California at 175: Historic environmental laws, dire wolves, and more
Original story by Margaret Crable
When California became a state on Sept. 9, 1850, it was due in large part to the Gold Rush. Thousands of prospectors flowing into the once-sparsely populated territory made forming an organized government an urgent necessity. It was a fitting start. California’s trajectory since its founding has been guided by similar trends of migration, innovation and ambition.
At a recent Dornsife Dialogues event hosted by the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, scholars from the College and the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West dug into key points across 175 years of California’s history, ranging from ancient wolves to the origins of California’s powerhouse tech industries.
Jill Sohm, director of the Environmental Studies Program, shared how California has been an innovator in environmental policy as well. In 2000, the state passed a law to protect its coastal waters with a network of Marine Protected Areas. The network includes Catalina Island’s Big Fisherman Cove, which sits adjacent to the Wrigley Marine Science Center and plays a major role in the Wrigley Institute’s education and research programs.
“Carrying out this type of work in 2000 was way ahead of the curve and created an example for the rest of the world,” Sohm explains.