Sierra Nevada Alliance

Sierra Corps Forestry Fellowship Program: from zero to COVID Over the past year, the Alliance has designed and implemented our newest initiative, the Sierra Corps Forestry Fellowship Program. Despite COVID-19 interruptions and challenges to our work and plans, we have successfully initiated this meaningful capacity building program to increase forest health resilience in the Sierra. With a Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund grant from Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC), the Alliance was able to hire a new Program Director, Nicole Lutkemuller in August 2019, to implement the Sierra Corps Program. Initially, we received funding to hire six Fellows over two years, but in December 2019 the Alliance was awarded a second grant from SNC through CalFire’s Regional Forestry and Fire Capacity Program to expand the program and hire an additional five Fellows over two years. The goal of Sierra Crops is to build a workforce development program that increases the capacity of land managers, local agencies, and nonprofits to work together in planning, funding, and implementing forest health and wildfire prevention projects. In addition to building capacity for partner organizations, the Program aims to mentor and develop future leaders (Fellows) in the forest health industry for the Sierra. The Sierra Corps Program is modeled after the Alliance’s Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership Program (SNAP) where the Alliance partners with Host Sites throughout the Sierra and hires Fellows to work directly with the Host Sites. Key differences between the SNAP and Sierra Corps Program are that Sierra Corps is not affiliated with AmeriCorps and that project work is a bit more narrowly focused than SNAP on forestry, wildfire resilience and biomass utilization. In the Fall of 2019, the Alliance partnered with six organizations and established five Host Sites to participate in the inaugural year of the Program. Our first group of Host Sites includes American Forests, Calaveras Healthy Impact Product Solutions (CHIPS), Eastern California Water Association (ECWA), Eldorado National Forest (EDNF), Feather River Resource Conservation District (FRRCD), and Yosemite Sequoia Resource Conservation and Development Council (YSRCDC). Three of these Host Sites are working in partnership with American Forests to host a Fellow. American Forests partnered with ECWA, EDNF, and YSRCDC to host, manage, and mentor their Fellows. Katie Reidy Luis Vidal Marion Charneau Rubie Teffeteller Thurman Roberts cont. on P14… 13