Newsom: New plan to save 30% of state land

Executive order is designed to increase protection of nature to offset climate change

Saying more needs to be done to preserve nature in California as a way to help address climate change, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday committed the state to a goal of preserving 30% of its land and coastal waters by 2030.

Newsom signed an executive order directing the state’s Natural Resources Agency to draw up a plan by Feb. 1, 2022 to achieve the goal in a way that protects the state’s economy and agriculture industry, while also expanding and restoring biodiversity — the vast variety of animals and plants — that live in areas as varied as tidepools to arid deserts to mountain forests.

“The science is clear that, in our existential fight against climate change, we must build on our historic efforts in energy and emissions and focus on our lands as well,” Newsom said. “California’s beautiful natural and working lands are an important tool to help slow and avert catastrophic climate change.”

Essentially, California becomes the first state to commit to the “30 x 30” goal — a growing effort by dozens of environmental groups, scientific organizations and the National Geographic Society to preserve at least 30% of the world’s land and oceans in their natural state by 2030.

The issue is expected to play a key role at a major United Nations conference in China in October.

Right now, about 15% of the Earth’s land and 7% of its oceans are protected in parks, preserves and other areas.

In California, however, 47% of the state is already owned by the federal government, mostly in national forests, national parks and desert lands owned by the federal Bureau of Land Management.

In some ways, the goal of 30% protection is already

achieved. However, if state agencies define ‘ protected’ as not allowing extractive uses, like mining, or logging or cattle grazing, the percentage is lower — 22% of the land area and 16% of the state’s territorial waters out to 3 miles offshore, according to a de

tailed mapping study by Defenders of Wildlife that was published in May.

The executive order also includes various goals to promote healthy soils, restore declining populations of bees and other pollinating insects, and expanding natural storage

of carbon. Those projects would likely include preservation of forests, including thinning overgrown forests to preserve large trees that store the most carbon to protect them from fires, along with restoring wetlands and other habitats.