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California Gov. Gavin Newsom celebrated Earth Day by announcing the opening of a new state park this summer. It is the first park opened in a decade. The state has also set targets for cutting planet-warming emissions on natural lands.
Dos Rios, located in California’s Central Valley, the state’s 281st state park, is set to open on June 12, and will occupy approximately 1,600 acres. Californians will be able to use the park for hiking and picnicking, with plans for swimming and boating access in the future.
“Dos Rios is not just a park,” Ali Manzo, California State Park interpreter, said. “It’s a community treasure that offers peace, adventure and a vital connection to nature.” Rios was joined by the governor and civil rights icon Dolores Huerta to make the announcement. Huerta worked side by side with the late Cesar Chavez to secure labor rights for farm workers in the Central Valley.
The governor’s plan sets out to reduce the risks of wildfires, expand forest cover and restore wetlands. Newsom said the targets would move the state closer toward achieving its mandate of carbon neutrality, meaning it will remove as many carbon emissions from the atmosphere as it emits, by 2045.
The plan aims to reduce the risks of wildfires across nearly 53,000 square miles (138,000 square kilometers) of land by 2045 through methods that include burning vegetation that can make wildfires more intense. The state also plans to plant 4.2 million trees, manage and restore 1.6 million acres (647,000 hectares) of grasslands, and protect more than 233,000 acres (94,000 hectares) of wetlands and seagrasses along that timeline.
“These are stretch goals, unquestionably,” Newsom said. “The good news is we’re making real progress.”
Source: Associated Press
