SB 307, the legislation that was passed by the California Assembly and Senate to protect the groundwater and wildlife of the Mojave Desert, has been sent to Governor Newsom’s desk and we need you to call his office right away to urge him to sign the bill and stand up for California's deserts and scientific integrity.
The governor's office number is (916) 445-2841.
You’ll first select a language (“1” for English, “2” for Spanish), then press “6” at the next menu to be transferred to a staffer. When a staffer answers, tell them your name and where you live, and that you urge the Governor to sign SB 307.
Here's why we need you to call. As you may know, this month the California Legislature resoundingly passed SB 307, which would subject the destructive Cadiz project to independent and rigorous scientific review before allowing Cadiz to siphon 16 billion gallons of desert groundwater each year from beneath Mojave Trails National Monument - one of the driest spots on Earth. SB 307 would require agency scientists to certify that Cadiz's preposterous proposal will not damage the desert environment before allowing this project to proceed.
SB 307 kills any hope that Cadiz might have of forcing its project through despite decades of scientists' warnings that the project poses a dire threat to desert springs and seeps crucial to wildlife. Cadiz knows this, and is engaged in a last-ditch effort to sway Governor Newsom to veto the bill. The company has paid for misleading robocalls throughout the state to dupe well-intentioned Californians into urging a veto, and their corporate partners are leaning on the governor's office as well.
Please call Governor Newsom's office NOW at (916) 445-2841
If you have a minute, be sure to email both info@mojavewatch.org and Chris Clarke of the National Parks Conservation Association at cclarke@npca.org to let us know you've done so; it will help us to get a sense of how many calls the governor's office is getting in support.
You can also email the governor's office using the web form provided on this website: https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov40mail/
Phone calls carry more weight, so please consider calling before emailing.
Our thanks to Chris Clarke of the NPCA for this alert.
Update: Thanks to all desert defenders who have called the governor's office to urge him to sign SB 307. Thanks to those who noted that they were not asked for the location from which they were calling, and informed us that the governor's office told them they went off of the area codes of their phone numbers. This raised the question of whether those calling from phones with out of state area codes (quite common) would have their input ignored, which is of concern to us, as we work to ensure all our voices are heard on these important issues.
We have contacted the governor's office to express our concern and to ask for clarification on their policy, as well as to ask that they consider changing it if it results in some comments being disregarded.
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