| From the Chair - Working Together
When the website for CCRISP—the California Continuing Resources Investment Strategy Program—opened for business this summer, it marked far more than another successful step in the start–up of this important program. With the click of a mouse, CCRISP announced that it was coming of age by launching its outreach program and entering the world of public involvement. CCRISP is an important initiative to comprehensively map information and refine databases of land and species resources to help all levels of government, landowners, and the general public make informed decisions in conservation acquisitions and related issues. CCRISP is a major step forward for conservation planning and will develop a suite of maps and tools that outstrip anything we have today. The Biodiversity Council endorsed CCRISP at the outset and CCRISP has benefited from their sponsorship at every stage of its development. Outreach is crucial for CCRISP as its ultimate goal is to provide decision making tools to the public. We can only do that by involving the public now at this initial stage of development. As I said on the newly minted homepage, “CCRISP is an exciting new initiative that involves a broad range of government agencies and citizen organizations. Working together, we are developing a new suite of tools and maps to help us make the important decisions about conserving and protecting California’s many treasured landscapes and its magnificent natural legacy.” The launch of ccrisp.ca.gov is the culmination of a whirlwind of implementation activities that began with the appointment of Madelyn Glickfeld as Assistant Secretary at the Resources Agency and the official CCRISP Director. Madelyn is an environmental policy analyst and planner by training and has nearly 30 years of experience in California environmental issues from the State, regional, and local perspective. Marshalling a team of committed staff, Madelyn quickly produced a series of reports for the California State Legislature which, along with a great deal of support from CCRISP’s friends, was instrumental in generating $2 million in funding for the current fiscal year. CCRISP is now partnering with NCEAS, the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at UCSB, to develop and test a series of tools to support the work of public and private organizations establishing conservation priorities. Beginning this winter, CCRISP will take these tools out to regional workshops inviting stakeholders, agency representatives, and decision makers to help determine the importance of different criteria for setting conservation priorities. Among its many present activities, is an effort to develop or improve statewide data sets for fire history, populated places, landscape linkages, and land cover. Improved statewide data sets and mapping tools will likely enrich local conservation investment projects. CCRISP is beginning to deliver on its promises. It is now clear that its goal of working together to conserve our landscapes closely complements that of the Council. I thank every agency and organization within the CBC family whose staff has already contributed so much to CCRISP and I invite all the members of the CBC to continue their involvement. Working together we can more effectively develop the tools that will play a crucial role in the future preservation and protection of California’s rich and unique biodiversity. California Biodiversity News: Volume 8, Number 2 |