The natural beauty and biodiversity of California—and the entire United States—are under unprecedented threat. Executive actions from the current administration aim to weaken environmental protections, accelerate logging and mineral, oil and gas extraction, and bypass long-standing conservation laws and their safeguards. These moves jeopardize public lands, fragile ecosystems, and countless species that depend on them. We must act now to fight these threats.

The Turtle Conservancy founded a long term study of populations and habitat health of Southern California’s only native freshwater turtle—the Southwestern Pond Turtle (Actinemys pallida) in parts of Los Padres National Forest and surrounding habitats.

At the Turtle Conservancy, protecting turtles means protecting the ecosystems they inhabit. In Southern California, the Southwestern Pond Turtle has already suffered extensive habitat loss and degradation. These turtles now depend on the streams, ponds, and wetlands of places like the Los Padres National Forest for survival. If we lose these habitats, we lose the species.

Forests Under Attack

California’s public lands are facing a wave of deregulation and industrialization. Under the pretext of wildfire prevention and forest health, the current administration has called for the expansion of domestic timber production from federal lands. This initiative includes alarming proposals to:

• Accelerate or bypass environmental review under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

• Use emergency ESA consultation processes, which can limit meaningful study of a project’s impact on sensitive species.

• Eliminate regulations that "burden" timber production, potentially including the end of key safeguards for habitats and wildlife.

• Produce a report on regulatory "barriers" to timber infrastructure, paving the way for further rollbacks.

These policies would make it easier to approve large-scale logging projects without sufficient environmental oversight—placing species like the Southwestern Pond Turtle and countless others at risk.

Read the presidential action: Immediate Expansion of America’s Timber Production

A Dangerous Precedent

The U.S. Forest Service, now led by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, has announced plans to open up as much as 112 million acres of public land—mostly in the West—to logging, mining, and oil drilling. This sweeping move would eliminate or reduce protections on lands that were once considered sacrosanct.

Of particular concern is the Los Padres National Forest, which stretches from Ojai to Big Sur and is one of the most biologically rich areas in the continental U.S. Logging projects have already been approved in sensitive areas like Pine Mountain and Mount Pinos, and a 235,000-acre vegetation clearance project threatens to alter the landscape permanently. Though these efforts are being promoted under the guise of reducing wildfire risk, peer-reviewed research has shown that industrial logging can actually increase fire severity by removing fire-resistant old-growth trees and creating flammable debris.

What’s at Risk

Los Padres National Forest is not just a haven for the Southwestern Pond Turtle. It is also home to numerous threatened and endangered species, including:

• The California Condor, one of the rarest birds in the world.

• The elusive mountain lion, whose territories are increasingly fragmented.

• The San Joaquin kit fox, one of the most endangered carnivores in North America.

• Rare native plant species like the Santa Lucia fir, found only in select areas of California’s coastal ranges.

Protecting this landscape protects not only biodiversity but also the cultural, recreational, and historical values shared by millions of Americans and Indigenous communities.

What You Can Do

Call and Email Your Representatives Let them know that you share their respect for America's natural treasures and oppose these destructive policies and that you look forward to their votes to protect our national forests, parks, wildlife, and marine sanctuaries.

House Committee on Natural Resources (Members List): https://naturalresources.house.gov/about/members.htm

California Coastal Commission Email:ExecutiveStaff@coastal.ca.gov (Ask for your message to be shared with all commissioners.)

Key California Representatives to Contact:

• Jared Huffman (2nd District) – 202-225-5161

• Tom McClintock (5th District) – 202-225-2511

• Doug LaMalfa (1st District) – 202-225-3076

• Adam Gray (13th District) – 202-225-1947

• Julia Brownley (26th District) – 202-225-5811

• Dave Min (47th District) – 202-225-5611

Act Locally and support local conservation organizations. Please consider donating to our Southwestern Pond Turtle research project: Donate Now

Share Your Story If you or someone you know has been affected by recent federal land agency layoffs, the House Committee on Natural Resources wants to hear from you. An oversight hearing will be held in early May. Former employees are encouraged to submit testimonies—anonymously or openly—via the committee’s tipline:Tipline: House Committee on Natural Resources – Tipline

Share this information and raise awareness in your community.

Read More

• As Trump Admin Pushes Logging, Community Comes Together to Protect Pine Mountain

• Trump Administration Declares “Emergency” to Expedite Logging in National Forests