Events and Activities
20th Annual Markleeville Creek Day
Alpine Watershed Group, in partnership with the Great Sierra River Cleanup, will be hosting its 20th annual Markleeville Creek Day on Saturday, September 21, 2019. Volunteers will have the opportunity to plant willows in Hope Valley, remediate headcuts in Grover Hot Springs State Park, remove invasive and noxious weeds from meadows and riparian zones, or cleanup roads as part of the Adopt-A- Highway program. There will also be kid friendly events, including painting picnic tables in Heritage Park and cleaning up Markleeville Creek. All are welcome to attend. No experience is necessary.
Date: September 21, 2019
For more info, click here
Great Sierra River Clean Up, Eastern Sierra Land Trust
The Sierra Club and Tangle Free Waters is hosting this Great day in correlation with a statewide volunteer event focused on removing trash from and restoring the health of the Sierra Nevada waterways. Help us do our part to keep our Eastern Sierra Rivers clean!
Date: September 21, 2019
For more info, click here or call (530) 694-2327 and email awg.snap.rm@gmail.com
The Great Sierra River Clean Up at American River Conservancy
Did you know that it takes 450 years for a plastic beverage bottle to decompose? Don’t miss this year’s annual Great Sierra River CleanUp Day Saturday, September 21st! 8:30am to Noon with volunteer appreciation lunch to follow at Wakamatsu Farm.
We’ll cleanup various sites in the region including Hangtown Creek, South Fork American River, Traverse Creek, Cosumnes River and Folsom Reservoir.
Date: September 21, 2019
For more info, click here
Symposium: Climate Change and the Ecology of Sierra Nevada Forests
This symposium will focus on the responses of Sierra Nevada forests and adjacent ecosystems (such as meadows) and the organisms that comprise them to increasing climate stresses.
Participants will be invited to submit a paper related to their talk or poster to a special issue of Western North American Naturalist by May 2020; our aim is to gather at least 15 such papers. We also aim to have a diversity of institutions (academic and non-academic), career stages, focal organisms and ecosystems, and human demographics (age, gender, race/ethnicity, etc.) represented - therefore please share this announcement widely! The symposium is co-sponsored by The Sierra Nevada Research Institute and Western North American Naturalist.
Date: September 21-22, 2019
For more info, click here
SYRCL's 22nd Annual Yuba River Cleanup
Welcome to the 22nd Annual Yuba River Cleanup. Register today to join nearly 1,000 volunteers from our community, helping to keep our watershed clean. A clean river means a beautiful, healthy river and a healthy river in the Sierra can impact life downstream, all the way to the sea.
Date: September 22, 2019
For more info, click here
KTMB's Truckee River Cleanup
Join us for our 16th annual Truckee River Cleanup where you can volunteer to clean our river corridor and keep it pristine for all to enjoy. Cleanup and beautification project span from Verdi to Lockwood, and also include river tributaries. Projects include storm-drain stenciling, litter pickup, graffiti removal, weed pulling and park beautification projects. KTMB hosts a volunteer appreciation picnic after the cleanup to thank volunteers for their efforts with barbecue, beer (21 and older, of course) and prizes.
Date: September 28, 2019
For more info, click here
MAP's Trout Creek Pocket Park Stewardship Day
Get outside with Mountain Area Preservation and Vail EpicPromise for a Stewardship Day at Trout Creek Pocket Park. We will be picking up litter, removing invasive weeds and planting native, drought tolerant species to help improve the ecological function of this greenspace in Historic Downtown Truckee.
Date: October 11, 2019
For more info, click here
Truckee River Day
It was that first Truckee River Day in 1996 that spawned today’s Truckee River Watershed Council. Since then thousands of nature-lovers have shown up yearly with their gumboots, buckets, shovels and smiles to take on restoration projects throughout the watershed.
Work along side your friends—and make new ones—as together we:
restore designated sites, plant native vegetation, mulch sensitive areas, and repair our mountain home.
Date: October 20, 2019
For more info, click here
2019 Water Summit
This daylong conference will be held October 30, 2019 at a new location along the Sacramento River in Sacramento. The annual Water Summit, now in its 36th year, features top policymakers and leading stakeholders providing the latest information and viewpoints on issues impacting water across California and the West.
Date: October 30, 2019
For more info, click here
Job Announcements & Volunteer Opportunities
Mountain Area Preservation - Development Director
The Development Director, working closely with the Executive Director, is responsible for the strategic oversight, development, and implementation of a comprehensive fundraising program that secures the financial resources needed to support Mountain Area Preservation’s land use and environmental advocacy work.
For more info, click here.
Tahoe Conservancy-Tahoe-Central Sierra Initiative Coordinator, Senior Environmental Scientist
Under the general direction of the Landscape Forestry Supervisor, the incumbent will coordinate as well as provide strategic, technical, facilitation, and project management support to the Tahoe-Central Sierra Initiative (TCSI), and ensure its alignment with state and regional mandates.
