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Events and Activities
HELP SET A GUINNESS WORLD RECORD!
The Sugar Pine Foundation & Tahoe Donner Forestry are organizing a tree planting event as a part of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative's attempt to set a world record! Together with 40 groups across North America they aim to plant roughly 200,000 trees in one hour! Our group will be planting 200+ western white pines at Tahoe Donner in the old Donner Ridge Fire scar.
Date: May 20, 2015
9:00 AM—11:00 AM
Place: Meet at 15024 Glacier Way off Skislope in Truckee. There is a parking lot on the left that ends with a gate. We will carpool from there, 10 min up a dirt road. Bring a 4WD, if you have one.
How: Bring a full water bottle, hiking shoes, sunscreen and a hat.Take advantage of this opportunity to get involved in forest restoration and be part of this world record attempt.
RSVP by email to Martin at martin@sugarpinefoundation.org or call Maria at 650-814-9565
Raft the Moke on May 30th!
Celebrate the Wild and Scenic-eligible Mokelumne by rafting the river! O.A.R.S. will be running raft trips down the Electra-Middle Bar run of the Moke to benefit the Foothill Conservancy and their efforts to preserve and protect the river. Reserve your seats today!
Date: Saturday, May 30th, 2015
8:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 3:00 PM
Place: Mokelumne River, Electra - Middle Bar Run
Price: $75 dollars and all proceeds benefit the Foothill Conservancy's Mokelumne River conservation programs.
Questions contact Carolyn at Carolyn@foothillconservancy.org or 209-223-3508
Job Announcements & Volunteer Opportunities
Center for Biological Diversity is hiring in California!
Are you dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places? The nonprofit organization is seeking 2 staff scientists - climate and ocean science, as well as several paid internships, two based in California.
Full job descriptions and application info here.
Environmental Program Manager position available with the California Tahoe Conservancy!
The California Tahoe Conservancy’s mission is to preserve, protect, restore, enhance and sustain the unique
and significant natural resources and the recreational opportunities of the Lake Tahoe Basin.
Job description and application info here.
All interested applicants must submit completed and signed State Application (Std. 678) and resume to 1061 3rd Street,
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150, Attn: Stefanie Melendez. Email applications will also be accepted:
Stefanie.melendez@tahoe.ca.gov
Resources
Rose Foundation Grant Funds Available
Rose Foundation has several opportunities for organizations to apply for funding. Rose Foundation administers numerous environmental grants funds, including two separate grassroots-oriented funds in California; watershed-oriented funds in California, Washington and Oregon; and placed-based funds which generally operate on a county-specific level, as well as other specialized funds. Each fund generally has its own unique issue focus and/or geographic scope, and most funds have separate application processes. Prospective applicants should carefully review the following fund descriptions, and follow the application instructions for the fund which is the best fit for their program.
UCLA Student Interns Available!
Professors at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability have produced a request for proposals, seeking agencies and environmental groups that would like to be the beneficiaries of students' senior theses/projects next school year. The projects are run by a faculty advisor, but all of the work is done by 6-7 seniors in the environmental science major. The projects are not law-based, but policy and management issues are welcome. Work would begin in October 2015 with deliverables due in June 2016. The program is intended to provide students with real life client experience, and students rely heavily on their practicum experience when job hunting after graduation, so the work quality is good.
For more information, here are the RFPs and to review examples of current and past projects, Click here
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Highlights
2015 - 2016 Request for Applications to Host SNAP Members
The Sierra Nevada Alliance was awarded another three-year cycle of funding for the Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership Program by the Corporation for National and Community Service and California Volunteers.
Current SNAP Members
This is a very competitive national grant program and the Alliance’s successful application provides federal funding for the 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 SNAP Program years.
The SNAP Program will place 28 Members each year at organizations across the Sierra - doing vital restoration & monitoring, education and outreach, volunteer support, and resource attainment until September 2018!
The Alliance is currently accepting applications for Host Sites for the 2015 – 2016 SNAP Program, and we encourage Sierra Nevada California conservation organizations, agencies and tribal governments to apply. SNAP Host Sites receive full-time AmeriCorps Member(s) who serve 11 months at your organization/agency from mid-October, 2015 – mid-September 2016. The mission of the SNAP program is to assess and restore impaired watershed habitats and to increase community stewardship of Sierra Nevada watersheds through education and volunteerism.
First group of SNAP Members
The program places up to twenty-eight full time AmeriCorps Members at a variety of conservation organizations, tribal governments and natural resource agencies throughout the 400-mile long ‘Range of Light’. Members conduct watershed assessment and restoration, education, outreach and volunteer recruitment. From Mt. Whitney to the Feather River, from the Foothills to the Summits, at organizations both big and small, our AmeriCorps Members have contributed to restoring the health of the Sierra’s precious watersheds through important service projects. SNAP Members have removed invasive species, stabilized stream banks, educated thousands of Sierra Nevada Residents on local and regional watershed issues, cleaned up hundreds of miles of river, built numerous trails, monitored water quality at hundreds of sites and much, much more. Applications are due May 30, 2015.
Please click here to learn more about hosting a SNAP member in our 2015-2016 Program!.
If you would like to support the SNAP program, please click here to donate to the Alliance.
The policy of the Resource is to include articles that appear in local or
major media outlets relevant to Sierra conservation. We also include news
releases, event notices, funding opportunities and job announcements sent to
us from our Member Groups and friends. If you as a reader disagree with the
content of a submission we encourage you to submit a letter to the editor of
the issuing publication to reach the broader audience who read the article.
You are welcome to forward your letter to the editor to the Alliance for
inclusion in our new "Letters to the Resource" section. We also invite Letters
to the Resource to be directly submitted on any article with which you're
concerned.
