California announces first new state park in a decade and sets climate goals for natural lands

MODESTO, Calif. -- California volition unfastened its archetypal caller authorities parkland successful a decennary this summer, Gov. Gavin Newsom and authorities officials announced Monday, arsenic the authorities sets targets for cutting planet-warming emissions connected earthy lands.

The 1,600-acre (648-hectare) Dos Rios tract successful the state's crop-rich Central Valley is acceptable to unfastened June 12 arsenic California's 281st authorities park. Located adjacent the confluence of the Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers, it is surrounded by immense almond orchards and dairy pastures. Californians volition beryllium capable to usage the parkland for hiking and picnicking, with plans for swimming and boating entree successful the future.

Ali Manzo, a Central Valley autochthonal and California State Parks interpreter, said the caller parkland volition assistance bring radical unneurotic and let them to make a deeper respect for nature.

"Dos Rios is not conscionable a park," Manzo said. "It's a assemblage treasure that offers peace, escapade and a captious transportation to nature."

Manzo joined the governor, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and civilian rights icon Dolores Huerta to denote the caller park.

The Earth Day announcement comes arsenic Newsom unveiled caller targets for cutting greenhouse state emissions connected earthy lands. The program sets retired to trim the risks of wildfires, grow wood screen and reconstruct wetlands. Newsom said the targets would determination the authorities person toward achieving its mandate of c neutrality, meaning it volition region arsenic galore c emissions from the ambiance arsenic it emits, by 2045.

"These are agelong goals, unquestionably," the Democratic politician said. "The bully quality is we're making existent progress."

Newsom did not accidental what occurrence would look similar for implementing the targets. His medication did not merchandise an estimation for however overmuch the program would outgo the state, which is facing a monolithic projected fund deficit.

The targets travel retired of a instrumentality Newsom signed successful 2022 requiring the authorities Natural Resources Agency to enactment with different agencies to make a program to trim emissions from earthy lands.

The program aims to trim the risks of wildfires crossed astir 53,000 quadrate miles (138,000 quadrate kilometers) of onshore by 2045 done methods that see burning vegetation that tin marque wildfires much intense. The authorities besides plans to works 4.2 cardinal trees, negociate and reconstruct 1.6 cardinal acres (647,000 hectares) of grasslands, and support much than 233,000 acres (94,000 hectares) of wetlands and seagrasses on that timeline.

California has spent astir $9.6 cardinal since 2020 connected efforts to code clime alteration utilizing the state's earthy lands.

Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot called the program "a large deal" due to the fact that the authorities has focused overmuch of its clime argumentation connected reducing emissions from different areas, specified arsenic the vigor sector, and little truthful from earthy lands.

"We cognize we person to trim contamination significantly, but we besides request to amended the wellness of our landscapes to really region c dioxide from the air," Crowfoot said.

In caller years, the authorities has approved the eventual phasing retired of the merchantability of caller fossil fuel-powered cars, lawnmowers, and ample trucks that transport goods done ports and trains powered by diesel.