Policy & Funding Resources

Following the release of the California Secretary of Natural Resources' Cutting the Green Tape Initiative's recommendations, we heard from restoration experts about what this initiative is, why it’s needed, and how it will help accelerate restoration and protect our natural resources and ecological systems.

Panelists:

• Erika Lovejoy, Accelerating Restoration Program Director, Sustainable Conservation
• Kellyx Nelson, Executive Director, San Mateo Resource Conservation District
• Jennifer Norris, Deputy Secretary for Biodiversity and Habitat, California Natural Resources Agency

Moderated by Ashley Boren, Chief Executive Officer, Sustainable Conservation

Meeting Goals

1. Introduce Cutting the Green Tape as one of Secretary Crowfoot’s four pillars and build shared vision for this effort.
2. Establish approach to advance this vision, including broad process and timeline.
3. Establish goals and conditions for collaboration that will result in transformational yet feasible recommendations by Earth Day to achieve permitting efficiencies and other improvements.

Table of proposed action items and associated themes, tactical approaches, durations, and guidance. Note: This document is a work in progress and will be regularly updated. Current version dated 2/12/20.

156 photos of planning activities, California landscapes, wildlife, and more. (PDF, 37.4 MB)

February 12, 2020
10:00am-3:00pm
California State Railroad Museum, Sacramento CA

Meeting Goals

1. Introduce CGT Initiative, including process and timeline, as one of Secretary Crowfoot’s 4 pillars in partnership with other state agencies.
2. Develop and identify specific recommendations, tactics, mechanisms, and next steps to advance potential actions for increasing regulatory efficiencies.
3. Obtain input on the development of a white paper, to be completed by Earth Day, that identifies actionable and achievable outcomes for increasing regulatory efficiencies for natural resource stewardship.

January 6, 2020
10:00am-3:00pm
Putah Creek Lodge, Davis CA

Meeting Goals

1. Introduce Cutting Green Tape as one of Secretary Crowfoot’s four pillars and build shared vision for this effort.
2. Establish approach to advance this vision, including broad process and timeline.
3. Establish goals and conditions for collaboration that will result in transformational yet feasible recommendations by Earth Day to achieve permitting efficiencies and other improvements.

A companion letter to the Resources Legacy Fund's policy recommendations to California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Wildfire. Drought. Flooding. Species extinction. Climate change. California faces grave threats that require bold, immediate action. An essential part of any solution is to restore and proactively manage California’s lands and natural resources at a scale and pace sufficient to result in meaningful benefits.

The purpose of this paper is to help catalyze new conversations and strategies to reduce persistent barriers to environmental stewardship, conservation and restoration of California’s lands that are unintended consequences of essential environmental regulations. It summarizes and assesses key advances in addressing these barriers—including legislative and policy approaches as well as approaches based on coordination, collaboration, and trust building—and includes recommended next steps.

This white paper includes a problem statement, key findings (p. 3), assessment of recent efforts (p.3), models outside the field of conservation (p.17), and conclusions and recommended next steps (p.19).

Meeting notes, including summaries of speaker remarks and small group discussions, from the Better, Stronger, Faster roll-out at the UC Davis Mondavi Center on December 18, 2019.

Over the course of 2018-19, many of you approached the California Department Fish and Wildlife separately or in small groups to discuss improvements to our processes. The Department wants to share with you our thinking on reforms to help make our work “better, stronger, and faster.” We would like your feedback on improvements to our processes.