Recap: Green Drinks: The Threat to Our Public Lands with Los Padres ForestWatch

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Thank you to everyone who came out to our special focus Green Drinks at the Sane Living Center on Wednesday June 4th. Jeff Kuyper from Los Padres ForestWatch shared a collection of insightful, if sobering, observations about the state of our public lands, with an emphasis on Ojai’s own backyard: the Los Padres National Forest. 

Due to a slew of “emergency” federal declarations, including executive orders, congressional acts, and directives to the National Forestry Service and other entities in charge of the administration of public lands, private groups are now able to access and exploit natural resources—like timber, petroleum, and even uranium—in faster and larger-scale ways than ever before. This could potentially include clearing old-growth pine forest from Mt Pinos; mining the uranium deposit at Superior Ridge, upstream from Lake Casitas (the water source for Ojai, Ventura, and beyond!); stripping Carrizo Plain of its National Monument status; and shortening the approval window for new oil wells like those in the Sespe Wilderness from 1+ years to as little as 14 days. Perhaps most concerning, there is a corresponding brush clearance mandate as part of the Fix Our Forest act, which could decimate the habitats of many of the endangered species who call Los Padres home.

The good news is there is hope. Jeff provided a list of actions that we can all do to stop the pillaging of our public lands:

• Write a letter
• Attend a rally
• Get involved with groups like ForestWatch, Earthjustice, and National Parks Conservation Association
• Explore your public lands!
• Read a book like Tools to Save Our Home Planet: A Changemaker’s Guide

The Ojai Valley Green Coalition—along with our Green Drinks partners Pax Environmental, Inc. and the Ojai Climate Action Network—is so grateful to ForestWatch for participating in our event and for the work they do everyday in defense of our wilderness: legal challenges to government overreach, stewardship, restoration, education, and more. Don’t miss our next great event! Please visit our calendar to get the details for the next Green Drinks.