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February 21, 2018

Sierra Happenings

Events and Activities

Alliance's Wild & Scenic Film Festival in South Lake Tahoe

Our Wild and Scenic Film Festival combines award-winning environmental and adventure films with the energy of local activism. Featured films will include exciting outdoor adventures, environmental battles and inspirational stories of people making a difference. The film festival supports the Alliance’s work to protect and restore the Sierra through our Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership. New this year, we are adding a Wild Child Children's Film Session to our film festival! We will also still host our traditional evening adventure film session.

NEW DATE: Saturday, March 31th
Location: MontBleu, South Lake Tahoe

Please click here for more details.


Webinar: Case Studies in Forest Health and Woody Biomass Utilization

This webinar, hosted by Sierra Camp, will feature four ground-breaking case studies of organizations and individuals doing critical climate action work in the Sierra Nevada.

Date: February 28th at 10 am
Please click here for more details and to register.


Eastern Sierra Land Trust's Mule Deer Migration Corridor Field Trip

Wondering how local mule deer and other wildlife are coping with this hot and dry winter? On March 3, Eastern Sierra Land Trust invites you to join them as they explore the Round Valley mule deer herd’s migration corridor near Swall Meadows. You'll enjoy spectacular valley views, look for wildlife, and learn about the deer's migration from California Department of Fish & Wildlife expert biologist Timothy Taylor.

Date: Saturday, March 3rd
Please click here for more details.


California Adaptation Forum

The biennial California Adaptation Forum gathers the adaptation community to foster knowledge exchange, innovation, and mutual support to create resilient communities throughout the state. The Forum offers a series of engaging plenaries, sessions, networking opportunities, workshops, and tours to support our transition from adaptation awareness and planning to action.

Date: August 28th - 29th
Location: Sacramento, CA

Please click here for more details.


Job Announcements & Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteer at the Tahoe Environmental Research Center's Science Expo

TERC is currently organizing two children's Science Expos, one in North Lake Tahoe and one in South Lake Tahoe. They are looking for volunteers to teach at simple science stations at these events.

For more info, click here.

Executive Director - Alpine Watershed Group

The Executive Director (ED) is responsible for strategic planning, organizational development, financial management, fundraising, staff supervision and program operations. The ED currently supervises three staff members and one contractor and reports to the Board of Directors.

For more info, click here.

River Policy Director - South Yuba River Citizen League

SYRCL is seeking a seasoned advocate and manager with excellent leadership, communication, community organizing and coalition-building skills. Duties will be primarily dedicated to the Stop Centennial Dam and Yuba Salmon Now campaigns as well as communications and general advocacy on a variety of current issues. Position open until filled.

For more info, click here.

Conservancy Project Development Analyst II - Sierra Nevada Conservancy

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) is seeking a highly motivated individual who has strong analytical skills and natural resource experience to join the Department’s Mt. Whitney Area unit and work in our Eastern Sierra Office. The analyst will independently perform complex work related to Subregional project and program development, planning, and implementation.

For more info, click here.

Board Member - Tahoe Resource Conservation District

The Tahoe Resource Conservation District is currently seeking a new board member. Please review their website for details.

For more info, click here.

Communications Director - Tahoe Fund

The Tahoe Fund is seeking a superstar Communications Director to work in a fast-paced and lean environment. The ideal candidate will have no problem rolling up their sleeves to get the job done. We are searching for an experienced, reliable, self-motivated professional who is well connected.

For more info, click here.

Resources

Civic Spark Seeks Project Partners

Register for a CivicSpark Project Partner Informational Webinar, in which you’ll learn more about being a project partner with CivicSpark for the 2018-19 Service Year, and having a CivicSpark AmeriCorps member work on climate, water, or opportunity access projects in your community.

For more info, click here.


