The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC), a California state agency focused on supporting and improving the environmental, economic, and social well-being of the Sierra-Cascade, will host its quarterly Board meeting Sept. 5 starting at 9 a.m. in the town of Mount Shasta in Siskiyou County. The day before, Sept. 4, the SNC will host a field tour throughout the nearby area to explore issues and activities related to forest resilience, recreation, and conservation in the newly expanded service area.
Meeting participation, tour attendance, and public comments welcome
Members of the public are invited to attend the field tour and participate in the meeting in Mount Shasta. A live audio stream of the meeting will also be available, although remote participation will not be possible. The public is encouraged to review project information and submit any comments by August 30.
View detailed tour and meeting information, including information on the potential grant award and how to submit a public comment.
SNC to consider cultural burn grant to Nisenan Tribe
The SNC Board may award $250,000 to the California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project, Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe for cultural burning and demonstration of traditional ecological knowledge forest management practices within the Deer Creek Tribute Trail Extension and Nisenan Cultural Reclamation Corridor Enhancement Project.
Located along Deer Creek, this potential SNC-funded project will remove hazardous fuels within the wildland urban interface, greatly reducing the risk of damaging wildfire on tribal land located on the western edge of Nevada City. More importantly, this project will provide the opportunity for hands-on-learning and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) transfer to fellow Nisenan tribal members through the design and completion of cultural burn treatments and restoration of culturally important species.
The project is being recommended for funding under the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program (RFFCP). Led by the California Department of Conservation, the RFFCP is designed to support leadership to build the necessary capacity to ensure projects focused on protecting communities and landscapes from wildfire are implemented and completed. The SNC is responsible for allocating RFFCP funds to capacity-building activities across the Sierra-Cascade.
Board hosts tour and discussion of projects in expanded service area
In late 2021, with the passing of Senate Bill 208, SNC’s service area expanded into Siskiyou and Trinity counties, and further into Shasta County. The total addition of new acres was just over 1.3 million and increased SNC’s total service acreage to nearly 27 million and the number of counties to 24.
This expanded service area, which includes critical natural resources and habitat in the McCloud River, Upper Sacramento River, and Upper Trinity River watersheds, will be the focus of SNC’s Sept. 4 field tour, as staff highlight key issues affecting this vital California area. The tour will start at 1 p.m. in the Shasta Inn parking lot and visit nearby Castle Lake and the Gateway Trailhead, sites associated with SNC-funded projects.