California is redrawing its federal and state legislative maps (including losing one congressional seat!). That means that your legislative district might change. The Citizen Redistricting Commission has released its first draft maps. And here’s the good news: they are largely what we have asked for! The draft maps draw together the North Coast from Marin through Del Norte and help preserve our voting power. The draft maps aren’t perfect though. The Karuk Tribe wants the Commission to recognize its ancestral territory and preserve it within the North Coast as well. Click below to help amplify their request.
While environmental and climate justice advocates have been building a policy agenda for years, we currently do not have the political power in California to act on these solutions at the rate and scale required. The 2021 redistricting process is a unique moment to make key structural change: not only for the next legislative session, but for this final decade leading to the 2030 climate deadline.
While the maps are good, there is still room for improvement. The Karuk Tribe has requested that the Redistricting Commission preserve their ancestral territory within the North Coast district. You can read their letter to the Commission here. The Karuk Tribe, who are leaders in the movement to protect the Klamath and restore its historic fisheries, recognize that their attention is drawn to the West, as they work to restore the river. We want to amplify their concern and let the Commission know that the maps should be drawn together towards the mouth of the Klamath to the maximum extent possible. This should be an easy fix, as the low population density means that it could be added without much difficulty, but to raise this to the attention of the Commission will require a loud voice. Please take action today.