30×30 California
What is 30×30?
30×30 is a global movement to conserve 30% of the world’s lands and coastal waters by 2030. In CA, we have our own 30×30 goal, Executive Order N-82-20, which Governor Newsom issued in 2020. It is intended to help accelerate conservation of our lands and coastal waters through voluntary, collaborative action with federal and local governments, California Native American tribes and private landowners.
“Biodiverse systems are resilient systems,” says naturalist, author and illustrator, Obi Kaufmann. Let’s write a “prescription wherein we leave California’s natural world in better shape at the end of the 21st century than we left it at the end of the 20th century.”
What Counts?
“Land and coastal water areas that are durably protected and managed to sustain functional ecosystems, both intact and restored, and the diversity of life that they support.”
Durable protections are measured by GAP (Gap Analysis Project) Codes. The GAP Status Code is used to measure the level of protection of biodiversity on a landscape. The intent to manage for biodiversity is evaluated by the land’s level of: Protection, Management, Physical Alteration, Main use(s). California uses GAP status codes 1 and 2 to identify areas counted as conserved under the 30×30 initiative.
It’s important to note that all conservation is important! The level of protection that counts towards the 30×30 goal is higher, but exists in the context of other important conservation efforts.
30×30 Lands Include:
- Dedicated conservation areas
- Recreation lands and open spaces
- Working lands with a biodiversity focus
- Rangelands
- Active restoration lands
30×30 Coastal Waters Include:
- Fully and highly protected marine protected areas (MPAs), such as the state’s Marine Protected Area Network, which conserves 16.1% of coastal waters
- Areas that are not formal marine protected areas, but still provide durable biodiversity benefit, such as the ocean portions of University of California Natural Reserves, which conserve an additional 150 acres of coastal waters
- Tribal stewardship areas, such as the newly established Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, which conserves contributes an additional 5.8% of conserved coastal waters
What this doesn’t include:
- Areas not managed for biodiversity such as row crops, golf courses, or solar farms.
- Freshwater
Bringing it Local: What Can You Do to Help?
Most of us are not writing policy, lobbying government officials, or working directly in conservation. However, there are still lots of ways you can help as you can see from this graphic below. We are working on scheduling lots of events that support 30×30 this summer, including bioblitz, nature walks, and workshops on how to turn your backyard into habitat for local critters. Be sure to check out our Community Events page to sign up for a free event.
- Attend one of our related Community Events and Workshops
- Create habitat in your yard using our Native Plant Resource Guide (Compiled from many resources including Ada Rubin, from the Shasta Chapter of the CA Native Plant Society, Golden State Naturalist Podcast, Doug Tallamy's books and much more)
- Join our Earth Caretakers Book & Action Club: https://forms.gle/F1vzuRUik5pNdu547
- Help spread the word by sharing this webpage and what you are doing to help!
- Participate in community science – Record plants and animals you see every day using iNaturalist and get involved with community science projects in your area.
- Promote access to nature – Cultivate inclusive natural spaces and expand environmental education for all.
- Practice Leave No Trace Principles and Wise Water Use
- Get involved in a local restoration effort. Whether it's planting native species, restoring habitat, stewarding a watershed, participating in community science, or supporting regenerative agriculture, direct engagement with the living world helps strengthen both ecosystems and communities. – Bioneers
- Take a closer look at the landscapes where you live. Learn about your local watershed, native plants, ecological history, and ongoing restoration projects. Understanding the living systems that sustain your community is often the first step toward helping care for them. – Bioneers
- Add conserved areas added to the Conserved Areas Explorer
- Check out these Story Maps of Conservation Successes!
- Explore the Center for Regenerative Solutions' Managing Urban Landscapes for Climate Action guide. Designed for local governments, planners, and community leaders, this free resource provides practical tools for using living systems to advance climate resilience, ecological restoration, and community well-being.
- Reach out: To learn more and/or if you are interested in collaborating – reach out to Community Education Coordinator, Kayla Marie at kaylamarie@mountshastaecology.org.
"Our work is to help people love the world, not be afraid for its future." – Poet and Essayist, Gary Snyder.
CA Nature Access Explorer
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/0521db0a944141f0b0df11e4548ab2b5/
CA Nature Access Explorer – This geographic information system application uses the California Protected Areas Database to show which conserved areas are accessible to the public and provides insights into the communities served by them. This app can be used to identify park-poor communities with limited access to nature where public access and conservation can be prioritized (page 67).California's conserved lands are primarily managed by Federal (84.6%) and State (9.9%) agencies with over 95% offering public access.
Local Success Highlight:
Sáttítla / Medicine Lake Highlands Campaign for National Monument and Outstanding National Resource Waters – Write Up by Power in Nature Coalition
Medicine Lake Highlands—now known as Sáttítla Highlands National Monument—encompasses California's most diverse volcanic fields on the state's largest shield volcano. The Biden Administration has designated Sáttítla Highlands as a National Monument, recognizing its profound cultural and ecological significance as a site for ceremonies and traditional practices to Indigenous Peoples near and far, including the Pit River, Modoc, Shasta, Karuk, and Wintu Nations among others, since time immemorial.
Preserving the integrity of this landscape for its rich biodiversity, biological connectivity, climate resilience, and vital source waters is of utmost importance. "It's about the sacredness that has pulled at the heartstrings of our people for centuries," says Pit River cultural spokesperson Radley Davis. "It's about the long history of tribal ceremonies, prayers, ceremonial dances, and the echoes of our ancestors that reverberate through the rocks, through the trees, through the mountains and the waters." The immense complex aquifer underlying Sáttítla stores an estimated 20-40 million acre-feet of water emerging at the Fall River Springs, the state's largest spring system, providing water for fisheries, endangered wildlife, agriculture, and millions of people in downstream communities.
The Pit River Nation, Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center, and other community partners are also seeking designation of this major, yet unprotected, source of California's water supply through another important 30×30 pathway—as Outstanding National Resource Waters.
How Do We Achieve 30×30?
In the Pathways to 30×30 strategy, multiple approaches were identified to achieve our objectives. These include:
√ Accelerate Regionally Led Conservation
√ Execute Strategic Land Acquisitions
√ Increase Voluntary Conservation Easements
√ Enhance Conservation of Existing Public Lands and Coastal Waters
√ Institutionalize Advance Mitigation
√ Expand and Accelerate Environmental Restoration and Stewardship
√ Strengthen Coordination Among Governments
√ Align Investments to Maximize Conservation Benefits
√ Advance and Promote Complementary Conservation Measures
√ Evaluate Conservation Outcomes and Adaptively Manage
Implementation of the strategy is voluntary, regionally led conservation with the State supporting and accelerating the efforts through the 30×30 Partnership. The Partnership is open to anyone who would like to be a part of the movement.