About Us

The Sierra Institute for Community and Environment promotes healthy and sustainable forests and watersheds by investing in the well-being of rural communities and strengthening their participation in natural resource decisions and programs.  For nearly twenty years Sierra Institute has developed innovative, place-based programs by engaging rural stakeholders through applied research, pilot studies, and collaborative problem solving.

Current Areas of Focus:

• Facilitating collaborative resource management
  Citizen involvement in the Upper Feather River Watershed
  All-Lands management efforts in Burney-Hat Creek, Amador-Calaveras, and Dinkey Creek

• Developing new tools for forest restoration and community revitalization
  Biomass feasibility, barriers, and local implementation
  Ecosystem re-investment mechanism development

• Improving health and well-being of rural residents
  Coordination among healthcare providers in Plumas and Sierra Counties
  Creation of positive, healthy opportunities for young people

• Connecting people to the landscape through education
  Summer educational tours focused on the relationships between natural resources and communities
• Natural resources education for Greenville Junior and Senior High School students

We work with rural people, from newly arrived immigrants to long-time county residents, along with organizations and government agencies to design and facilitate processes that help us understand and build collaboration for sustainable community development and stewardship of our natural resources.  And we work hard to bridge what we learn locally to what is happening in state and national policy-making.