We began this week with the first snowfall of the season gently blanketing the mountainside beyond Taylorsville. This first glimpse of winter symbolizes the march of time in what has felt like an endlessly dry summer—one where our community was upended for weeks on end, concluding for far too many with tragedy and loss, in […]
October 2021
Economic Development and Workforce Solutions – Sierra Forest Entrepreneurs
By Addie Wright and Lauren Redmore For rural forested areas across Northern California, economic development initiatives can sometimes be at odds with the environmental and social needs of local communities. As an organization committed to advancing both community and environment, the Sierra Institute has been involved in socio-economic monitoring of many communities over the years. […]
SCALE and The Evolving Impacts of Wildfire
In the Winter of 2020, the Sierra Institute conducted a series of interviews in preparation for our SCALE meeting, in which we aimed to gain perspective from our stakeholders regarding their experience in the 2020 wildfire season. The impacts discussed in these conversations were highly-varied and nuanced, ranging from practical discussions of hindered collaborative and […]
How Has the Dixie Fire Affected Sierra Institute’s Work?
By Kyle Rodgers and Noah Abramson The Dixie Fire burned hot through several communities, reducing homes, businesses, and everything in between to piles of burned rubble. It is hard to reflect on positive fire effects when so much was lost, but looking across the landscape there are some hints of hope among the smoke. Our […]
RISE-ing Up To The Challenge
By Lauren Redmore and Zoe Watson The timber industry decline that led to mill closures in the 1990s left many rural forested communities in California without an economic base, driving out many families in search of economic opportunity. Those who stayed behind still lack family supporting employment opportunities. As timber processing capability plummeted before stabilizing […]