If you are not already aware, California is a big, complicated state.  It's home to over 40 million people and if it were an independent nation, it would be the 5th largest economy in the world!  From the lush forests of the north to the dry deserts in the south, from the historical Pacific coastline to the rural, agricultural Central Valley, California has some of the most diverse and wide ranging natural resources in the world.  Managing these is not easy.  From the ongoing water crisis to increasing wildfires to major drops in biodiversity in recent decades, we don't envy those who are in charge of making sense of it all.  We do however, want to talk to them.  So this week on Animalia, we chat with Angela Barranco, Undersecretary for Natural Resources for the entire state!

IN THIS EPISODE
2:30 Intro to Angela and Understanding her Role
9:20 Outside Access for All Initiative
14:00 What it means to live in a nature-deprive area
21:40 How to prioritize outdoor access vs. other critical needs for lower income communities
33:05 Role of Education in Outdoor Access
41:50 California’s Water Crisis
54:00 California’s Wildfire Crisis

SOME LINKS FOR FURTHER READING
Fed-CA shared forest stewardship agreement - https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/08/13/california-u-s-forest-service-establish-shared-long-term-strategy-to-manage-forests-andrangelands/#:~:text=Since%20the%20federal%20government%20owns,forest%20health%20and%20wildfire%20resilience.

CA wildfire and forest resilience action plan - https://www.fire.ca.gov/media/ps4p2vck/californiawildfireandforestresilienceactionplan.pdf
Early Action projects announcement from March - https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/03/30/ahead-of-peak-fire-season-governor-newsom-announces-surge-in-firefighting-support-3-30-21/
Drought and water resilience package - https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/05/10/governor-newsom-announces-5-1-billion-package-for-water-infrastructure-and-drought-response-as-part-of-100-billion-california-comeback-plan/
CA water resilience portfolio - https://waterresilience.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Final_California-Water-Resilience-Portfolio-2020_ADA3_v2_ay11-opt.pdf