For more info, click here.
Land & Recreation Manager, Placer Land Trust
Placer Land Trust (PLT) is seeking an experienced Land & Recreation Manager with strong technical experience and interpersonal skills to manage/monitor protected land and develop/support public recreation and land access programs on certain PLT properties/preserves.
For more info, click here.
UCANR- Community Education Specialist 2
The Community Education Specialist 2 will perform the full range of program implementation duties on methods to reduce wildfire risk, especially prescribed fire in Mariposa, Merced, Madera and Fresno Counties. The incumbent will be responsible for the coordination, management, and delivery of educational programs to clientele and community members through a combination of direct education and by training the trainers.
For more info, click here.
Senior Engineer (Water Quality Protection)
This position serves as the Water Quality Protection Senior Engineer providing essential technical expertise for the City's source water protection program. This position provides program management and technical expertise in the protection of the City's Lower American River and Sacramento River water supplies, including development of the American and Sacramento River Watershed Sanitary Survey Update reports, comments, and technical materials to support watershed stakeholder efforts.
For more info, click here.
Volunteers Wanted for the Reclaiming the Sierra Conference
There are a variety of volunteer roles and time slots during the conference as well as pre-conference volunteer shifts in Nevada City.
For more info, click here.
Sequoia Riverlands Trust is Partnering with Waldron to Conduct a Search for a New Executive Director
The Executive Director will weave together SRT’s conservation, mitigation, education, and policy programs in a way that ensures financial sustainability and meets the needs of SRT’s diverse stakeholders in the counties it serves.
For more info, click here.
Highlights
Alliance Updates
The Alliance has been incredibly busy this summer. Here is an update of all that we have been doing.
Sierra Nevada Alliance Forest Corps Program:
The Sierra Nevada Alliance is proud to present the Sierra Corps Forestry Fellowship
Program starting this Fall with generous grant funding from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. One of the most prevalent challenges facing efforts to restore Sierra Nevada forests today is a shortage of experienced workforce to implement restoration projects. Implementation funds are abundant, but technically trained staff is limited. With this difficulty in mind, the Sierra Corps Program will initially place at least three Fellows with Host Site partners throughout the region for technical training and work in forest health, biomass utilization, and wildfire recovery efforts. The Alliance is also actively seeking funds to at least double the number of Fellows in the next year. Fellows are expected to bring some previous experience in, and passion for, forest health work to boost their career in this field and assist with restoration implementation, strategic assessment and monitoring, technical permitting and planning, GIS analyses, community outreach, collaborative facilitation, or other relevant tasks. This program is modeled after the Alliance’s 14-year-old Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership watershed program. Both programs create a legacy of conservation leaders for the Sierra and Nation and build capacity for Alliance conservation Member Group partners to strengthen the overall impact of work on the ground. Those interested in hosting a Sierra Corps Forestry Fellow or becoming a fellow can visit the alliance website, here.
Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership:
Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Members congregated in Markleeville August 26th-29th for the 2018/19 SNAP Cohort graduation. During this four day graduation SNAP Members members worked on trails with Tahoe Rim Trail Association to build trail and removed invasive species at Grover Hot Springs State Park with Alpine Watershed Group and State Parks. Each member presented a short powerpoint presentation about their service year and were celebrated by site supervisors and Alliance staff. SNAP members returned to their sites on Thursday, August 29th and are currently finishing up their service which ends on September 21st. The next SNAP cohort will begin their service on October 16th, 2019.
The Alliance is also excited about efforts to grow our Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership Alumni Program. The Alliance hosted the first Alumni event at the Hanger in South Lake Tahoe on August 28th. The Alliance hopes to leverage our network of Alumni and further engage former SNAP Members in Alliance work. To achieve this goal we have assembled an Alumni Committee, which will help invigorate and steer this new program. If you are a SNAP Alumni and you interested in participating in this committee, please contact Jenny Hatch at jenny@sierranevadaalliance.org.
Member Group Meeting:
Sierra Nevada Alliance held our Annual Member Group Meeting on September 3rd. The Annual Member group Meeting gives Member Group Organizations an opportunity to learn about the direction of the Alliance and offer feedback, participate in Alliance Board elections, share about the work of their organizations, and connect with other Alliance Member Groups. This year Alliance Executive Director, Jenny Hatch shared the Alliance’s new purpose, mission, vision and five year strategic plan. Members shared their work, and board members were confirmed. New Alliance board members include: Julia Kim who leads the Climate Change Team at the Local Government Commission, a Sacramento-based non-profit working to advance transformative policies and build livable communities throughout California, Chris Wright who served on Calaveras County Board of Supervisors until January of 2017 and currently runs a small nonprofit Sierra named CPR, working to conserve, protect and restore the “Range of Light”, Erika Seward who serves as Co-Executive Director of Bear Yuba Land Trust and as an environmental conservation advocate through the Sierra Consortium and Land Trust Alliance with a background in marketing, and Lynn Baumgartner, Development Associate at Mountain Area Preservation and former Alliance staff.
