Charles Webber (c) California Academy of Sciences Sequioa Kings Canyon National Park, Little Five Lakes

This fall the Sierra Nevada Alliance was awarded a grant from the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund to launch a bold regional campaign to address the state’s water needs, while maintaining the environmental values of the Sierra. Global climate change, growing population demands and lack of regional coordination could devastate Sierra rivers, lakes and streams. Regional water organizing is a new and critical tool for changing the relationship between people and their environment to conserve our natural systems for future generations. The Alliance plans to lead the regional way in the Sierra.

The Sierra Nevada supplies over 60% of California’s developed water, as well as water to Nevada. At the same time our rivers, lakes and streams are the most impaired ecosystems of the range. One example of damage already done is 90% of the Sierra’s original salmon spawning habitat is blocked due to the curtain of Sierra dams. Over half our native fish populations are unstable.

The current damage, however, is only the tip of the iceberg for what could occur in the future. Global climate change is predicted to significantly alter our weather patterns, increasing spring rains and decreasing the snow pack, which traditionally melts in the summer. This will put significant pressure on water agencies to increase water holding capacity to supply water during the summer to the rest of the state. Common past solutions to this have been building more dams, increasing the size of the dams, or draining more water from Sierra lakes, streams and rivers.

Draining Sierra lakes significantly is not unheard of. Ask the Alliance member group League to Save Sierra Lakes. The El Dorado Irrigation District has the water rights for the high Sierra jewels of Caples, Silver and Aloha lakes. With new developments springing up in the county, the irrigation district has begun to claim their ancient water quantity rights to supply new consumers. Residents and businesses along the high Sierra lakes have seen them drained notably. This issue is in the courts and is a harbinger of many more battles to come.

More dams, larger dams and/or water diversions will certainly harm already threatened fish and wildlife in the Sierra, not to mention mar the experience of anglers, rafters, hikers, and others who consider wildlife central to their recreation and enjoyment. Now couple this with the fact that the Sierra’s regional population is forecast to more than triple to nearly 2 million people by 2040. Water demands sky rocket.

Perhaps increasing demands for Sierra water would not be a problem if a coordinated and informed effort were underway by government and non-government interests. But the fact is, there is little to no regional coordination amongst the governmental and non-governmental hydropower, water supply, flood control, and watershed management players.

One example of this lack of coordination amongst players and the repercussions to the environment is the recent case of Folsom dam running out of cold water during one of the highest fall salmon runs in the last twenty years on the American River, killing off a significant portion of the run. During the California energy crisis 2001/2002, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) released water for hydropower generation in the winter. Consequently, the Folsom cold water pool was exhausted before the Salmon run had finished and SMUD released warm water which killed off many salmon. SMUD, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers were not adequately communicating with each other to prevent this situation.

Clearly the Sierra needs a coordinated regional campaign to pro-actively protect our waterways and wildlife habitat while supplying water and power to California and Nevada in the future. The Mono Lake Committee, in their successful efforts of restoring water to Mono Lake, sets a good example to follow. We need to be informed, organize our regional interests, and coordinate with government agencies and water end users.

The Alliance’s regional water campaign will form a region-wide taskforce to do regional water coordination, planning, and capacity building to implement a strategy to supply water to the state while preserving our wildlife, scenery, and health of the Sierra. For a true solution, all of the players upstream, downstream and throughout the entire range must be communicating and engage in long term strategies to address the goals of their diverse water interests. The Alliance campaign will result in Sierra interests working from a position of strength with water consumers, agencies and possibly legislators to pro-actively reduce water demands and creatively supply water for the future.

The Sierra Nevada Alliance is uniquely poised to lead this effort, having been a leader in forming and supporting local collaborative watershed groups in the Sierra and leveraging regional, state and federal resources to assist these efforts. The Alliance is also well networked and respected in the region amongst local, regional and statewide conservation groups.

Regional water organizing is a new and critical tool for changing the relationship between people and their environment to conserve our natural systems for future generations. Expect to hear much more about this ambitious effort in the coming year.

