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 and is chock-full of information. This covers the last two months. Jim is our chapter vice-chair and conservation director who belongs to many wildlife groups.
By Jim Hines
June 3: I am surprised that the southern Los Padres NF did NOT receive any Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund Money in President Biden's FY 22 budget. What did we do wrong? Not lobby hard enough for LPNF?
June 4: Our Mountain Lion FOREVER! campaign to protect the largest wild cats in our region is now roaming the west. I am now receiving requests from various groups around the west on how our campaign can help them. What happens in the Los Padres Chapter does not stay in the Los Padres Chapter!
June 4: I am growing increasingly concerned that various land protection legislation supported by the Sierra Club has hit a dead end in the U.S. Senate. Two local bills, Central Coast Heritage and Rim of the Valley Corridor Protection Acts, have all passed the House of Representatives and are waiting, waiting for hearings in the Senate.
Speaking with staff of Senate Minority Leader McConnell you will find a lot of resistance to getting anything productive done, with the hope that the 2022 midterm elections will give Republicans House and Senate control.
June 7: We may soon have major new support for the creation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary because President Biden has nominated renowned ocean scientist Dr Rick Spinrad to be the Administrator of NOAA.
June 7: Our local activists are hard at work around the Ventura Sierra Club region:
Our Ojai activist team is working to get an Ojai Earth Friendly Management Plan adopted by the Ojai City Council to ban the use of pesticides, herbicides and rodenticides. They also rallied at county planning to get strong environmental protections placed on the rock quarry mining project on the north fork of Matilija Creek. And they are moving ahead with the first-of-its-kind in the world, the Ojai Climate Change Park.
Camarillo activists in Camarillo are opposing any expansion of Camarillo Regional Airport, and member Merrill Berge said a new group has formed. Check it out here: https://vc-air.com
June 10: Some good news . . . though it's all about posturing. The federal judge in my Sierra Club lawsuit to have wolves in the lower 48 relisted as endangered species has decided that I am harmed by wolves not being allowed to roam free in wild ecosystems in our nation.
Also, the Biden Administration has started the process to reimpose federal endangered species act rules which were removed by the Trump Administration, though not specifically mentioned, wolves are part of this. I have been working on behalf of the Sierra Club California Wildlife Team with several other conservation organizations to put together a wildlife protection ordinance for the City of Los Angeles.
June 14: Bears Ears National Monument, Grand Staircase-Escalante NM both in southern Utah and South East Canyons National Monument off the coast of Maine are recommended by Interior Secretary Haaland to be re-established to original boundaries set by President Obama.
June 17: Historic support for Black reparations and making Juneteenth a holiday was announced by the National Sierra Club.
June 21: White Sage (Salvia apiana) found growing within our region is being overharvested and destroyed by development. This native plant is sacred to the Chumash nation, used in numerous purification ceremonies. I have been "blessed" with White Sage on several occasions at Chumash ceremonies.
I am working closely with Chumash elder Rose Ramirez (sister of VC Supervisor Carmen Ramirez) on gaining Sierra Club and public support for California administrative action to protect the plant.
June 28: First African American to head the U.S. Forest Service’s regional office was appointed by President Biden. “Randy Moore has been a conservation leader on the forefront of climate change, most notably leading the region’s response to the dramatic increase in catastrophic wildfires in California over the last decade,” said Tom Vilsack, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
July 1: Our two local national parks are in the top ten of national parks with abandoned or orphaned oil wells in or close to the parks.
They are the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and Channel Islands National Park.
July 2: The Governor's 2021-2022 state budget has an allocation of $7.5 million for the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Overpass over the 101 freeway in Agoura Hills. Another $5 million is in the Biden infrastructure bill. It still needs $25 million but groundbreaking will happen this Fall.
July 9: Here is a great news article on the commitment California has made to funding wildlife overpasses and underpasses to protect wildlife on our state's highways and freeways: https://tinyurl.com/WildlifeCrossing
July 16: California Wildlife Team which I lead is supporting a proposal by the CA Dept of Fish and Wildlife to declare steelhead trout in southern California as endangered. It would protect steelhead trout and their aquatic habitats from San Luis Obispo County to the border with Mexico.
~ Edited by Condor John