SIX LEADERS TO BE RECOGNIZED FOR CONSERVATION
WORK AT UPCOMING ENVIRONMENTAL SYMPOSIUM

Sacramento, CA – The Planning and Conservation League (PCL) and the PCL Foundation are proud to announce this year’s award recipients for their extraordinary environmental work and leadership during 2009. Award winners will be recognized at a luncheon during the League and Foundation’s annual Environmental Legislative Symposium on Saturday, January 30, 2010 in downtown Sacramento. Learn more about the Symposium at www.PCL.org.

“Collectively and individually – PCL is amazed at the sheer excellence and quality of leadership present in this year’s winners. We are pleased to celebrate their achievements and provide them with an opportunity for public recognition of their outstanding work,” remarks PCL Executive Director Traci Sheehan. Awards will go to the following individuals and organizations:

Assemblymember Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara) is being honored as the Legislator of the Year for his leadership in defeating PXP’s proposal and for being a champion for an oil severance tax. “I am honored to receive this award for my efforts to protect the natural environment and for continuing to fight new offshore oil drilling,” said Nava. “For more than 40 years the Planning and Conservation League has been a strong voice for the preservation and restoration of California's environment and I am humbled to receive this recognition from such an organization.”

Receiving the Carla Bard Award for Individual Achievement is longtime activist and attorney J. William Yeates. In 2007, Yeates authored the popular Community Guide to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and developed corresponding curriculum to empower residents while they participate in the environmental review process. In 2008, he assisted the Foundation with the creation the Local Climate Action Initiative Toolkit and was actively involved with the SB 375 legislation which links land use, transportation and housing. His expertise on land use law, CEQA and climate change and his willingness to share his expertise has benefited thousands of California residents.

For its important work on the Stockton General Plan, the Mother Lode Chapter of the Sierra Club is receiving the David Gaines Award for Non-Profit Work. This award is being given in recognition of the Chapter’s successful campaign to revise the Stockton General Plan, which now includes a greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan, sets achievable benchmarks and contains exemplary policies on climate change and sustainability. General Plans set the stage for how a community grows and the Chapter’s work is an important example of local action influencing state and national environmental policy, particularly in the area of land use and global warming.

Debbie Davis is being recognized for her leadership in the Water Summit and her celebrated expertise in the Legislature on environmental justice issues, as the Environmental Justice Advocate of the Year. Her work with the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water has been pivotal, especially in terms of collaborating with a diverse set of advocates, who through the Summits, are charting a new course for water solutions in California. Participants of the Summit have created and adopted 10 Guiding Principles for Water Reform.

Long time water advocate and expert, Martha Davis will receive the Dorothy Green Water Advocate of the Year Award. Davis is being honored for her professional leadership, tireless efforts and commitment to water issues in California and along the Los Angeles River. This award, in its second year, is given to an individual that has demonstrated significant understanding of California’s water issues and advocates for creative water policy and was named after PCL Board Member and water guru Dorothy Green.

Small Business California is the Environmental Business of the Year for its direction, presence and consistent commitment in supporting AB 32 and energy efficiency over the last several years. AB 32 mandates California reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. "Small Business California believes that global warming is a serious problem facing our planet and that we must plan on how to reduce our carbon emissions now and not deal with the problem in a crisis mode. That is why we were early supporters of AB 32 and have continued to fight for its implementation,” says SB-Cal president Scott Hauge. “We are proud to receive this award from the Planning and Conservation League and will continue to speak out on the importance of reducing carbon emissions.”

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