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Priority
Accelerate Nature-Based Climate Solutions and Strengthen Climate Resilience of Natural Systems
Actions
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Action 1 Maintain and increase areas of high resilience to climate change.
Success Metric: Per Executive Order N-82-20, conserve 30 percent of the state’s land and coastal waters.
Timeframe: 2030
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Fish and Wildlife, Ocean Protection Council, and all relevant conservancies
For More Details: 30x30 Initiative; Pathways to 30x30
Success Metric: Number of newly developed Land Management Plans for State Wildfire Areas and Ecological Reserves that include strategies for maintaining or increasing habitat that may be highly resilient to climate change.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Fish and Wildlife
For More Details: Landscape Conservation Planning Programs; Department of Fish and Wildlife Grant Programs
Success Metric: Quantify climate benefits of 30x30 Conservation Areas.
Timeframe: Annual
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Fish and Wildlife, and all relevant conservancies
For More Details: 30x30 Initiative; Pathways to 30x30
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Action 2 Utilize California’s Marine Protected Area Network to build climate resilience.
Success Metric: Support research and monitoring to better understand the mechanisms and role that the Marine Protected Area Network can play in building climate resilience for marine biodiversity and habitats.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Fish and Wildlife, Ocean Protection Council
For More Details: Ocean Protection Council Strategic Plan; Climate Resilience and California’s Marine Protected Area Network; Department of Fish and Wildfire Marine Protected Area Monitoring; Marine Protected Area Monitoring Data Portal
Success Metric: Develop and implement the Marine Protected Area Statewide Leadership Team Work Plan. The Work Plan identifies shared strategic priorities, key actions, and outcomes for the Marine Protected Area Management Program that can be used by government and non-government partners to ensure coordinated progress on achieving the goals of the Marine Life Protection Act.
Timeframe: 2025
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Fish and Wildlife, Ocean Protection Council
For More Details: Ocean Protection Council Strategic Plan; Climate Resilience and California’s Marine Protected Area Network; Marine Protected Areas Statewide Leadership Team; Marine Protected Areas Statewide Leadership Team Work Plan
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Action 3 Conserve agricultural lands at risk of development to reduce the rate of conversion and retain habitats and connectivity.
Success Metric: Increase agricultural acres permanently protected through state programs.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation,Formerly the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research – Strategic Growth Council | Natural Resources Agency – Department of Conservation, Coastal Commission | Department of Food and Agriculture
For More Details: Department of Conservation Farmland Conservancy Program; Strategic Growth Council and Department of Conservation Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program; Coastal Agriculture in the Coastal Act
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Action 4 Enhance and maintain state wildlife areas and ecological reserves as well as increase the pace and scale of habitat restoration and adaptive management on state lands, including through the Cutting the Green Tape initiative.
Success Metric: Increase the number of acres improved or restored in highly climate-vulnerable areas on state wildlife areas, ecological reserves, and other state lands.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency | Department of Food and Agriculture | Environmental Protection Agency – State Water Resources Control Board
For More Details: Water Resilience Portfolio; California Biodiversity Initiative – A Roadmap for Protecting the State's Natural Heritage; Delta Plan
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Action 5 Reconnect aquatic and terrestrial habitats to help fish and wildlife endure drought and adapt to climate change.
Success Metric: Number of fish passage barriers, as identified in the fish passage assessment database, that are removed.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Water Resources, Wildlife Conservation Board
For More Details: Water Resilience Portfolio; California Fish Passage Assessment Database; Department of Fish and Wildlife Landscape Connectivity Programs; Natural Resources Agency/Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Flows Working Group
Success Metric: Continue efforts to identify stream flows that will support and maintain the resilience of California's fisheries, and inform water management and habitat enhancement actions.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Water Resources, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation Board | Environmental Protection Agency – State Water Resources Control Board
For More Details: Water Resilience Portfolio; California Fish Passage Assessment Database; Department of Fish and Wildlife Landscape Connectivity Programs; Natural Resources Agency/Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Flows Working Group; Department of Fish and Wildlife Instream Flow Program
Success Metric: Number of wildlife barriers, as identified in the Restoring California’s Wildlife Connectivity report, that are removed or addressed through terrestrial over/under passes built or retrofitted.
Timeframe: 2027
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation Board
For More Details: Restoring California’s Wildlife Connectivity; Department of Fish and Wildlife Landscape Connectivity Programs
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Action 6 Minimize the impacts of ocean acidification and hypoxia.
Success Metric: Advance ocean acidification and hypoxia scientific research to support development of ocean acidification water quality objectives and program of implementation, including an independent review of the Regional Oceanic Modeling System with Biogeochemical Elemental Cycling (ROMS-BEC) model.
Timeframe: 2028
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Ocean Protection Council | Environmental Protection Agency – State Water Resources Control Board
For More Details: Ocean Protection Council Strategic Plan; State Water Resources Control Board 2024 Strategy Work Plan
Success Metric: Work with partners to achieve a goal of 80-90 percent coastal wastewater recycling that can be put to beneficial use. Based on the latest scientific results, establish interim goals as needed for significantly reducing nutrient loading and/or phasing out coastal wastewater discharge into the ocean.
Timeframe: 2040
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Ocean Protection Council| Environmental Protection Agency – State Water Resources Control Board
For More Details: Ocean Protection Council Strategic Plan; State Water Resources Control Board 2024 Strategy Work Plan
Success Metric: Implement California’s Ocean Acidification Action Plan goals.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Ocean Protection Council | Environmental Protection Agency – State Water Resources Control Board
For More Details: Ocean Protection Council Strategic Plan; State Water Resources Control Board 2024 Strategy Work Plan