On Wednesday, September 8 at 6pm, the South Yuba River Citizens League and YubaNet will co-host a virtual town hall to discuss visitor impacts on the Yuba River and surrounding communities.
Over the past decade, visitation to the Yuba has increased dramatically. This rising visitation has created increasing concern among community members related to the health of the river. Organizations like SYRCL as well as the Nevada County Board of Supervisors, Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, State Parks, Bureau of Land Management, and Tahoe National Forest have fielded numerous calls and emails from affected citizens along with proposed measures to mitigate impacts.
“We organized the Town Hall to so we can hear directly from the public about impacts they are experiencing,” said Melinda Booth, SYRCL’s Executive Director. “Managing and addressing visitation on the Yuba is complex given that several different agencies manage the public lands, each of which has different opportunities and constraints. Add on top of that the fact that these public lands are intermixed with private lands.”
The Town Hall will begin with a brief presentation about this year’s statistics related to visitor impacts and a short statement from participating organizations. The floor will then be opened up for questions from the audience.
“The County looks at this as an important opportunity to learn more about community concerns and to help the public better understand what solutions and interventions are possible given the patchwork ownership of the river canyon,” said District 4 Supervisor, Sue Hoek. “It will also inform the work the Yuba River Public Safety Cohort engages in to make the canyon safer for everyone.”
The Town Hall will also function to inform a survey SYRCL plans to launch later in September that will give community members a chance to provide additional feedback. The data collected will be presented to the Cohort and distributed to the public via an online booklet in early November. It will also be used to inform future decisions about managing river use.
Those interested in attending the event can register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WP8q_q3WT5qmV0v-7oO0IQ
About SYRCL: The South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL, pronounced “circle”), based in Nevada City, CA, is the leading voice for the protection and restoration of the Yuba River watershed. Founded in 1983 through a rural, grassroots campaign to defend the South Yuba River from proposed hydropower dams, SYRCL has developed into a vibrant community organization with over 3,500 members and volunteers. See: www.yubariver.org.
About the Yuba River Public Safety Cohort: Made up of County supervisors and staff, local and regional fire protection districts, law enforcement, state and federal agencies, local NGOs, and community representatives, the Yuba River Safety Cohort has been collaborating for five years in an effort to address public safety issues within the South Yuba River canyon such as access, fire prevention, stewardship, and responsible use.