Sierra Nevada Conservancy

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) is accepting concept proposals for its 2023 Wildfire Recovery and Forest Resilience Directed Grant Program. The program supports planning and implementation of forest-health projects that promote wildfire recovery and forest resilience priorities in the SNC service area. The total amount of funding available is still to be determined and based on […]

At its March 2 quarterly meeting in Sacramento, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy Governing Board approved just over $27 million in Watershed Improvement Program grants to wildfire recovery and forest resilience, recreation, and land conservation projects. The funds were awarded to 18 different projects throughout California’s Sierra Nevada-Cascade region. “The Sierra Nevada Conservancy is proud of […]

Mammoth Lakes, Calif. – At its December 9 quarterly meeting in Mariposa, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy Governing Board approved more nearly $10 million in Watershed Improvement Program (WIP) grants to vibrant recreation and tourism and strategic land conservation projects. The funds were awarded to 20 different projects throughout the Sierra Nevada and California’s Cascades. “The […]

Nestled between the steep, pine-covered slopes of the Central Sierra Nevada lies Scotts Flat Reservoir, an incredibly vital water resource for many local communities. Over the last century and a half, the forests surrounding this watershed have become severely overcrowded with far too many trees per acre. Without proper treatments, the landscape is prone to […]

For more than a decade, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) has been investing in projects and partners that support the environmental, economic, and social well-being of its service area. With forest health as the foundation, the Watershed Improvement Program (WIP) weaves together four priorities: restoring healthy ecosystems, improving community resilience, promoting sustainable recreation and tourism, […]

One year ago, the world watched as the Caldor Fire ignited in the Sierra Nevada foothills and burned up and over the rocky crest of the mountains to the southern shores of Lake Tahoe—impacting communities and landscapes along its path. A year later, some lessons are clear. What we do before wildfires ignite can make […]

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy Governing Board (Board) approved more than $21 million in Wildfire Recovery and Forest Resilience grants at its quarterly board meeting June 2 and discussed staff recommendations for operational updates responding to legislation that expanded the Sierra Nevada Conservancy’s service area. The 2021 Budget Act appropriated $50 million to the Sierra Nevada […]

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy, a state agency dedicated to improving the environmental, economic, and social well-being of the Sierra Nevada region, has launched its 2022 Strategic Land Conservation and Vibrant Recreation and Tourism Directed Grant programs. “These two vital grant programs will help us to continue our efforts to conserve lands that provide essential benefits […]

More than 1.5 million acres burned in the Sierra Nevada in 2021, a new record. It broke the previous record set in 2020. Roughly 2,800 structures were damaged or destroyed in the Sierra Nevada, including most of the towns of Greenville and Grizzly Flats. In the southern Sierra Nevada, the Windy and KNP Complex fires […]

Following several years of uncharacteristically large and severe wildfires, the Sierra Nevada region is in uncharted territory. In 2021 alone, approximately 1.5 million acres burned. Over half of those acres experienced high-severity fire, which kills at least 75% of vegetation. These fires have left behind an altered landscape that now includes vast expanses of dead […]

AUBURN, Calif.) — Earlier today, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy’s (SNC) Governing Board authorized 15 forest and wildfire resilience grants totaling just over $19 million under a new Immediate Action Wildfire and Forest Resilience (IAWR) grant program. “The Sierra Nevada covers a quarter of California and our communities, along with headwater forests rich in biodiversity and […]

It is the middle of May, and Californians across the state are starting to feel the effects of a water year that has left much of the state in drought. In the Sierra Nevada, dry-too-soon landscapes dominated by overgrown forests are raising concerns about a rewind of the historically destructive 2020 fire season. The good news, […]

AUBURN, Calif. April 13, 2021 – The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC), a California state agency, announced the availability of $20 million dollars for the implementation of shovel-ready forest health projects in the region. The Immediate Action Wildfire and Forest Resilience directed grant program was made possible by an early action wildfire and forest resilience budget […]

AUBURN, Calif. September 21, 2019 – Today was the perfect day to pick up the pieces – the trash pieces that is – especially in the Sierra Nevada, where more than 700 volunteers took time out of their busy schedule to help remove garbage from rivers, lakes, streams, and associated riparian zones during the 11th […]

Auburn September 4, 2018 – Help celebrate ten years of conserving Sierra Nevada rivers! On September 15, from 9 am to noon, volunteers from across the state can join together to remove trash from the waterways of the Sierra Nevada region for the tenth annual Great Sierra River Cleanup. This event, coordinated by the Sierra […]