Governor Attends Coastwalk Legislative Reception in Sacramento
Coastwalk’s Second Annual Legislative Reception in celebration of the California Coastal Trail (CCT) was a big success. This year the event was also celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Proposition 20, the Coastal Initiative, which began California’s Coastal Program, and was passed by a vote of the people in November of 1972.
The big news is that, thanks to a personal appeal by State Senator Noreen Evans, Governor Brown dropped in on Coastwalk’s event and shared some conversation and ideas.
Resources Secretary, John Laird began the event’s program by giving some excellent remarks about the importance of the Trail and the need for all agencies to work collaboratively to finish the Trail. He thanked Coastwalk, as the leading non-profit advocating for the Trail, for all its efforts and accomplishments.
Mary Shallenberger, Chair of the Coastal Commission, delivered short remarks regarding the huge impacts the Coastal Initiative has had on California’s coastline. Charles Lester, Executive Director of the California Coastal Commission also made excellent remarks and spoke of his first year at the helm of the Commission and his commitment to maintaining California’s high level of coastal protection.
In summation, Sam Schuchat, Executive Officer of the State Coastal Conservancy, 
spoke about progress on the Coastal Trail and the Conservancy’s important partnership with Coastwalk. He also discussed the critical value of the project that the Conservancy will be working on with Coastwalk over the next three years. This project will build a coalition (association) of Coastal Trail owners and stakeholders. He explained that this coalition will be crucial to the success of the Coastal Trail and that all long distance trails have similar
supporting groups.
The Reception was attended by a spectrum of legislators as well as Sacramento based environmental advocates including the Director of Sierra Club California, Kathryn Phillips, and the new Executive Director of the Planning and Conservation League, Bruce Reznik.
It is critical to the future of the Trail that Coastwalk continue its education of each newly elected group of legislators about the Trail’s existence and its importance, both as a cornerstone of coastal protection, and an economic engine. Coastwalk looks forward to its 3rd legislative reception in 2013.
Read more on Coastwalk in 2012
New Podcasts Featuring Coastal Hero Peter Douglas
Coastwalk Awarded New Grant From Coastal Conservancy to Fund Formation of Coastal Trail Alliance