Mark Kleinman, Author at Resources Legacy Fund

Dos Rios—Much-Needed, Long-Awaited Park for the San Joaquin Valley

August 22, 2022

California officials recently announced the creation of the first new state park since 2009: Dos Rios Ranch, at the confluence of the Tuolumne and San Joaquin Rivers, near the San Joaquin National Wildlife Refuge. The announcement was remarkable, but not only because of the long interval since the last park opening in a state whose park system is the largest in the nation (with its 279 state park units, over 340 miles of coastline, 970 miles of lake and river frontage, 15,000 campsites, 5,200 miles of trails, 3,195 historic buildings and more than 11,000 known prehistoric and historic archaeological sites).…

Topics: Healthy Communities , Land Conservation , Parks , RLF , Social Equity

In Support of Ketanji Brown Jackson

March 21, 2022

Resources Legacy Fund submitted the following letter to the US Senate in support of the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court:

Topics: Policy , RLF , Social Equity

Announcement: Resources Legacy Fund Welcomes Avi Garbow as New President

November 18, 2021

Resources Legacy Fund is pleased and proud to welcome Avi Garbow as its new president. Garbow is a nationally recognized environmental leader, lawyer, and advocate with decades of experience tackling many of the most critical threats to our air, water, and lands. He takes over from Michael Mantell, who founded RLF more than 20 years ago. Most recently, Garbow served as Patagonia’s first Environmental Advocate, providing strategic leadership and vision to the company’s robust environmental advocacy efforts. He took on a temporary assignment in the Biden administration, as senior counselor to the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),…

Topics: RLF , Social Equity

RLF Statement of Solidarity with AAPI Communities

April 2, 2021

RLF stands with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities to condemn senseless violence and bigotry rooted in racism and xenophobia. According to Stop AAPI Hate, Asian Americans have been victims of more than 3,800 hate crimes across the country during the past year, fanned by the racist rhetoric of the former president who called COVID-19 the “Chinese” virus (among other slurs). These hateful acts are unacceptable. Anti-Asian hate crimes have been reported right in our backyard—elderly Asian men have been beaten and killed in broad daylight in the Bay Area in separate attacks—and gained national attention in Georgia…

Topics: RLF

RLF Statement on Events of January 5-6, 2021

January 6, 2021

Today has been an extraordinary and scary day in American history, its developments generating feelings across an unimaginably broad emotional spectrum. We have been riveted, watching unprecedented violence in the nation’s capital (and, literally, in its Capitol building) that was driven by at best disingenuous and arguably seditious actions, taken at the highest levels of government. This jaw-dropping, mesmerizing spectacle almost eclipsed events of the last 24 hours in Georgia. Almost, but not quite. For in Georgia we are once again able to celebrate the effectiveness of fair and inclusive elections, led by dedicated, strategic grass roots organizing and advocacy…

Topics: Policy , RLF , Social Equity

Governor Announces Ambitious Biodiversity Targets for California

October 7, 2020

Today, Governor Newsom signed an executive order to protect 30 percent of California’s land and ocean by 2030 (30x30). This announcement makes California the first state in the United States to commit to the global 30x30 effort targeted by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. The executive order also directs California to elevate the role of natural and working lands conservation in its efforts to combat climate change. “Resources Legacy Fund congratulates Governor Newsom for taking this bold and necessary step to stem the dual threats of biodiversity loss and climate change. With this announcement, the governor demonstrates that…

Topics: Biodiversity , Climate Resilience , Land Conservation , Oceans , Parks , Policy

RLF Statement on the Appointment of Armando Quintero as Director of California State Parks

August 19, 2020

Resources Legacy Fund (RLF) was pleased to learn of Governor Newsom’s appointment of Armando Quintero as the new director of California’s Department of Parks and Recreation (State Parks). Quintero’s appointment resonates with California’s long-standing heritage of protecting its cultural and natural resources and public lands while also promising strong guidance for leading State Parks into a more accessible and equitable future, especially important as our state and nation shift towards a greater consciousness of racial justice. “Director Quintero brings deep experience to the preservation and stewardship of public lands for people,” said RLF Vice President Matt Armsby. “We look forward…

Topics: Parks , Social Equity