RFP: Log Meadow Restoration Project - Assessment and Restoration Design

American Rivers has received funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Watershed Restoration Grant Program to complete baseline assessment, conceptual and technical restoration designs and environmental compliance and permitting for the Log Meadow Restoration Project (Project). Submittals accepted until March 9th.

To learn more, please click here.


Notice of Public Review and Meeting for the Draft Mokelumne River Wild and Scenic River Study Report

The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) has prepared a draft study report to assess the eligibility and suitability of adding five segments of the Mokelumne River into the California Wild and Scenic Rivers System and is currently seeking public comment. Public comment due by February 28th.

To view the RFP, please click here.


Interactive Online Educational Platform: A Forest Without Trees

This dynamic website includes interactive information about tree mortality in the Sierra and includes shareable resources to educate others.

Check it out here.


CDFW Now Accepting Fisheries Habitat Restoration Project Proposals

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is now accepting proposals for projects under its Fiscal Year 2018-19 Fisheries Habitat Restoration Proposal Solicitation Notice.

To learn more, please click here.


Highlights

We're Hiring!

The Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership is currently hiring four half term SNAP members to serve as full time AmeriCorps members from mid-April through mid-September at various organizations around the Sierra. Applications for half-term SNAP members are due March 7th. The application is available here.

Those with questions are encouraged to reach out to SNAP Program Director, Carley O'Connell, for additional information at carley@sierranevadaalliance.org.

SNAP1

Current Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership Members



SNAP Spotlight:
Rachel Friesen
of American Rivers

SNAP1

Rachel graduated from UC Davis in 2017 with a BS in Environmental Science and Management. She grew up in the small town of Mariposa, just outside of Yosemite. Her love of the mountains led her to return to the Sierra for summer work in various roles: as a volunteer interpretive ranger in Yosemite Valley, a research assistant for a PhD student doing bioacoustic research at high elevation lake basins, and as a biological science technician restoring mountain yellow-legged frog habitat in alpine lakes in Kings Canyon National Park. These experiences piqued her interest in the nexus of human history, ecology, and the concept of wilderness.

SNAP1

Rachel smiling next to a river beaver.

Immediately after wrapping a seasonal position with the National Park Service in the backcountry of Kings Canyon, Rachel drove north to start her new AmeriCorps position with American Rivers in Nevada City. Much to her surprise, she had the opportunity to return to Kings Canyon National Park for her first week of work at American Rivers as she helped American Rivers’ Headwaters Conservation Team conduct meadow assessments in the park’s remote backcountry.

SNAP1

Rachel conducting watershed monitoring.

Back in the office during the winter months, Rachel continues to help analyze the data from the meadow assessments in Kings Canyon National Park. The meadow assessments will be used to prioritize wilderness meadows for restoration. Many of the meadows are in poor shape after intensive sheep and cattle grazing during the 19th and 20th centuries. For the full story about wilderness meadows, see Rachel’s blog post on American Rivers’ website.

So far Rachel has been involved in a variety of other projects at American Rivers. This includes monitoring for beavers at future meadow restoration sites near Lake Tahoe. Locally in Grass Valley, she organized a volunteer restoration day on a small creek. With the help of local community members and many AmeriCorps members the small floodplain looks to be in shipshape. Rachel is excited to see what the rest of her time at American Rivers has in store for her

SNAP1

Rachel (in green shirt) with fellow SNAP Members at a restoration project.



Sign the Petition to Encourage Reno to Commit to 100% Renewable Energy!

Reno is ready for 100% clean energy! Thanks to the Tesla Gigafactory, Switch, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and a Tier 1 university, Reno is already benefiting from a green and entrepreneurial economy. And with 251 days of sunshine a year and abundant geothermal potential, Reno's is in a great position to attract the companies and investments necessary to grow Reno's renewable green economy. A commitment to renewable energy sends a signal to utilities, investors, the rest of Nevada, and the world that we are working toward a cleaner, healthier future.

The gap between where we are and where we need to go is too great, and time is too short, to hesitate. We need a bold vision now. Reno has the power to create that vision.