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Clearly, the Sierra Nevada is a chest of natural treasures for the state of California. However, this year, a bill to establish a conservancy to provide state funding for conservation projects throughout the Sierra failed to pass the California legislature.

The Sierra is 29% of the state’s land mass, supplies 60 percent of the state’s water, and is one of the premier recreational destinations in the world. The Sierra is recognized internationally for its habitat and biological diversity. Yet, the region receives less than 1% of state funding outside the Tahoe basin for conservation improvements, acquisitions, and resource management. The Santa Monica mountains, California Coast, and even the San Diego River, among other regions have a state conservancy to address resource needs – but not the Sierra.

A diverse set of stakeholders called the Sierra Nevada Conservancy Working Group, formed by the Sierra Business Council and hosted by the Natural Resources Agency, worked many hours to change this. The Sierra Nevada Alliance was the sole regional conservation organization invited to numerous meetings and phone calls creating language for a bill to establish a Sierra Conservancy.

Crafting a bill to satisfy local governments, state agencies, conservationists, and business interests was at times a Herculean task. The final bill, AB 1130, established a Board composition that would give the Sierra a majority of representatives and the Governor a majority of appointments. It also contained a controversial county opt-in provision for fee simple acquisitions, but would have allowed the Conservancy to pursue easements throughout the range. In the end, the bill’s lead author Assemblyman Dickerson (R-Shasta) was uncomfortable with the modifications demanded by some groups as it neared final legislative deadlines and the bill was not brought to a floor vote.

This effort is not over. The Alliance is speaking to other regional and statewide groups to ensure the region receives it’s fair share next session.

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The first wet snow has blanketed our South Lake Tahoe office marking my first year at the Alliance. I’ve made good use of the year getting to know my new backyard. I’ve hiked to the heights of Mt. Tallac, Mt. Dana and Freel Peak, skied the backcountry slopes around Luther Pass, climbed in Owens River Gorge, backpacked in Desolation Wilderness, and jogged weekly near Fallen Leaf Lake and Lake Tahoe. As expected, living again in the Sierra has rejuvenated me.

But it has not just been only the natural diversity that has made my Sierra homecoming a joy – it’s been the people I work with that are the delicious icing on the cake. I toured the area outside Westwood with Steve Robinson of the Mountain Meadows Conservancy and heard about his group’s determined conservation efforts. I worked with Cristi Bozora Creegan of California Rangeland Trust, Ben Higgins of the California Cattlemen’s Association, and Lynn Huntsinger of UC Berkeley on finishing the production of our report Sierra Nevada Grazing in Transition. At our annual conference I met and danced with many of the representatives of our 55 member groups, agency staff, and other allies. These are but a few examples of the great people that I get to work with daily.

It’s the shared passion of this diverse Sierra Nevada Alliance network that works to protect and restore the range that gives me hope. So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, thank you to all our member groups, donors, and allies for making my life a joy. Thank you for all that you do to pass this amazing Sierra legacy onto others. Sincerely,

Joan

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Lisa Wallace of the Truckee River Watershed Council, Mehmet McMillan of WildPlaces and Steven Robinson of the Mountain Meadows Conservancy

What do 120 people, Lake Tahoe, nine informative panels, and a standing ovation for Assembly Member Fred Keeley have in common? Why, the Sierra Nevada Alliance Ninth Annual Conference of course.

This summer at Camp Richardson in South Lake Tahoe, activists, agency staff, concerned citizens, and elected officials gathered for our annual event. The conference highlighted Water Connections and the Future of the Sierra. John Lowrie, Watershed Program Manager for CalFed, moderated a panel on issues surrounding Sierra Water and creative solutions for conservation protection. Steve Evans, Conservation Director of Friends of the River, shared how flood plain management is not just about dams anymore. Martha Davis, Use Manager of Inland Empire Utility Agency, urged Sierrans to make connections with urban end users and encouraged creative solutions and water conservation. Tim Quinn, Vice President of the Metropolitan Water District of LA, admitted that we don’t have an active dialogue between the Sierra and the largest end user in the state. And Rick Kattelmann of the Eastern Sierra Land Trust and former scientist, shared how all these issues are under pressure with looming global warming.

