(April 13, 2026) Governor Gavin Newsom and California Pure Sources Company (CNRA) Secretary Wade Crowfoot has named Camila Bautista, Audubon California’s Salton Sea & Deserts Program Supervisor, to the brand new Salton Sea Conservancy Board. The conservancy marks a important milestone for the long-term habitat restoration targets on the state’s largest lake and might be tasked with overseeing the progress of all conservation initiatives within the area.
“The Salton Sea is stuffed with prospects for the long run and I’m honored to symbolize the imaginative and prescient of our communities and the wants of our unimaginable wildlife,” stated Camila.
“I’ve had the prospect to fulfill with a whole lot of our residents and I do know that whereas we face plain challenges, we’re a resilient area that holds so many alternatives. We’ve seen necessary conservation progress, with the Species Conservation Habitat Challenge and the Bombay Seaside Wetlands restoration, and I look ahead increasing that work by means of deeper group engagement and broader public entry. I’m grateful to Secretary Crowfoot, the CNRA, and Governor Newsom for his or her dedication to this particular place and for championing nature for all.”
As the one environmental conservation nonprofit group on the board and a long-term restoration companion with the state, Audubon California will function a voice for the tens of millions of birds that depend on the Salton Sea and an professional useful resource on the area’s numerous and distinctive habitats. Audubon California’s work on the Bombay Beach Wetland Enhancement Project to stabilize and broaden necessary habitat whereas addressing public well being and entry points, has introduced in millions of dollars of funding, together with in latest federal group challenge appropriations.
“Audubon California is deeply dedicated to the well being and way forward for the Salton Sea, an important refuge for birds and different wildlife, and have championed its significance for over 20 years,” stated Andrea Jones, Vice President of California for the Nationwide Audubon Society. “Camila’s appointment to the board is a vital continuation of that work and a testomony to her tireless advocacy, invaluable scientific experience, and dedication to environmental justice.”
Camila performed a important function within the Salton Sea Public Access Community study, which engaged greater than 600 residents across the Sea, together with Spanish and Purécha-speaking communities. The outcomes highlighted a transparent group imaginative and prescient prioritizing clear air, clear water, and protected, accessible alternatives to attach with the Salton Sea.
Born and raised within the Coachella Valley, Camila is an achieved scientist and group advocate – most lately, her contributions to a study on the increase of shorebirds at the Sea was published in Waterbirds. Her grasp’s thesis, which received the Farvolden Scholarship on the Nationwide Groundwater Affiliation (NGWA) Groundwater Week 2023 convention, analyzed the water sources sustaining the Bombay Seaside Wetland Challenge by means of isotopic strategies. She holds a bachelor’s diploma in Biology from UCLA and a grasp’s diploma in Environmental Science from California State College, Los Angeles.
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Media contact: Shineh Rhee, Communications Director, Audubon California
shineh.rhee@audubon.org
415.644.4605
Audubon California is a regional workplace of the Nationwide Audubon Society. Be taught extra at audubon.org/california and observe us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @AudubonCA.
The Nationwide Audubon Society is a number one nonprofit conservation group with 120 years of science-based, community-driven influence, devoted to defending birds and the locations they want, at this time and tomorrow. Birds are highly effective indicators of our planet’s well being, appearing as sentinels that warn us of environmental change and encourage motion. Audubon works throughout the Western Hemisphere, pushed by the understanding that what is nice for birds is nice for the planet. By way of a collaborative, bipartisan strategy throughout habitats, borders, and the political spectrum, Audubon drives significant and lasting conservation outcomes. With 800 workers and over 1.9 million supporters, Audubon is a dynamic and ever-growing drive dedicated to making sure a greater planet for each birds and other people for generations to come back.
