30×30 California

Expanding Nature Access

Actions Anyone Can Take To Support 30×30

Pathways to 30×30

Expanding Access to Nature

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

What are nature-based solutions?

“Nature-based solutions” describe actions that work with and enhance nature to help address societal challenges. This term is an umbrella concept being used across the world to describe a range of ecosystem-related approaches that protect and restore nature to deliver multiple outcomes, including addressing climate change, protecting public health, increasing equity, and protecting biodiversity.

What is 30×30?

In October 2020, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-82-20 which establishes a state goal of conserving 30% of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030 – also known as 30×30. The 30×30 goal 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. California’s 30×30 commitment is part of a similar global push for conservation which includes the United States.

What is Pathways to 30×30?

Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-82-20 establishes a goal of conserving 30% of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030. The Governor tasked the California Natural Resources Agency (CRNA) to coordinate the execution of 30×30 with other State agencies and stakeholders through a series of actions including the development of a framework document, called Pathways to 30×30. The final Pathways to 30×30 strategy document was released in April 2022 and identifies challenges, opportunities, and strategies to achieve 30×30. Pathways to 30×30: Accelerating Conservation of California’s Nature will set us on the path to successful implementation through shared action.

What is CA Nature GIS?

The CA Nature Geographic Information System (GIS) brings together statewide data on biodiversity, climate, and equitable access in a publicly accessible suite of interactive mapping and visualization tools. CA Nature helps users identify opportunities across California to inventory, prioritize, and track progress toward our goal to conserve 30 percent of our lands and coastal waters by 2030.

How will you be adding new conservation areas/updating the maps?

Through the CNRA’s public engagement process, they received information about areas that appear to meet the definition for 30×30 Conservation Areas but are not depicted as 30×30 Conservation Areas on the conserved areas explorer. The CNRA is working through those submissions and will revise the map to reflect changes on a regular basis.

What is the 30×30 Partnership?

The 30×30 Partnership is voluntary and open to all who will partner with us to conserve 30 percent of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030. The 30×30 Partnership is organized and supported by the 30×30 Partnership Coordinating Committee (PCC). This committee is tasked with helping the CNRA foster inclusive public communication and statewide coordination. The PCC is not a decision-making body for policy or implementation. Its role is to coordinate the hundreds of entities across the state working to achieve 30×30.

Public Engagement

How does the State plan to engage with stakeholders for implementation of 30×30?

Public participation and input have been and remain critical to help the State implement 30×30. The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) will continue to solicit and collect feedback through public engagement events. Partners can also reach CNRA by email, phone, or mail.

How did the State get input from stakeholders on the Pathways document and how was it used?

Public participation and input was critical to help the State identify strategies for conserving lands and coastal waters. The CNRA collected input by email, phone, mail, and through public engagement events. The engagement process included:

• 9 regional workshops in the spring of 2021
• 5 topical workshops in the summer of 2021
• Online questionnaire in the spring and summer of 2021
• 70+ tribal consultations and conversations
• >1000 letters
• ~4000 individuals
• Advisory Committee in the winter and spring of 2022
• Public feedback meetings in the spring of 2022

What did the California Natural Resources Agency do to make this an equitable and inclusive process?

Equitable and inclusive outreach are key pillars of the engagement process informing the 30×30 initiative. Beginning in 2021, the CNRA conducted initial outreach to organizations focused on serving priority communities. The CNRA also initiated early formal government to government consultations with California Native American tribes and will continue to formally consult with California Native American tribes throughout the implementation. Additionally, the CNRA held several informal tribal listening sessions. Conversations with California Native American tribal representatives are ongoing.

In June 2021, CNRA hosted a statewide topical workshop focused on nature-based solutions that advance equity. Members of the public and panelists offered recommendations for advancing equity with 30×30 and climate smart land management. The Equity Advisory Panel included specialists from academic institutions and practitioners from across California, representing expertise in public health, equitable access to green space, environmental policy, community benefits, racial and economic oppression, and environmental justice.

Additionally, recognizing its importance and interwoven relationship to conservation, climate, and biodiversity considerations, all regional and topical workshops have addressed questions regarding equity. Engagement activities have been accompanied by translated materials, in-meeting language interpretation and closed captioning, and ongoing outreach with priority communities.

How has the CNRA worked with tribal governments?

The CNRA initiated early formal government to government consultations with California Native American tribes and will continue to formally consult with California Native American tribes throughout implementation of the 30×30 initiative. In addition to these formal consultations, the CNRA held tribal listening sessions and is holding ongoing conversations with California Native American tribal representatives. The CNRA seeks to strengthen tribal partnerships to better understand our shared interests, explore opportunities to collaborate, exchange information, and to incorporate tribal expertise and traditional ecological knowledge into this effort as appropriate. Governor Newsom’s 30×30 commitment and climate priorities serve as valuable opportunities to safeguard the environment, preserve tribal cultural practices, strengthen nation-to-nation relationships, and inform stewardship, conservation, and management efforts.

