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May 29, 2015

Sierra Happenings

Events and Activities

Forestry Management Field Tours!

There will be two field tours (both Shasta and Central Sierra) highlighting the development of a family-owned forest management plan. Tours will teach field forestry practices as well as various programs available to encourage forest management. Topics to be discussed include developing a forest management plan, Working with a registered professional forester (RPF), Fuels reduction, Insects and disease, and Cost-sharing.

Dates: June 3 & 10, 2015

9:00 AM—11:00 AM
Place: Camp McCumber, 35440 Deer Flat Road, Shingletown, CA 96088 & Blodgett Forest Research Station, University of California Center for Forestry, 4501 Blodgett Forest Road, Georgetown, CA 95634.

RSVP by email to Richard B. Standiford at standifo@berkeley.edu

Celebrate National Trails Day with Placer Land Trust and the American Hiking Society!

Placer Land Trust will be hosting a day of activities to celebrate nature trails, as well as the completion of their Recreation Campaign which raised almost $750,000 towards a 50-mile continuous public trail system connecting multiple PLT preserves and Hidden Falls Regional Park, to open in upcoming years.

Dates: June 6, 2015

7:30 AM—12:30 PM
Place: PLT's Big Hill Preserve

For more information and to register, click here! or call Kara at 530-887-9222.

Wild for the Yuba!

The South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) seeks 50 volunteers for the Wild for the Yuba party! Volunteers will receive free access to the event, including local wine and brew tasting and a live show by heavy horn and funky soul band Mojo Green!

Date: Saturday, June 6, 2015

Place: 12075 Auburn Road, Grass Valley
Price: Free for volunteers!

To register for the Symposium, click here
Questions? Email Jenn Tamo or call 530-265-5961


Job Announcements & Volunteer Opportunities

Associate Director: Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour!

The South Yuba River Citizens League seeks an Associate Director to lead and manage the Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour (WSFF On Tour) program. Now in its 9th year, WSFF On Tour provides a turn-key fundraiser, membership drive, and awareness-building event to other organizations offering a selection of films from SYRCL’s annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival, held in Nevada City and Grass Valley CA.

Full job descriptions and application info here.

River Education Coordinator!

The South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL), a watershed conservation organization, is located in Nevada City, CA. SYRCL’s River Education Program aims to educate people of all ages to be informed and passionate stewards and lifelong advocates of the Yuba River watershed. The River Education Coordinator will be responsible for implementing all of SYRCL’s current education programs, developing new programs, and assisting with fundraising to sustain the education program.

Job description and application info here.

Submit your cover letter and resume electronically to Rachel Hutchinson, River Science Director. No phone calls, please!


Resources

Recommendations for Preventing and Resolving Groundwater Conflicts: Stanford Law School

A new report from Stanford University’s "Water in the West" explores ideas for preventing or resolving potential groundwater disputes in California. The report looks at conflicts that may arise from the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014. There is also a list of findings, including clarifying groundwater property rights, that could resolve problems.


Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and Proposition 1 Public Workshop

The State Water Board, Division of Financial Assistance, invites you to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and Proposition 1 Public Workshop to be held at three California locations in June 2015. The three public workshops will provide State Water Board staff with an opportunity to answer questions and receive comments on the Draft SFY 2015-16 DWSRF IUP and the proposed Proposition 1 guidelines, which are posted online here.

The workshops will be held in Rancho Cordova on June 22, Fresno on June 25, and Riverside on June 29th. More information here.

To sign up for any of the 3 workshops, please visit the Rancho Cordova, Fresno, or Riverside registration sites.


Highlights

Save the Date: September 25 & 26, 2015
Sierra Nevada Alliance’s
21st Conference!

Our 2015 Conference will activate the Alliance we have built over the last 21 years by engaging and exciting our Member Groups and individual activists about environmental issues affecting the Sierra.

Save the Date: Sept 25 & 26

We will work together to choose 2-4 issues to pursue over the next 1-3 years, with a check-in at next year’s Conference. The process will include identifying Issue Leaders – Member Groups and individuals – to lead each issue area with support from the Alliance network. The Alliance will act as a hub to coordinate and provide accountability, connections, and resources.

There will also be plenty of networking opportunities, educational and inspirational speakers, good food, and a beautiful venue.

Mark your calendars, stay tuned for more details, and we look forward to seeing you in September!!
Please click here to learn more!
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If you would like to support the Sierra Nevada Alliance Initiatives, please click here to contribute to our funding.


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

Western states wrestle with Obama’s Clean Power Plan
High Country News, Elizabeth Shogren, 5/11/15

Sierra Link: Representatives of 13 Western states and utilities gather to grapple with the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants by 30 percent on average by 2030. This will have a major impact on energy systems in the West, and certainly in the Sierra Nevada.