Newsletter contents prepared by Kate Gladstein.
If you have articles, events or announcements that you would like included in this newsletter or if you have feedback, please email kate@sierranevadaalliance.org.
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Recent News
Climate Change
Shorter winters, longer shoulder season mean it's time to rethink—everything
Mammoth Times, Staff Report, 4/27/15
Sierra Link: The town of Mammoth recently hosted the first ever Synergy Summit, attended by many agencies and stakeholders, with the topic of "no-snow recreation", and adapting to likely shorter and less consistent winter seasons. Climate change is affecting Sierra communities profoundly, and this will not be the first summit of this nature.
Gov. Brown slashes Sacramento Delta environmental protection
High Country News, Kate Schimel, 5/7/15
Sierra Link: Sierra Link: Governor Jerry Brown announced last Thursday that a plan to transport northern California water south via twin tunnels would be accompanied by just a third of the originally planned habitat protection. The Delta transports Sierra water to much of California, supporting a $500 million agricultural industry and delivering drinking water for two-thirds of the state.
Forestry
Drought kills 12 million California trees
KCRA, David Bienick, 5/6/15
Sierra Link: California's drought is causing trees to die at an alarming rate, and firefighters worry that dead timber will explode in fire. Researchers with the USFS recently conducted a survey recording approximately 12 million recently killed trees. The Sierra is central to this issue and a researcher mentions flying low over a stretch of the southern Sierra Nevada region.
Hundreds of lapsed water permits discovered on Forest Service land
High Country News, Kate Schimel, 5/3/15
Sierra Link: Nestle, and other water industry giants have been pumping water to bottle and sell in California for over a century. A recent assessment of water-related permits found that over half had expired, many at least a decade past, and many on National Forest lands. What does this pumping without supervision dictate for Sierra water resources?
Recreation
California Highway Patrol rescues thirsty, lost PCT hiker only 12 hours into trek
Sacramento Bee, Richard Chang and Bill Lindelof, 5/5/15
Sierra Link: As water resources dwindle and streams run dry, what does this mean for outdoor recreation and thousands of miles of Sierra Nevada hiking trails? How much more will we be asking of our emergency search and rescue teams?
National forest land in Sierra Nevada reopens after devastating King fire
Sacramento Bee, Hudson Sangree, 4/25/15
Sierra Link: Last September, the massive King fire swept through the El Dorado National Forest, turning more than 63,000 acres of public land into a vast dead zone of blackened trees and scorched earth. Recently, more than seven months after the blaze, park officials reopened the damaged lands for public use.
Water
Starbucks Says It Will Stop Bottling Water in California
Mother Jones, Anna Lenzer, 5/8/15
Sierra Link: Starbucks announced that it will phase out use of its California bottling plant for Ethos Water over the next six months. Due to serious drought conditions, the company will transition from Placer County in the Sierra to a Pennsylvania supplier while looking for another western source.
Walmart found to be sourcing bottled water from drought-stricken California
The Guardian, Amanda Holpuch, 5/11/15
Sierra Link: Walmart is the latest company, discovered by a CBS13 investigation, to be sourcing its bottled water from Sacramento's drought-stricken municipal water supply, as state residents push for greater regulation of the bottling industry. According to the USGS, less than 1% of state water is used in the bottling industry, however, with statewide water restrictions, there is a call for regulating the consumption of public resources for profit.
Plan to release 2.5 billions of gallons of water in Shasta County for salmon draws concern
Record Searchlight, Redding.com, Clay Duda, 4/28/15
Sierra Link: Shasta County locals, faced with water cutbacks and restrictions, are calling on the Bureau of Reclamation to nix plans to send more than 2.5 billion gallons of water down Clear Creek this summer to benefit migrating salmon. How will drought restrictions and subsequent water wars affect the Sierra?
Wildlife
Stranded Truckee River trout relocated to Lake Tahoe via volunteer catch and release
Moonshine Ink, Sage Sauerbrey, 4/22/15
Sierra Link: Volunteer efforts coordinating Trout Unlimited, the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and California Trout, evacuated roughly 40 stranded trout from a now-disconnected pool of the Truckee River to Lake Tahoe by means of fishing rods and lures. The trout had been stranded since Lake Tahoe dropped before its natural rim in August 2014, and dissolved oxygen levels were descending to near-unlivable conditions. Zero fish were harmed.
Endangered Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Restored to Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks
YubaNetNews, Yosemite National Park, 3/30/15
Sierra Link: The Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep is the only federally endangered mammal in Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon. A multiagency operation was recently concluded that returned two herds of endangered bighorn sheep to locations in Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks.
Other Articles
Builders Flood Congress To Block Obama’s Bid To Regulate Creeks
National Memo, Alan Bjera and Mark Drajem of Bloomberg News, 4/29/15
Sierra Link: President Barack Obama’s plan to expand protections for waterways is in jeopardy as builders and farmers have won the support of Congress to block it. The EPA wishes to revamp regulatory guidelines; Opponents fear federal overreach. How could this affect Sierra waterways, economies, and habitats?
Draining California
National Geographic, Virginia W. Mason, Kelsey Nowakowski, Eric Knight.
Sierra Link: National Geographic has produced a fascinating virtual tour of California's waterways and how we have manipulated their flow for agriculture. One stop on this tour highlights source water in the Sierra Nevada.
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Sierra Nevada Alliance
P.O. Box 7989
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96158
| phone: | 530.542.4546 |
| fax: | 530.542.4546 |
www.sierranevadaalliance.org
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Since 1993 the Sierra Nevada Alliance has been protecting and restoring Sierra lands, water, wildlife and communities. The regional climate change program shapes and implements county and regional resource plans that promote smart land use, incorporate sustainable water management practices, aggressively reduce greenhouse gases and adapt to climate change.
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