Climate Initiative:
Climate Fellows Sam Ruderman and Meredith Anderson have returned as Civic Spark Fellows. Their Second term projects will move the needle on climate resolutions passed in Lake Tahoe. Specifically, they will continue to work on projects for the City of South Lake Tahoe and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency as their primary local beneficiaries. In 2017, the City of South Lake Tahoe signed the 100% Renewable Resolution, which committed the City to a number of sustainability goals. First, it committed to achieving 50% municipal renewable energy 100% renewable electricity by 2032 and 100% renewable energy by 2050 in the community. Second, it committed to reducing emissions by 50% by 2030 and 80% by 2040. Lastly, it required the City to conduct updated greenhouse gas emissions inventories every three years. The City was the first to pass this resolution in the Sierra, paving the way for other jurisdictions to follow suite.
Monthly Webinar Series:
The Sierra Nevada Alliance's Free Webinar Series continues this month on September 25th at 2:00 PM with "Change and Variability in the Sierra Nevada Cryosphere", presented by Benjamin Hatchett, Ph.D. at Western Regional Climate Center. The Sierra Nevada has experienced notable variability in weather and climate during the last decade with other significant changes occurring over the past century. Regional climate projections indicate further increases in precipitation variability and the intensity of winter storms. These precipitation changes will be superimposed with continued warming, leading to severe declines in snowpack. Ben will share insight from a variety of studies aiming to characterize individual historic extreme weather and climate events as well as longer-term changes. Recent trends in snow line elevations, the timing of achieving sufficient early season snowpack for recreation, the partitioning of cool season precipitation into rain and snow, and the types and origins of snow droughts will be explored. The value of long-term, high elevation observational networks and ongoing citizen science projects, namely the Community Snow Observations (http://communitysnowobs.org/) project, will be highlighted. Sign up for the webinar here.
Sierra Water Workgroup Summit:
Sierra Water Workgroup’s summit took place on September 12th and 13th at North Tahoe Event Center. This Alliance Sponsored event brought water leaders throughout the Sierra together to learn about and coordinate on approaches to addressing catastrophic fire, water supply, flood and environmental protection. Speakers share, insights into current state of Sierra Waters, ideas for collaboration, and tools to support this important work. The summit also featured a listening session for the Water Resilience Portfolio that will be shared with the governor's office.
Action Alert from Sierra Forest Legacy
The U.S. Forest Service is developing management plans for the 2.1 million acres of the Sierra and Sequoia National Forests that will define management of the forests for decades. So far, the plans fall short of the protections the Forests deserve, but it's not too late! They're taking public comment on the plans until September 26 - now is your chance to speak up.
Take Action! Ask the Forest Service to adopt Alternative C with the changes noted below. Alternative C recommends far more wilderness protection, proposes more acres of forest restored through prescribed and managed fire, better protection for old forest species, meadows and riparian conservation than the Forest Service's Preferred Alternative (Alternative B).
Comments must be posted by Thursday, 9/26/2019. Comments can be submitted via the electronic comment submission form, by email (r5planrevision@fs.fed.us), or US mail (Planning Team Leader, Forest Plan Revision, 1323 Club Drive, Vallejo, CA 94592).
Visit Sierra Forest Legacy's website for more information. Click here to visit website.
Resources
Recreational Trails and Greenways Grant Program
The California Natural Resources Agency will be accepting proposals for the Recreational Trails and Greenways Grant Program from August 20 through October 11, 2019 via the System for Online Application Review (SOAR).
$27.7 million in awards will be funded by this program. Applicants submitting the most competitive proposals will be invited to participate in the next level of the competitive process, anticipated for mid-late December 2019. Projects must be completed by March 2024 (Project completion based on current appropriation information).
Learn more here.
California Wildlands Grassroots Fund
California is blessed with tremendous natural beauty, biological diversity and economic opportunity. Yet, our remaining wildland heritage is in jeopardy from poorly managed growth and development. Californians have long recognized the importance of preserving our spectacular and precious wildlands. The California Wildlands Grassroots Fund (Cal Wildlands) was established to support the heroic efforts of activists to preserve California’s wildlands.
Learn more here.
Sierra CAMP Grant Guide
This page features climate-related funding databases and funding opportunities that are ongoing or accepting applications on a rolling basis. Updates on one-time or irregular, non-rolling grant opportunities, such as cap-and-trade grant program notices of funding availability, as well as opportunities to provide feedback on state funding guidelines, are provided to Sierra CAMP members on a monthly basis. For more updates, follow us on social media.
Learn more here.
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 Sara Monson, Education and Communication Director 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 Sara.
If you would like to support the Sierra Nevada Alliance initiatives,
please click here to contribute to our funding.
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