As we look back on 2025, one thing is clear: your support powered real progress for the forests, wildlife, and communities of the Central Coast.
Even amid political rollbacks and new threats to our public lands, our mission—and the people who care about these places—never wavered.
Here’s what we accomplished together:
1. Mobilized thousands of Central Coast residents against threats to our public lands, including oil drilling expansion, weakening of the Roadless Rule, mass firings, and cuts to public participation.
2. Eliminated 144,000 acres from a Forest Service plan to remove trees and native shrubs across the forest, with assistance from our conservation partners, tribes, and community members.
3. Developed a Community Alternative that further reduces the proposal by 83%, protecting critical ecological zones while prioritizing fire safety efforts near communities.
4. Built and led a coalition of 90+ environmental, tribal, and community organizations across the Central Coast calling for a new, community-centered vision for wildfire protection.
5. Launched Fire in Focus, a new program to educate the public, local officials, and policymakers on wildfire ecology and the most effective strategies to safeguard communities.
6. Permanently protected an additional 89-acres of mixed conifer forest along Tecuya Ridge through a land acquisition adjacent to a parcel ForestWatch conserved last year.
7. Secured flow releases from Lopez Dam to support the migration of endangered Steelhead into their spawning habitat in Arroyo Grande Creek.
8. Removed lead ammunition and trash from derelict target shooting sites in Ventura County, making Los Padres National Forest cleaner and safer.
9. Advanced wildlife connectivity protections through city and county planning processes, including in the City of Santa Maria and Santa Barbara County.
10. Launched a citizen science initiative to collect robust data on wildlife-vehicle strikes and conducted surveys to document potential wildlife crossings along Highway 154.
11. Expanded access to public lands by connecting 200+ underrepresented youth and families to nature through our Outdoor Connections program.
12. Secured the passage of legislation to designate Bigberry Manzanita as California’s official State Shrub.
These victories belong to all of us—and they show what’s possible when we stand together for our public lands. Our work won’t stop. Together, we’ll continue protecting the forests, wildlife, and wild places that define the Central Coast for generations to come.