National Environmental Organizations in California
bear02.gif (1333 bytes)

Several important national and worldwide environmental organizations are active in California. Most links are to the home page of the national organization, which will provide you with information and links to local organizations.

  • The Sierra Club was founded in California, by a group that included John Muir.  Initially focused on appreciating and protecting the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Sierra Cub is an active organization that works in many ways to help protect and preserve the natural environment.

  • The National Audubon Society is focused on birds--appreciating them, understanding them, and protecting them.  To protect bird species, we must protect their habitat, and for this reason, the National Audubon Society is active in environmental protection and education.

  • The Natural Resources Defense Council seeks to "safeguard the Earth: its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends.  We work to restore the integrity of the elements that sustain life -- air, land, and water -- and to defend endangered natural places".   The NRDC's Worldview page has short summary articles on a great many environmental topics, and is a good place to start looking for information on a particular subject.

  • The Nature Conservancy  preserves plants, animals and the natural ecosystems they are part of  by buying critical habitat land and setting it aside for natural sanctuaries; the organization is "nature's real estate agent".  The  Nature Conservancy California's page has a clickable map of California which will lead you to information about each of  the Conservancy preserves in California.

  • The Land Trust Alliance promotes voluntary land conservation for the purpose of preserving open space, natural areas, and traditional land uses.  The land to be conserved is purchased, donated, or set aside through the use of conservation easements.  A list of  land trusts in California may be accessed through this page on Links to Land Trusts, organized by state. Some of these trusts are referenced separately in the page on State and Local Organizations.

  • America's Rivers: An organization dedicated to river conservation.  Their goal is to "protect and restore America's river systems and to foster a river stewardship ethic."  They maintain a list of America's  Ten Most Endangered Rivers.   Want to find out which California river is on the top ten list?

  • The Union of Concerned Scientists   includes scientists and other citizens working for a healthy environment and a safe world.  They focus on: encouraging responsible stewardship of the global environment and life-sustaining resources;  promoting energy technologies that are renewable, safe, and cost effective;  transforming the nation's transportation system away from use of polluting fuels;  curtailing weapons proliferation; and promoting sustainable agriculture.  They have an office in California, at UC Berkeley.  Their web site does not  have much to say about California in particular, but there is a lot of information on environmental issues in general.

  • The Wilderness Society  was founded in 1935 by a group of conservationists that included Aldo Leopold. Its purpose is to protect and preserve America's wild places. The California/Nevada Region  has a number of projects in such regions as the Sierra Nevada Range and the Mojave Desert.   Find out which two California ecosystems are on the Society's list of the Ten Most Endangered Wildlands.

  • The National Wildlife Federation   focuses on education, activism, advocacy, and litigation in its areas of interest, which include: Endangered Habitat, Water Quality, Land Stewardship, Wetlands, and Sustainable Communities.  They have a lot of educational information on these issues which can be accessed from their home page.  Their California affiliate is the Planning and Conservation League.

  • The World Resources Institute is an educational and research institute that looks at issues of "natural resource use and conservation, economic development, and social equity".  They believe that economic development can be accomplished in such a way as to protect the environment and maintain social justice.  Although this organization has a worldwide focus, many of the issues they deal with, including agriculture, biodiversity, climate change, and forests, are important issues in California.  The home page has links to a tremendous amount of information on these topics and others. Here is their page on North American Resources.

Yosemitefalls

California Environment Home
Site Index
  Natural History     Natural Resources    Environmental Organizations    Environmental Ethics

mailbox2.gif (1062 bytes)  Comments, Questions, or Suggestions? Email: J.R. Thorngren
(but I can't do calculations for you...or do your homework)

06/07/06

Hit Counter

caflag.gif (2451 bytes)

The grizzly bear is the state animal of  California, and is the bear on the California flag.  There are no grizzly bears in the wild in California today.   The last one in the state was killed in 1922, or possibly in 1924.