Capitola Councilmen Sign Letter to Obama for PCT Protection

In President Obama's upcoming budget proposal, he has the opportunity to fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which would protect the Pacific Crest Trail, a popular long-distance hike from the U.S. border with Mexico all the way up to the Canadian border.

Capitola Councilman Dennis Norton and Vice Mayor Sam Storey both signed a letter to Obama, released, Tuesday, urging him to include that protection in the budget.

“The Pacific Crest Trail and many other parks all across California are where some of our families’ most unforgettable memories are formed — our first hikes, our first time camping, our first encounter with wildlife,” said Sean Carroll, Federal Field Associate with Environment California. “That’s why the Pacific Crest Trail deserves permanent protections from development.”

A fully-funded Land and Water Conservation Fund would give the "Park Service the ability to purchase privately owned land within or surrounding the park that would otherwise be developed and become a threat to the local ecosystem – all without spending a single taxpayer dollar," according to Environment Califorina. 

Currently there are 200 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail that are privately owned and could be sold off at any time for development. 

Storey and Norton are two of 47 California elected officials who signed the letter. See the complete list below.

Councilmember

Alexandra Stillman

Arcata

Mayor

Bill Kampe

Pacific Grove

Mayor

Bruce Delgado

Marina

Councilmember

Dan Kalb

Oakland

Councilmember

Darryl More

Berkeley

Assemblymember

Das Williams

Santa Barbara

Mayor

Dave Turner

Fort Bragg

Supervisor

David Campos

San Francisco County

Supervisor

David Chiu

San Francisco County

Councilmember

David J. Terrazas

Santa Cruz

Councilmember

David Weinsoff

Fairfax

Councilmember

Dennis Norton

Capitola

Councilmember

Don Lane

Santa Cruz

Mayor Pro Tem

Eric Lucan

Novato

Senator

Fran Pavley

Santa Monica

Councilmember

Gail Morton

Marina

Senator

Hannah-Beth Jackson

Santa Barbara

Mayor Pro Tem

Ian Oglesby

Seaside

Councilmember

Jake Ours

Santa Rosa

Mayor

Jason Burnett

Carmel-by-the-Sea

Councilmember

Jesse Arreguin

Berkeley

Senator

Jim Beall

Campbell

Supervisor

John Avalos

San Francisco County

Councilmember

Jose Castaneda

Salinas

Councilmember

Jyl Lutes

Salinas

Assemblymember

Kevin Mullin

San Mateo

Councilmember

Kriss Worthington

Berkeley

Councilmember

Len Rifkind

Larkspur

Councilmember

Libby Schaff

Berkeley

Councilmember

Lynette Gibson McElhaney

Oakland

Senator

Mark Leno

San Francisco

Senator

Marty Block

San Diego

Vice Mayor

Meg Courtney

Fort Bragg

Councilmember

Micah Posner

Santa Cruz

Assemblymember

Nancy Skinner

Berkeley

Councilmember

Noel Gallo

Oakland

Mayor

Pedro Gonzalez

South San Francisco

Mayor Protempore

Robert Huitt

Pacific Grove

Assmeblymember

Roger Dickinson

Sacramento

Vice Mayor

Sam Storey

Capitola

Supervisor

Scott Wiener

San Francisco County

Councilmember

Stephany Aguilar

Scotts Valley

Councilmember

Susan Wengraf

Berkeley

Assemblymember

Tom Ammiano

San Francisco

Assemblymember, Majority Leader

Toni Atkins

San Diego

Councilmember

Tony Barrera

Salinas

Councilmember

Victoria Beach

Carmel-by-the-Sea