What do want? Money! When do want it? Now!

Ag + Open Space advocates for increased and expedited Prop 4 funding 

A couple times each year, members of our staff head to Sacramento with colleagues from other open space districts, land trusts, park districts, and all manner of public access and conservation organizations throughout the Bay Area to speak directly to legislators and their staff about allocating stable funding to our region to support the work of our organizations. 

This effort is part of TOGETHER Bay Area’s “TOGETHER in Sacramento” Advocacy Days. As a coalition of over 80 non-profits, public agencies, tribal entities, and mission-aligned businesses, TOGETHER Bay Area (TBA) works to “convene, connect, and catalyze action” to improve the health of the region’s lands and communities with an eye toward climate resilience and equity. Ag + Open Space has been a member of TBA since its creation in 2019 and for many years before in its previous iteration as the Bay Area Open Space Council. Currently, Misti Arias, our General Manager, sits on its Board of Directors. 

Earlier this month, Amy Ricard, our Community Resources Manager, teamed up with other TBA members at the Capitol to talk to decision makers about increasing and expediting Proposition 4 funding and streamlining the administrative process to get those funds out the door. Prop 4 was a 2024 bond measure that authorized $10 million in funding to increase the state’s resilience to the impacts of climate change.  

Climate change and the biodiversity crisis are not slowing down, and our communities are continuing to experience the impact of extreme heat, wildfires, and floods. With that in mind, the group urged legislators to accelerate Prop 4 appropriations to the State Coastal Conservancy, one of our key partners and an agency the provides funding to nearly all of TBA’s members. The specific request was to essentially double the “coastal resilience” funding from $33 million to $60 million.  

The State Coastal Conservancy has been a critical funding partner in several landmark conservation projects in Sonoma County, including the Jenner Headlands Preserve, Buckeye Forest, Montini Open Space Preserve, Pole Mountain, Tolay Lake Regional Park, and Willow Creek. Ensuring they receive more money sooner allows us and our partners to better leverage local sales tax dollars when conserving land for climate resilience, biodiversity, scenic beauty, and outdoor recreation.  

In addition, the group advocated for the Senate to pass AB 35 (Alvarez) to prevent delays in moving funding to shovel-ready projects on the ground. Given that the bulk of the bond money is going through agencies such as the State Coastal Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Board, State Parks, and CalFire, the grant programs are robust and vetted. 

Further, allowing these tried-and-true programs to run as they always have, without going through a lengthy administrative process to create new program guidelines, will enable the funding to get out the door ASAP and projects that have been on hold can get started. Timing is everything when it comes to acquisition, so waiting 12-18 months for agencies to develop new guidelines and selection criteria would have significant impacts on several of our current projects.  

Though the work was serious, the selfies are proof that some fun was had as well.