the staff at the CA Dept of Natural Resources a list of lands in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties critical for protection under the state's 30 x 30 Conservation Plan.
April 15: Chief of Staff to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Haaland listened as I spoke to her about using the 30 x 30 Conservation Plan to reduce the threats to the seven federal lands managed by DOI along California's central coast.
April 17: Winning for Wildlife Week for me as a court date was set to hear my Sierra Club lawsuit against the Biden Administration to relist wolves in the U.S. and I gave several talks on wolves to wildlife groups in Idaho. Also talked to the LA Mayor’s staff about the importance of protected wildlife connections and migration routes in an urban setting.
April 21: A gray whale calf was entangled in a commercial nylon longline net, and rescuers could not remove the net before night fall, so we do not know her fate. Via Channel Islands WILD! I met with Senator Feinstein’s staff to finalize a bill to ban these deadly marine mammal killing nets off the Santa Barbara Channel, the only federal waters where these nets are still legal.
April 21: I'm exhausted from calling the state Capitol but not as exhausted as wolves running from hunters in Idaho will be as it is poised to allow the slaughter of 90% of the state’s wolf population. Will keep calling. I got some excuses but no action yet (from feds).
April 30: Many of you know I have taken part in anti-federal land extremist meetings and events over the past four years both locally, the western U.S. and in Washington DC because I like to know what my adversaries are doing. These extremists are still active in the House and Senate and in various state houses.
May 3: A hectic morning mainly dealing with wolf issues, but I did take part in a Zoom event put on by local supporters of the Western Oil and Gas Association, American Petroleum Institute and COLAB members, and boy do they have plans for Ventura county. In the coming months Ventura County will be ground zero for fossil fuel funds to be used to stop local elected officials who have not supported the fossil fuel industry. They also intend to get VC voters to pass two initiatives to scrap sensible regulations.
May 5: An alarming change is coming to Ventura county politics and it is not good for the environment. The oil industry is currently focusing energies on two recalls here, against Gov. Newsom and one of our great environmental friends, Supervisor Linda Parks. Look out for recall campaigns against Supervisors Matt Lavere and Carmen Ramirez, all Sierra Club endorsed candidates.
May 6: White House released the 'America The Beautiful Initiative', a vision for our nation outlining the policies of the 30 x 30 Conservation Plan. Here’s a link: https://tinyurl.com/DOI30x30
May 9: Another wild week coming up for our work to protect all which is wild in the Los Padres region and for me beyond, notably regarding Santa Rosa Island as Vail and Vickers families are attempting to get their ranching operation back on the park island, and they may even get to run a bed and breakfast facility. In contrast, Patagonia may help stop the wolf killings in the west.
May 10: While we got a dream team at the U.S. Dept of the Interior, the management team at the U.S. Forest Service is still President Trump's dream team. I am increasingly concerned ...
May 18: Virtual meeting with former President Trump’s appointed leadership at the Forest Service headquarters in Washington DC (not yet replaced). There are plans to dramatically increase the amount of national forest lands which will be subject to forest thinning/logging projects like what is proposed on 600 acres north of Pine Mountain and on 1600 acres at Mt Pinos in the Los Padres NF. This is all being done under the guise of the prediction of the worst fire season ever in the west.
May 26: President Biden said “I'm all in for protecting wolves" on a children's TV show, Brave Wilderness. He mentioned that his grandchildren have been asking him to protect wolves. Looks like all our work to protect wolves may come down to comments made by children.
May 28: Native American perspective on the 30 x 30 Conservation Plan as written by a local Chumash Elder: https://tinyurl.com/Chumash30x30