Assembly Member Fred Keeley, Speaker Pro Tempore at the time, came up from a budget break to share his thoughts on the future of the California legislature and what it means for our region. The standing ovation was confirmation that this Legislator of the Year’s thoughts about the changing demographics of California, impacts of term limits, and even words from the Dalai Lama all had kernels of wisdom critical for efforts to protect and restore the Sierra.

And the nine workshops, most held under the pine trees, were well received with the biggest complaint being that there were too many good choices. The Alliance was in the forefront of innovation too – holding an impromptu power point presentation outdoors and under the pine trees.

But the greatest achievement, as usual, was the networking. One example, Steven Robinson, director of the Mountain Meadows Conservancy located out of Susanville compared notes at the opening reception with Mehmet McMillan of WildPlaces located over 450 miles away in Kernville. Whether it was the fun, expert information, or shared strategies, the conference achieved its goal of energizing our regional movement for Sierra protection and restoration. The connections between local conservation leaders, statewide advocates, technical experts, agency resources, and concerned citizens is the fuel that fires conservation success.

Thanks goes to Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chaco Inc, the Mountain Lion Foundation, and Talon Associates for sponsoring the conference and making the event possible!

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There are five new names on the Alliance member group list, all dynamic additions to this powerful network.

Friends of Squaw Creek is a grassroots organization in Squaw Valley comprised of landowners, businesses, jurisdictional agencies, and private citizens dedicated to enhancing the Squaw Creek watershed. Friends of Squaw Creek provides a forum for facilitating and coordinating efforts to promote a naturally sustainable environment for the Squaw Creek watershed through education, communication, science, and community involvement. Goals include promoting the creek’s ecological system to perform its natural, physical, and biological function. This includes improving communications within the community, improving fish and wildlife habitat, and educating the community on this watershed’s ecology. For more information: PO Box 2488, Olympic Valley, CA 96146 530.583.1817; email: P ALIGN=LEFT>Lake Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition assists many different groups and educational organizations in working together to educate the public about how to prevent the pollution of Lake Tahoe. The coalition designs outreach programs to educate residents, visitors, businesses and government agencies. One example of their work was their successful coordination of Snapshot Day, a one-day, volunteer-based event. Over 300 volunteers gathered important information from 113 locations (from the Lake Tahoe Basin down the Truckee River to Pyramid Lake). This constituted the largest effort ever to collect data from the entire watershed at a single point in time. For more information: PO Box 8208, Incline Village, NV 89453 775.832.4138; email: hppt://www.lteec.org

Marine Research and Education, Inc., based in South Lake Tahoe, believes that educating our youth is the starting point for protecting our environment. The primary mission of MR&E is to provide an educational program promoting environmental awareness and the conservation of the Lake Tahoe Basin through simple, easy to understand methods and language. The group offers an exciting, hands-on experience intended for school groups K-12, community organizations, and adult groups. The program consists of two segments: an ‘on-shore’ portion and an ‘on-the-water’ portion aboard the boat ‘Prophet’. For more information: 900 Ski Run Blvd., S Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 530.544.7409; email: http://www.marineeducation.org

Sequoia ForestKeeper protects and restores the ecosystems of the southern Sierra Nevada including the Giant Sequoia National Monument and the Sequoia National Forest through monitoring, enforcement, education, and litigation. The group accomplishes these goals in a number of ways including the Forest and Wildlife Volunteer Monitoring Program, which puts local citizens into the forest to take various measurements and samples, as well as photographing before and after shots of logging projects and sightings of endangered species. Sequoia ForestKeeper also assists local citizens in resolving a variety of community situations by reviewing the legal aspects and suggesting solutions. For more information: PO Box 2134, Kernville, CA 93238 760.376.4434; email: http://www.sequoiaforestkeeper.org

Tahoe Area Sierra Club is a newer group of the Sierra Club and member of the Mother Lode Chapter. The Tahoe Area Sierra Club (TASC) protects and preserves the Lake Tahoe area (and they like to get out and enjoy it too!).  They are currently focused on several issues: watchdogging the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) to make sure they protect Lake Tahoe; stopping the planned over-development for the Martis Valley; and preserving sensitive parcels of raw land like Burke Creek. The Tahoe Area Sierra Club also hosts outings such as hikes, snowshoeing, cross country ski trips, etc. with other conservation minded people!   For more information: PO Box 16936, S Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 530.320.1795; email: http://www.motherlode.sierraclub.org/tahoe

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This summer, the Sierra Nevada Alliance member groups added three new experts to the board of directors.

