Assembly Session & Panels

Morning Plenary Session

California Coastal Protection: Challenges and Triumphs

The coast is California’s Commons and the envy of the nation and the world. For 50 years, the California Coastal Act and the Coastal Commission have been safeguarding coastal resources against poorly planned development and privatization. We will examine how and why the Coastal Act has been such an effective environmental law and what challenges the next 50 years may bring. Our focus will be on how California’s coast has been protected – and sometimes not – for future generations.

Moderator: Sarah Christie, Legislative Director, California Coastal Commission

Panelists:

Chairwoman Violet Sage-Walker, Chair of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council (bio)
Charles Lester, Director, Ocean and Coastal Policy Center in the Marine Science Institute at UC Santa Barbara (bio)
Susan Jordan, Founder and Executive Director of the California Coastal Protection Network (bio) (slides)
Todd Holmes, Historian, Oral History Center, University of California, Berkeley (bio) (slides)

Lunch General Session

Environmental Hero Awards

Presented by Chairwoman Violet Sage Walker,
Tribal Chair of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council
to
California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot
& California Attorney General Rob Bonta

for their support in establishing the

Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary 

Keynote Speakers

Rob Bonta

California Attorney General  (bio)

Kim Stanley Robinson

American science fiction writer (bio)

Morning and Afternoon Policy Panel Tracks

Climate Change Track

Insurance and the Environment: The Canary in the Coalmine

The panel will explore how California’s property insurance crisis and proposed solutions may impact the environment and how insurance pricing and underwriting can incentivize investments in ecological forestry and other nature-based investments that reduce the risk of loss. The impact of climate change on insurance pricing and availability in California and elsewhere in the United States, policy and regulatory and market responses, the proposal for a public wildfire risk model, the impact on insurers and the Department of Insurance of proposals to eliminate mapping of high wildfire risk, and the role that insurance and insurers can play in supporting mitigation and adaptation will also be discussed.

Moderator: Dave Jones, former CA Insurance Commissioner (bio)

Referenced Links for Insurance Panel

Panelists:

Seren Taylor, Vice President, Private Insurance Federation of California (bio)
Deborah Halberstadt, Special Advisor to the Insurance Commissioner on Biodiversity and Inclusive Insurance,  California Department of Insurance (bio)
Daniel Wagner, Research Director, Climate from Public Citizen ( bio) 

Reconsidering “Everything” after the Los Angeles Wildfires

At last year’s PCL Environmental Assembly, wildfire experts discussed “Lessons from Lahaina”. It was observed by one panelist that there were communities like Lahaina all around the State of California where there is a real risk of wildfires rampaging into their suburban/urban cores with structures very close together, where access to water supplies would be predictably limited in real time; where local firefighting resources were not all wildfire oriented; and where safe evacuation routes were both limited in numbers and could be quickly overburdened.

As of January 11, 2025, the dangerous combination of exceptional dryness and tornado-strength winds in Los Angeles County has led to the third (Palisades) and fourth (Eaton) most destructive wildfires in recorded state history.

While it will take many months for authoritative “After Action” reports to be completed, our panel will discuss the predictability of this level of destruction once the wildfires driven by 100 mph winds reached large numbers of homes and other structures. What should jurisdictions consider regarding additional preventative and mitigation measures to avoid the Los Angeles experience?

In this context, what are reasonable expectations for “success”‘ in responding to such massive, multi-faceted emergencies in the future? Should we be planning statewide for 100-mile-plus winds delivering wildfires so quickly and overwhelmingly into developed areas? What have we learned about future proposals for building in the Wildland/Urban interface?

What has been the attitude of state legislators in recent years regarding encouraging or discouraging new development in high-risk wildfire areas, and what types of legislation are we likely to see introduced in response to the LA Wildfires? Will the need to promptly rebuild or repair thousands of homes lead to proposals for temporary or permanent changes to environmental laws under the banner of needing shelter for tens of thousands of California residents?

The panel has planned plenty of time for audience questions, so please come and participate in a lively and informative discussion!

Moderator: Kim Delfino, President and Founder of Earth Advocacy (bio) (slides)

Panelists:

Paul Mason, Vice President, Policy and Incentives, Pacific Forest Trust (bio) (slides)
Chief Frank Bigelow, Deputy Director of Community Wildfire Preparedness & Mitigation and Fire Engineering & Investigations Division (bio) (slides)
Doug Flaherty, President, Tahoe Sierra Clean Air Coalition Board and Retired Fire Battalion Chief (bio) (slides)

Planning Track

Planning for a Regenerative Future: From Despair to Hope

It is easy to feel despair when thinking about our current relationship with the land. Homes and lives lost to wildfires, clean energy pressing into important natural and working lands. Battles for control between state and local governments over priorities like housing and renewable energy seem to be on the increase, with millions of dollars and teams of consultants needed to update plans and process projects. Out-of-date plans go without updating, and too many good plans collect dust on the shelf due to insufficient implementation resources. We know the system is broken, but where do we go from here? How do we return to being in harmony with the land and a rapidly changing climate? How do we break through the status quo to plan and build regeneratively, resulting in a positive impact on the human and natural environment?