Hot in here? Warming climate bad news for Sierra snow
Reno Gazette-Journal, Benjamin Spillman, 4/1/15

Sierra Link: This Reno, NV based publication astutely presents climate data affecting the Sierra Nevada region, and describes how the changing climate has affected and will continue to affect our community.

Forestry

Healthier forests through partnerships, Forest Service says
Calaveras Enterprise, Enterprise Report, 5/12/15

Sierra Link: As part of a national effort to reduce catastrophic wildfires, the U.S. Forest Service is heralding partnerships with the Stanislaus and Eldorado National Forest communities, including local groups and agencies, in a program known as the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLR), to impressive results.

Man Sentenced for Marijuana Operation and Sparking the Nicolls Fire in Sequoia National Forest
YubaNetNews, 5/26/15

Sierra Link: A Perris man was sentenced today to six years and 10 months in prison for his involvement in a large‑scale marijuana cultivation operation in the Smith Canyon area of the Sequoia National Forest in Kern County and for his role in starting the Nicolls Fire. Unauthorized marijuana cultivation on public land is a major issue in the Sierra; The Nicolls Fire destroyed about 1,680 acres of public land and caused over $6.5 million of damage.

Recreation

Final approval given for Heavenly mountain project expansion
Sacramento Bee, Barbara Barte Osborn, 5/14/15

Sierra Link: Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe received final approval for its proposed expansion of on-mountain summer activities, including zip line and rope course tours, an alpine coaster, a mountain bike park, multi-use trails, and educational tours to teach visitors about the Lake Tahoe regional culture and environment. But will Heavenly proceed while improving water quality and ensuring protection of sensitive areas, as implied by the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board?

A Yosemite gathering takes on culture, race, socioeconomics in National Parks
High Country News, James Edward Mills, 5/27/15

Sierra Link: One hundred and twelve years to the day after President Theodore Roosevelt and naturalist John Muir sat by a campfire and discussed what would become the National Park System, an eclectic group of conservation professionals gathered at Yosemite Valley to discuss how to encourage people of all races and ethnicities to feel welcome in them.


Water

Drought cuts power production of California dams
Los Angeles Times, Rosanna Xia, 5/16/15

Sierra Link: The drought has cut levels at the state's reservoirs, drastically reducing electricity output. The Lake Shasta Dam is now at 50% capacity, cutting production of its hydroelectric power plant by about a third.

Water conservation is the State Water Resources Control Board’s primary goal
The Sacramento Bee, Editorial Board, 5/16/15

Sierra Link: Felicia Marcus, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, discussed water issues and state efforts to mandate water conservation with The Sacramento Bee's editorial board last week. This month, the Water Board adopted emergency drought regulations and ordered water districts to cut usage by up to 36 percent. This directly impacts our Sierra headwaters.

EPA Issues Final Rules Protecting Drinking Water and Streams
NBC News, Associated Press, 5/27/15

Sierra Link: The Obama administration issued new rules Wednesday to protect the nation's drinking water and clarify which smaller streams, tributaries and wetlands are covered by anti-pollution and development provisions of the Clean Water Act. These rules will only affect waters such as ours in the Sierra highlands, which have "direct and significant" connections to larger water bodies already protected downstream.

Wildlife

Feds move to protect birds from oil pits and power lines
High Country News, Elizabeth Shogren, 5/27/15

Sierra Link: U.S. Fish and Wildlife is considering regulations to reduce risks to migratory birds from the oil and gas industry, power lines and communications towers. Regulations are considered as a response to significantly declining populations of migratory bird species, particularly protected raptors and water birds in arid environments and grasslands. What does this mean for Sierra bird species?

"Bear Whisperer" is Bearing Down
Mammoth Times, Staff Report 4/23/15

Sierra Link: Steve Searles, Mammoth's "Bear Whisperer" and wildlife specialist, is nervous about the upcoming summer.

Other Articles

Are we in a Megadrought?
High Country News, Brian Calvert, 4/10/15

Sierra Link: Brian Calvert hosts SOUNDTABLE, a collaboration between High Country News and a Colorado radio station. Their first episode focuses on the drought in the western U.S. and is available on the linked page.

Oil Spill Blights the California Coastline
NBC News, nbcnews.com, 5/20/15

Sierra Link: NBC compiled a photo gallery documenting the May 19th crude oil spill of 21,000 gallons, ruptured from a Plains All American pipeline along the California coastline near Refugio State Beach. Effects of such a high magnitude petroleum spill are far-reaching, and we will soon see its impacts on Sierra Nevada water quality and biodiversity.





Sierra Nevada Alliance

P.O. Box 7989
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96158

phone: 530.542.4546
fax:530.542.4546

www.sierranevadaalliance.org




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.