When Terry Manning was asked if he owns an apple orchard because he got addicted to apples when he was an English teacher at Porterville High School, he denied it. Now Terry is retired from teaching, still producing apple products with his wife in Springville, and is an active board member of the Sierra Los Tulares Land Trust. Terry has been active with the Land Trust since 1994 and looks forward to sharing his land conservation expertise and representing the Southern Sierra.

Geoff McQuilkin, co-executive director of the Mono Lake Committee, knows that a rookery is not where you toss your Rooks in chess, but the maternity ward of gulls – of which the Mono Lake is the second biggest California Gull rookery in North America. Geoff has been with the MLC for over ten years, expanding their local education outreach projects and membership base, directing their communication programs and leading public policy efforts. He looks forward to bringing the successful strategies of the Mono Lake Committee to the Alliance and other groups throughout the Sierra.

Joe Petrillo is a natural resource conservation expert. He is a senior partner with the law firm Sheppard Mullin Richter and Hampton in San Francisco, CA. Joe owns a vacation home in Kirkwood and prior to joining the law firm was the director of the Coastal Conservancy and legislative consultant to the California Natural Resources Committee. Joe brings to the board experience in statewide and regional natural resource politics and a strong background in conservation law.

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Testing water quality in Markleeville Creek

If watersheds are the circulation system of the earth, Creek Days are the Immune System booster of any successful watershed effort.

For example, The Alpine Watershed Group, which the Alliance helps facilitate, has about ten to fifteen people attend their monthly meetings. This dedicated group plans how to assess the health of their rivers, lakes and streams, plots how to secure resources for the watershed, and often speaks another language of TMDLs, RFQs and fluvial morphology.

But this core group knows that their mission will never be achieved if only ten to fifteen members have a connection to their watershed and a commitment to protecting and restoring it. Thankfully, the Alpine County watershed has been host to two successful creek days with financial support of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

The first event was Hope Valley Work Day organized by Friends of Hope Valley and the Sierra Nevada Alliance in early summer. This event drew about forty volunteers who put up fences to keep off-road vehicles out of sensitive watershed areas and planted willows to stabilize the banks of the creek in a meadow that was once overgrazed. For Alpine County, population 1200, forty volunteers is a great turn out.

Alpine County’s low population, however makes the 118 volunteers who came to the second work day a blow out! Markleeville Creek Day organized by the Alpine Watershed Group, had volunteers plant native vegetation, restore eroded banks, learn about citizen monitoring efforts from the South Yuba River Citizens League, and catch water bugs to discuss their connection to the health of the creek.

These one day events got peoples feet wet, hands muddy, minds educated, and most importantly hearts connected to their waterways. The creek days created a whole company of defenders that stand ready today and in the future. Got a stretch of river that needs monitoring? Got a section of land in need of restoration? Need to call on your county, state or federal government for resources? Send in the troops!

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Mary Hanson, Sierra Nevada Alliance volunteer and volunteer extraordinaire, passed away this October 7 at her home in the Eastern Sierra. Mary was an auditor for the IRS for 9 years, but moved to the mountains in 1976 to take up personal taxes and a lot of volunteering. She worked with the Alliance to set up our books, and faithfully filed nine years of our tax returns, with never an error. But on top of being our angel, she was a volunteer for many groups in the Mammoth area. The Mammoth Times called her one of the Eastern Sierra’s most outstanding volunteers. The Sierra was blessed to have Mary’s support in so many capacities. Her giving spirit added to the beauty and compassion of our range. We will miss Mary and express our gratitude to her husband, Ira, and family for sharing her with so many Sierra causes.

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