There are few topics more crucial to a healthy Sierra than wildfire – but what will it really take to address a problem this big and this urgent? Please join us for a very special online film screening of Not IF But When: Wildfire Solutions The intensity and size of this year’s wildfire season leaves […]
Healthy Forests
State of the Lake – Community Vitality
A vibrant community is based in a healthy ecosystem – but just as important is a working economy. When we were planning this event—long before pandemic made in-person gathering impossible—we wanted to foster a conversation with community members about the way our environment influences our economy and vice-versa – and how both affect quality of […]
Essential Ingredients
While driving from Oregon toward Indian Valley and my new position as Watershed Coordinator at the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment, I reflected on the circuitous route that finally brought me here. I thought of a childhood in the mossed, temperate rainforests of Oregon’s Willamette Valley, a handful of years pursuing degrees and mountain […]
Sierra Institute Chosen for Rural Community Investment
Wood utilization in the Sierra Nevada got a big boost when the Sierra Nevada Conservancy awarded $400,000 to Sierra Institute for enhancing local business. The funding will help the Taylorsville-based organization increase use of low-value, small diameter wood, creating both healthier forests and better jobs. At least 10 redeveloped industrial sites will be incorporated in […]
Collaborative forest restoration: one response to wildfire
On November 15th, Kyle and I attended a meeting of the Yosemite Stanislaus Solutions (YSS) collaborative group in Sonora, California. It includes a diverse array of stakeholders, such as representatives from Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center, Sierra Pacific Industries, Friends of Berkeley Tuolumne Camp, the Tuolumne Group of the Sierra Club, and encompasses much of […]
Learning About Forest Collaboratives
Last month I attended a meeting of the Burney-Hat Creek Community Forest and Watershed Group (BHCCFWG, or BHC for short). It was held at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory, a small building and an array of telescope dishes arranged seemingly haphazardly in the valley. The skeletons of burned trees on the surrounding mountains barely visible […]
Wrapping Up Sustainability Institute
“By taking care of the environment, the environment takes care of us.” “Sustainability is maintaining communities even during environmental and economic changes.” “Sustainability is what holds our small town together.” These were just some of the sentiments expressed by Greenville Junior/Senior High School students during the final Sustainability Institute presentations last Thursday, May 18. Groups […]
Seeing the forest and the trees
Last week I attended a U.S. Forest Service training in Central Point, OR where I took a deep dive into silvicultural modeling with the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) software. My fellow classmates represented the USFS, Bureau of Land Management, state natural resource agencies, private industry, and forestry consulting firms. Attendees were mainly from California and […]
Bringing wood-fired heat to forested California
Last week, we reviewed the importance of advancing wood utilization projects in rural forested communities. A significant component of Sierra Institute’s wood utilization work has been to develop a county-wide network of biomass heating systems by encouraging entities to convert to biomass heat. Unlike urban areas or California’s Central Valley, communities in more remote and […]
2017 Impact in Infographics
Click each infographic for a closer look at our Impact in 2017 Thank you to our staff, grantors and supporters for helping us advance our mission. We look forward to another year of positive outcomes through increasing the participation of rural communities in natural resource decision making and programs.