Governor Designates New State Wilderness

October 3, 2008 Governor Schwarzenegger signed A.B. 2945 into law this week. Authored by Assemblymember John Laird the bill designates new wilderness at Limekiln State Park along the Big Sur coast. California is one of only seven states with its own state wilderness act to permanently protect state-owned wilderness lands. The California Wilderness Act of 1974 is modeled after the federal Wilderness Act and defines wilderness as "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man". Today, California's Wilderness Preservation System includes approximately 500,000 acres of the state's most treasured public lands which provide outdoor recreation opportunities for millions of Californians, habitat for endangered species and drinking water for local communities. The state legislature has not designated new state wilderness since 1974. As a result, state land management agencies manage thousands of acres of wilderness quality lands that are not protected as wilderness. Supported by CWC, and sponsored by the Ventana Wilderness Alliance, the bill also gives the state the same management "tools" contained in the federal wilderness act like the authority to use motorized vehicles or temporary roads when fighting fires or restoring wilderness areas.

With the generous support of the folks at Channel G, CWC produced an informational video this year. To watch the video and find out more about the great work we're doing throughout the state, click here.

The California Wilderness Coalition (CWC) seeks a detail oriented, self-starter to help direct the expansion of our membership program. We have 5,000 individual and organizational members. This position would be responsible for the overall management of the membership direct mail acquisition, renewals, and appeals. She/he would also be responsible for accurate data entry, member communications and gift acknowledgments. Additional responsibilities may include assistance in the planning and execution of membership recruitment and retention events.