The Council's spring meeting in Palm Springs will focus on case studies of conserving biological diversity in rapidly urbanizing areas. Nowhere in the state are the challenges of future growth more apparent today than in places where cities encroach on adjacent open space. Along that ever-expanding edge are all the elements in a classic conflict over land use, transportation planning, water availability, and habitat preservation.

Open space is valuable just because it is unbuilt—and because there is less of it every day. But how do we know when we have enough? How do we decide which land is most in need of protection? How can we find new ways to protect open space values and still provide for human use? How much water does that land need for these compelling uses and from where will it come?

Right now there are far more questions than answers. If you are reading this newsletter, you have an important role to play in helping California face the challenge of growth. Given the accelerating speed of growth and the range of problems facing us, we also need some new policies—yesterday!

Fresh ideas are only the beginning. Our best tool for making the effective policies—and in persuading the decision-makers—is science. Biological studies, watershed assessments, baseline monitoring, satellite mapping, conservation assessments—all these can and must be used to help us make the right choices and then to measure our performance.

Preserving and enhancing California’s natural resources in the face of unprecedented growth means more than changing the work we do. It also means changing the way we work. It means more cooperation and accommodation rather than less. It means breaking through existing single purpose or single media programs to design the cross-cutting programs that will make a difference. Guarding one's turf and ignoring relevant agencies dooms us to repeat the failures of the past.

In many ways, the challenge of population growth is also a challenge of professional growth, a call to reposition the way we see ourselves in public service. It's up to all of us to respond in a new way, whether we work in government, the non-profit sector or the world of business. The stakes are simply too high, and the time for action is too short.

This new attitude is already being felt. The California Biodiversity Council provides a unique opportunity to identify and propagate this new model for resource protection. Building on feedback from our Tahoe session, the next council meeting in Palm Springs will highlight selected interagency planning efforts. An interactive session will allow us to pose critical questions and refine the answers.

I urge you to attend the next meeting to share your perspectives, gain some new insights and take this spirit of cooperation back to your agencies, field offices and headquarters. It's the best antidote I can think of to that helpless feeling about California’s struggle to maintain our precious natural heritage- and a sure cure for "business as usual."