Sign this petition encouraging the Reno city council to adopt a resolution committing to 100% renewable electricity by 2030, and 100% energy across all sectors by 2050.

SNAP1

Click the button to sign the petition!



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 Carley O'Connell, Program Associate with the Sierra Nevada Alliance.
If you have articles, events or announcements that you would like included in this newsletter or if you have feedback,
please email Carley.




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Recent News

Climate Change

Before-and-After Photos of Sierra Show Snow Levels Worse Than During Drought
Amel Ahmed, Teodros Hailye, and Criag Miller, KQED, 2/15/18

Sierra Link: California’s “frozen reservoir” is already melting. With California locked in the embrace of unseasonably dry weather and high temperatures, water content of the Sierra snowpack is currently 22 percent of the long-term average for early February.

A Hot, Dry Winter in California. Could It Be Drought Again?
Henry Fountain, The New York Times, 2/13/18

Sierra Link: A ridge of high-pressure air off the West Coast has persisted for much of the past three months, blocking many Pacific storms from reaching California and weakening others that do get through. Normally such ridges tend to come and go, but they also lingered during the 2012-16 drought, the worst in the state’s history.

Forestry

The Birth of California’s State Park System
Nathan Masters, KCET, 2/20/18

Sierra Link: California is home to some of the most dramatic landscapes anywhere in the world, so it’s no surprise that the Golden State boasts eight national parks encompassing more than 6 million acres of land teeming with biodiversity (and a few tourists, too).

Report Blasts California's Wildfire Suppression Tactics
Mike Luery, KCRA, 2/5/18

Sierra Link: The Little Hoover Commission is blasting California for "an unprecedented environmental catastrophe" due to "a century of mismanaging Sierra Nevada forests."

Recreation

Snowmobilers Asked to Avoid Areas With Minimal Snow
USFS, 2/16/18

Sierra Link: With snowpack in the Lake Tahoe Basin at low levels, the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) asks snowmobilers to shift their activities to locations with adequate snow coverage, within permitted snowmobile areas.

Ski Economy Could Suffer as Shorter Winter Seasons Are Expected by 2050, Study Says
Ashley Williams, AccuWeather, 2/20/18

Sierra Link: recent study has found that virtually all United States-based winter recreation locations could experience shorter ski seasons, exceeding 50 percent by 2050 and 80 percent in 2090 for some downhill skiing destinations.

Water

Can New California Water Storage Projects Win State Funding?
Matt Weiser, Water Deeply, 2/12/18

Sierra Link: An initial review by the California Water Commission slashed the ‘public benefits’ claimed by project applicants, prompting outrage in some quarters. Others say the process is working exactly as voters intended.

Drones and Wireless Sensors Take California Water Research to New Level
Matt Weiser, Water Deeply, 2/13/18

Sierra Link: In an effort to improve water management, the University of California will install sensor networks across various protected habitats to predict how freshwater moves, biology professor Todd Dawson explains.

Wildlife

Carrying a Torch for Rare Desert Fish
Marguerite, Eastern Sierra Land Trust, 1/26/18

Sierra Link: Since 2010, ESLT has been collaborating with local rancher Bill Bramlette and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to restore important wildlife habitat at the ponds at Benton Hot Springs Ranch. Now we are excited to announce to you that, with assistance from our partners at CalFire, we have reached a crucial step in our joint restoration plan.

CDFW to Release a Half-Million Steelhead into Feather River
CDFW, 2/12/18

Sierra Link: ore than a million steelhead eggs were endangered in February 2017 when silt and debris overwhelmed the hatchery water system following the spillway failure. CDFW is now working to replenish those populations.

Other

Californians Can Help Save Wildlife at Tax Time
CDFW, 2/15/18

A click of your mouse or a stroke of your pen can help the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) protect—or even save—California’s native sea otters and other rare, threatened and endangered animal and plant species.





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.