Sierra Nevada Alliance

Alliance hosts first Sierra IRWM Conference in Sacramento, bringing together IRWM leaders for the first time. Alliance celebrates completion of first Clean Water Act 319h grant, in which we regranted funds to more than 25 watershed efforts in the Sierra, produced a restoration guide, and provided funding and guidance for community demonstration projects, which included tours for hundreds of Sierra residents. 2007 Alliance releases report at four news conferences called Dangerous Development: Wildfire and Rural Sprawl in the Sierra Nevada , which reviewed how wildfire and population growth are on a collision course and how current land-use policies fail at-risk communities. The story reaches a national audience through an NPR story and AP stories nationwide, in addition to ten local TV stories. Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership founded. SNAP members complete first year monitoring 389 sites, restoring over 4100 acres, educating 30,000 individuals, and recruiting over 3300 volunteers. 2008 Alliance watershed program launches new Sierra Nevada Yard and Garden project, beginning distribution of new Guide and training community homeowner consultation programs. This continues on throughout the years, creating demonstration gardens, home consultation programs, distributing over 2500 guides, and working with Truckee, providing over 180 unique workbooks for homeowners resulting in over 100 best practices being implemented. The Alliance releases new resource with the Local Government Commission called Planning for Water-Wise Development in the Sierra and then conducts six Land & Water policy forums throughout the region, as well as presentations at the Calaveras Planning Summit, 2009 National River Rally in Baltimore, and the Sierra Business Council conference. The California Adaptation Strategy adopted principles for adaptation that were symbiotic with Alliance principles to ensure we protect natural resources while sustaining healthy communities. The Alliance also launched a new collaborative effort called the Sierra Water Work Group to champion Sierra water issues and coordinate among plans, agencies, and NGOs and share strategies and best practices for protecting Sierra waters. The SWWG continues to this day and now the Alliance hosts an annual Summit on integrated water management for local and state water agencies, conservation leaders, tribes, and attorneys. 2009 The Sierra Spokes free sustainability e-newsletter was launched. The Regional Climate Change Program helps shape a strong Sierra Nevada Conservancy Climate Action Plan for the entire Sierra region, the first of its kind! The Alliance’s leadership with our Sierra Climate Change Adaptation Principles inspired the California Adaptation Strategy to adopt similar principles for the entire state. 2010 The Sustainable Sierra Communities Program secured an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer and designed a new model sustainability project, EmPower El Dorado, that helped homeowners save money and protect their health, as well as save energy and water. This project reached over 200 residents and provided consultations to 49 homeowners on ways to improve their home, producing lessons on how to replicate this effort in the Sierra. 2011 The Regional Climate Change Program founded the first Sierra Community Organizer Academy which 25 activists attended to learn effective campaigning. This becomes an Annual Sierra event and trains over 75 conservation leaders as of 2013. The Regional Climate Change Program also organized a Sierra Meadow Forum with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, sharing cutting-edge strategies to restore the meadow ecosystems of the region. 2012 Celebrates that through partnership with the Truckee River Watershed Council, our Truckee River Friendly Landscaping project had over 100 river-friendly practices implemented by homeowners, over 180 unique home workbooks provided to homeowners, and over 1800 Sierra Yard and Garden Guides distributed throughout Truckee. 2013 We celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Alliance with Bill McKibben as as the keynote speaker at our annual conference. 2015 SNAP Member Sara Kokkelenberg was named the Catherine Milton California AmeriCorps Member of the Year. 2016 We concluded the 10th year of the SNAP program. 2017 The Alliance organized and facilitated community grassroots coalitions that achieved 100% renewable energy resolutions from the cities of South Lake Tahoe, Nevada City, and Truckee. 2018 Received our fifth 3-year SNAP grant, supporting continuation of the program into 2021. 2019 Received seed funding from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and initiated a forest health workforce development program. 17