The Details

How and why did the CNRA divide California into regions? What if my organization works across multiple regions or my interests overlap with another region?

The 30×30 engagement process also gathered input for the Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy, which informed California’s 2021 Climate Adaptation Strategy and the 2022 Climate Change Scoping Plan. The regional boundaries align with the 4th Climate Change Assessment’s boundaries for efficiency and do not represent jurisdictional or ecological boundaries.

What is a 30×30 Conservation Area?

After consideration of extensive public comment and input received from the topical workshops, the CNRA defined 30×30 Conservation Areas as:

• 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.

How close are we to 30×30? How much conservation do we need to reach the goal?

Approximately 24% of California’s lands and 21% of its coastal waters are already conserved based on our definition of 30×30 Conservation Areas. The Pathways to 30×30 document outlines a strategy to conserve an additional six million acres of land and half a million acres of coastal waters through ten Pathways:

1. Accelerate Regionally Led Conservation
2. Execute Strategic Land Acquisitions
3. Increase Voluntary Conservation Easements
4. Enhance Conservation of Existing Public Lands and Coastal Waters
5. Institutionalize Advanced Mitigation
6. Expand and Accelerate Environmental Restoration and Stewardship
7. Strengthen Coordination Among Governments
8. Align Investments to Maximize Conservation Benefits
9. Advance and Promote Complementary Conservation Measures
10. Evaluate Conservation Outcomes and Adaptively Manage

How are freshwater ecosystems included in California’s 30×30 initiative?

California’s 30×30 initiative delineates areas into two categories: lands and coastal waters. While these two categories do not capture the complex connectedness of nature, they are meant to be inclusive of all ecosystems. Lands encompass inland waters such as rivers and wetlands and the integral role they play in connecting and nourishing terrestrial, coastal, and freshwater ecosystems. Coastal waters include most major bays and estuaries, which connect the sea to the land. All of our ecosystems, including freshwater systems, are vital for biodiversity, the enhancement of drought resilience, and the maintenance of cultural and recreational activities across California.

How will the Pathways strategy be implemented?

The CNRA launched the 30×30 Partnership to support implementation of 30×30 and to engage and empower all partners working toward its objectives. The 30×30 Partnership will convene regular meetings of participants to communicate progress, highlight best practices, address challenges, and identify ongoing opportunities to meet our shared 30×30 goals.

Adding 5.5 million acres of conserved areas by 2030 is a lot! Is that all State funded? How will we get there from here?

It is important to recognize that there are many pathways to conserve 5.5 million acres. We can:

1. Leverage the hundreds of thousands acres of mitigation work that occurs every year to ensure it is strategic and aligned with our priorities
2. The CNRA can work with private landowners, using programs like those at the Natural Resources Conservation Service that support good conservation practices on working lands.

How will we get to 30% in our coastal waters?

California is already well on its way with just one type of measure – marine protected areas. Other ocean protections may also already meet the 30×30 definition of meaningful protection. We intend to strengthen partnerships with federal resource managers, California Native American tribes, scientists and key stakeholder groups to address threats to biodiversity within National Marine Sanctuaries and explore the effectiveness of other coastal waters conservation measures.

• Strategies could include
  1. Strengthening water quality and invasive species protections,
  2. Exploring existing mandatory vessel speed reductions to protect whales, and
  3. Enhancing the durability of existing restrictions on fishing gear and methods.
• The CNRA also plans to explore other potential conservation measures in the ocean, such as fishery closures, to understand whether these management tools provide conservation benefits consistent with 3 x30 goals.

How will you determine what places to conserve?/which areas are most important to conserve?

The strategy document is a framework. It sets broad statewide priorities that can be applied to specific regions and ecosystems. The document identifies the types of lands and coastal waters that, if conserved, will help us achieve our biodiversity, climate and access goals. This includes things like:

1. Restoring and conserving rare ecosystems – wetlands, oak woodlands; or places that are high in biodiversity.
2. Protecting wildlife corridors to connect habitats and allow species to move in response to climate change
3. Prioritizing conservation and habitat restoration, if necessary, near underserved communities.

Local, regional partners can use our broad priorities and CA Nature, our publicly available mapping tools, to identify areas to conserve that are consistent with local goals.

Additional questions? Contact us!

https://www.californianature.ca.gov/pages/contact-us