Conservation Strategy Group is a strategic consulting firm with an innovative approach to improving the sustainability of California’s natural resources, water, energy, and transportation systems.
Conservation Strategy Group is a strategic consulting firm with an innovative approach to improving the sustainability of California’s natural resources, water, energy, and transportation systems. The firm provides a full range of state and federal political consulting services for NGOs, local agencies, and clean tech organizations to advance environmental goals in California. Going beyond traditional lobbying, the firm focuses on long-term political and funding strategies for clients from inception to implementation. CSG specializes in building collaborative constituencies for legislative and budget programs, while also designing policy solutions tailored to individual clients.
Conservation Strategy Group offers a range of governmental affairs services to a diversity of environmental clients, focusing primarily on three issue areas:
Transforming water supply and demand strategies for local, regional, and state systems
Protecting California’s natural resources through collaborative policy and funding solutions
Advancing AB 32 goals through natural resources, clean energy, and clean transportation policy
"POST's land conservation work on the San Mateo Coast required deep partnerships with agencies in Sacramento. CSG was the perfect group to help us find the right people and keep those relationships on target. If you want to do your work, you can't be in Sacramento all the time -- but CSG is! What a great group to have on your team."
President Emeritus, Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST)
"CSG used their deep experience in the land conservation world to make sure that we fully address all the important issues."
General Counsel, Save the Redwoods League
“Addressing invasive species is critical to protecting California’s environment, but we have encountered deep challenges to strengthening state agency response. By working with CSG we have greatly increased our capacity to negotiate the world of policy and funding in Sacramento, especially when it comes to the nuances of the legislature. Our advocacy has made significant progress with CSG on our team.”
Executive Director, California Invasive Plant Council
CSG has helped NGO’s obtain hundreds of millions in conservation and restoration funding. Projects include working with the Big Sur Land Trust to obtain more than $13 million in public funding for the protection and restoration of the Carmel River floodplain, a multi-objective multi-agency project; and assisting the Monterey Bay Aquarium to successfully obtain a $6 million grant to update and expand exhibits for educational purposes. CSG works with clients on an ongoing basis to secure conservation funding through the legislative and state budget process. For more information on conservation funding programs contact Kim Schneider at kim@csgcalifornia.com.
CSG has developed ballot initiatives designed for success. We authored and ran a successful statewide ballot initiative, 39, that closed a tax loophole that provided corporations with a tax break for moving their jobs and investments to other states. Drafted the initiative's language, managed campaign consultants, developed a strong base of supporters and coalition members, executed an effective social media campaign, provided legal and reporting assistance and managed a budget of $30 million dollars. For more information on development of ballot initiatives contact Joe Caves at joe@csgcalifornia.com.
CSG has a long history of being at the forefront of designing California’s clean energy and climate policies. CSG helped pass the original AB 32 2006 by Assemblymember Fran Pavley which has successfully capped California’s GHG emissions at 1990 levels. Additionally, CSG lead the effort to defend AB 32 at the ballot box against the industry-backed Proposition 23 to overturn it. CSG is continuing its leadership on clean energy by working to extend the GHG emission cap through 2050, increase the share of renewable energy and expand the use of demand response, energy efficiency and distributed generation to integrate renewables in to the electricity grid. For more information on clean energy legislation contact Joe Caves at joe@csgcalifornia.com.
Conservation 2.0 is an initiative to improve California’s climate and conservation policies by working with leading experts in a diverse range of fields to design ‘blue sky’ solutions to some of the state’s most pressing environmental problems. Key projects include: (i) exploring how the state’s Natural and Working Lands and their biomass waste streams can be leveraged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045; and (ii) increasing the pace and scale of conservation action in California through regional planning, advance mitigation, permit streamlining and ‘dynamic’ conservation. While CSG serves as Project Manager, we work closely with numerous academic institutions, conservation organizations, consultants and attorneys to develop innovative policy solutions. For more information on Conservation 2.0, please contact Graham Chisholm at graham@csgcalifornia.com or at sam@csgcalifornia.com. cialis viagra
In 2016 Conservation Strategy Group successfully worked with key conservation partners and agencies to enact legislation (AB 2087 -- Marc Levine) that provides a statutory basis for Regional Conservation Investment Strategies (RCISs), and specific authorization for advance mitigation agreements. The result is a powerful new approach to conservation and mitigation in California that can also influence the design and siting of infrastructure as well as drive mitigation funding to high priority conservation investments. For more information on how to apply this new tool to advance your conservation work, please contact Graham Chisholm at graham@csgcalifornia.com.
Principal and Founder
Joe is an attorney and registered lobbyist in California specializing in environmental and natural resources law and policy. He served in the California State Legislature for more than a decade as a committee consultant and legislative staff director. Joe has extensive experience negotiating, drafting and lobbying legislation, and working the state budget. In addition, he specializes in developing public funding sources and crafting political strategies to advance environmental and natural resource protection. Joe was the principal author of Propositions 50 and 84, and was also instrumental in the development of Propositions 12, 13 and 40. He has expertise in a wide array of natural resources areas including land use, water policy, land conservation, coastal protection, CEQA, climate change, and forestry. He is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara and of Hastings College of the Law. He is a member of the Environmental Law Section of the California State Bar Association. For more information on long-term political strategies to advance environmental policy contact Joe Caves at joe@csgcalifornia.com.