This panel will explore solutions that address the immediate challenges and give rise to a new approach to planning for communities and landscapes that act as a catalyst for natural and built communities to live in partnership and thrive.

Moderator: Terry Watt, Planning Consultant & PCL Board Member (bio)

Panelists:

Richard Taylor, Esq., Managing Partner of Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger (bio)
Natalie Kuffel, Deputy Director, Planning and Climate Policy, Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (bio)
Elizabeth O’Donoghue, Director, Resilient Communities Strategy in the Climate Program, The Nature Conservancy (bio) (slides)
Zack Subin, Associate Research Director, Terner Center for Housing Innovation, U.C. Berkeley (bio) (slides)

Accelerating Climate Resilient Infrastructure: How do we build the things we need to build faster?

Planning for the next generation of infrastructure that California must develop to meet our GHG reduction mandates, future energy needs, and equity goals is a growing conversation in the Capitol. This conversation is particularly focused on energy infrastructure and electrification but also implicates where and what kind of housing and transportation infrastructure we build and how we manage our water supplies. How do we incent what we need to build faster? How do we make sure we’re incentivizing the right things? How do we go faster without limiting important environmental review and public participation in the process? How do we do this in a way that lifts up communities rather than sidelines them?

Moderator: Matthew Baker, Policy Director, Planning and Conservation League (bio)

Panelists:

Asha Sharma, State Policy Manager, Leadership Council for Justice & Accountability (bio)
Louise Bedsworth, Executive Director, Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment, UC Berkeley (bio)
Egon Terplan, Senior Fellow, ITS Berkeley, Senior Advisor CA Forward (bio)
Erica Brand, Associate Director, California Climate Program · The Nature Conservancy (bio)

Water Track

Groundwater in the Coastal Zone: Catch It Where and When You Can!

Join us to explore the latest science and on-the-ground projects that are helping to address this critical need for groundwater replenishment for California’s coastal communities. Inadequate water supplies and floods are already major concerns in California. While many groups and individuals are working hard to address the problem, scientists tell us that climate change will pose even greater challenges in the future. In the hilly and mountainous areas along the coast, underground storage capacity is limited to multiple smaller pockets under the surface. If overdrawn, these shallow aquifers are susceptible to saltwater intrusion. This presents a severe challenge on the central coast, where groundwater meets almost all freshwater demands.

Innovative leaders are making good progress in capturing and storing stormwater in the abundant deep aquifers of California’s Central Valley.   However, shallow aquifers, covering 42% of California’s land area, also have the potential to catch and store this runoff.  In Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, a unique partnership between a University researcher, a Water District, and a Resource Conservation District is identifying the locations of shallow aquifers with storage capacity, educating their landowners about the advantages of collecting and storing stormwater on their properties, and incentivizing them to establish the necessary infrastructure.  How does this unusual partnership work?   Can it be duplicated in other counties?  What are the co-benefits? Panelists, and our moderator from the Yuba County Water District, will explore these questions.

Moderator: Willie Whittlesey, General Manager of the Yuba County Water Agency (bio)

Panelists:

Andrew Fisher, Distinguished Professor, Earth & Planetary Sciences Department, Institute of Marine Sciences, UC Santa Cruz (bio) (slides)
Brian Lockwood, General Manager, Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (bio) (slides)
Lisa Lurie, Executive Director, Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County (bio) (slides)

Sustainable Framework for Flood Flow Recharge: Better, Faster, Smarter.

Accelerating climate change is generating more and more extreme oscillations in California’s weather patterns. Droughts are drier, and rainy years now incite devastating floods. To confront our changing climate, California must have a flowing, functional, and cohesive water management system that is prepared to handle both periods of extreme excess and extended, severe droughts. A major barrier to our state’s urgently-needed climate-readiness is the failure of state policy to recognize the interconnection between ground- and surface water diversion, quality, and supply.

Flood flow recharge can provide a conservation-friendly, cogent, and sustainable answer to our water system and community needs, but only if done right. Current policy aimed at dealing with this issue has resulted in water right abuse, and recently proposed legislative “fixes” drew ire from Delta groups over concerns of the rollback of previously negotiated environmental protections and increased reliance on the unsustainable draining of fragile, low-flow water systems. Better, Faster, Smarter: A Sustainable Framework for Flood Flow Recharge will bring together key stakeholders to discuss the nuances of this critical issue and a crucial path forward, representing ecosystem advocates, irrigation district and Groundwater Sustainability Agency leadership, Central Valley environmental justice voices, Delta experts, and water law attorneys. Together, panelists will engage in an open and collaborative

Moderator: Pablo Garza, Chief Consultant, California State Assembly, Committee on Water, Parks & Wildlife (bio)

Panelists:

Nataly Escobedo Garcia, Policy Coordinator – Water Programs, Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability (bio)
Ashley Overhouse, Water Policy Advisor, Defenders of Wildlife (bio)
Aaron Fukuda, General Manager, Kaweah GSA/Tulare Irrigation District (bio)
Monty Schmitt, Coastal Rivers Project Director, The Nature Conservancy (bio)
Dave Owen, Harry D. Sunderland Professor and Associate Dean for Research,  UC Law San Francisco (bio)

A Special Thank You to our 2025 Co-Hosts