Director, Legislation & Public Policy
As an experienced environmental lobbyist, Kim helps her clients navigate the complex legislative and budget processes in the State Capitol to achieve successful outcomes for clients. Kim has built coalitions for successful lobbying and regulatory efforts, secured hundreds of millions of dollars for clients within the legislative and regulatory processes, and helped organize and lead efforts to defend against unprecedented environmental deregulation. Kim has worked on a broad range of environmental issues including climate, land-use, water, and sustainable & organic agriculture policy. Kim has been lobbying in California for 8 years. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Environmental Law & Policy and a Minor in Politics.
Director, Climate and Energy Policy
Sam leads CSG's climate and energy policy work, which is centered around finding credible paths for California to achieve net-zero emissions and below by 2045 or sooner. He has a strong understanding of various mitigation policy options (e.g. carbon pricing systems; lifecycle emissions standards) and the broad array of socio-technical challenges related to low-carbon transitions. He engages day-to-day with public agencies, the State Legislature, project developers, researchers and environmental non-profits. Sam previously worked as a Senior Associate for PwC, where as part of a specialist team he helped design and optimize the value chains of multinational companies, including in the energy and mining, technology, financial services, pharmaceutical, and consumer goods industries. Sam has a Bachelor of Commerce Degree with honors in Economics from the University of Melbourne and a Master of Environmental Management from the University of Queensland. Sam is originally from Melbourne, Australia. For more information, please contact Sam at sam@csgcalifornia.com.
Director, Operations & Administration
Camille oversees and manages overall office operations for the company. Her responsibilities include assisting Principal and Founder Joseph Caves; managing registration and quarterly filings for clients and ensuring compliance as CSG's Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) Coordinator; and managing the company’s social media accounts, website, advertising, and company branding. Camille has extensive experience in project management, event planning, and scheduling, and utilizes these skills to achieve client objectives. Prior to joining CSG, Camille worked for a political fundraising and events firm in Sacramento. Camille is graduate of Humboldt State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and a minor in Spanish. For more information, contact Camille Morgan at camille@csgcalifornia.com.
Senior Manager, Climate and Energy Policy
Neil manages CSG’s clean energy transmission portfolio and supports the broader climate and energy policy program. He is experienced in climate policy and focused on supporting the achievement of California’s climate goals. He has expertise in managing large, complex technical projects, policy analysis and novel issue development, and scoping and managing research portfolios. Neil previously worked in California State government, launching California’s Fifth Climate Change Assessment at the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and serving as the California Air Resource Board’s Local Government Climate Action Planning Liaison. At CARB, he worked with communities across California to develop climate solutions and transition to an equitable, low-carbon future and supported local government climate action planning, climate mitigation policy implementation, and research to develop statewide tracking frameworks and insights into effective climate action. Neil has a Master of Environmental Management with a focus in Environmental Economics and Policy from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and a Bachelor of Arts in German and Comparative Literature from the University of Michigan. For more information, please contact Neil at neil@csgcalifornia.com.
Senior Associate, Climate & Energy Policy
Amanda is committed to sustainability and developing innovative environmental policies that equitably benefit communities in California. Amanda's current work is focused primarily on researching and designing options for the state to double down on emissions reductions in the energy sector, while also scaling nature-based climate solutions for carbon neutrality. Prior to joining CSG, Amanda worked as a research assistant at UC Davis to study farmer's perspectives of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in the San Joaquin Valley. Amanda also previously worked with the Delta Stewardship Council to assess the vulnerability of populations within the Delta in response to extreme heat. Amanda holds a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Biological Science and Chemistry from the California State University, Fullerton and most recently completed her Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Management from the University of California, Davis. For more information, contact Amanda DeMarco at amanda@csgcalifornia.com.
Senior Associate, Legislation & Public Policy
April is an experienced policy staffer having worked in and around the California Legislature for the last 12 years. Prior to joining CSG, April served as Legislative Director for Senator Bob Wieckowski where she staffed various issue areas, including housing, transportation, and local government. During her tenure in the legislature, she worked on legislation regarding Product Stewardship and Extended Producer Responsibility, in particular on reforming the California Bottle Bill, as well as addressing environmental and safety issues around single-use propane cylinders. As an integral part of CSG's team of accomplished legislative advocates, April works closely with clients to accomplish their legislative and regulatory goals. She is a graduate of the University of California, Sacramento with a Bachelor of Arts in Government and a Minor in Peace and Conflict Resolution. For more information, contact April Bird at april@csgcalifornia.com.
Conservation Strategy Group focuses on long-term political and funding strategies for clients from inception to implementation. We are eager to hear about your project.
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