Blog

Producer's Journal: STS makes 2009 Top Ten List of Best International Multi-media Projects

Catherine Stifter — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 10:07:10 -0800

Professor Patricia Zimmerman has named STS to her list of the Ten Best International Multi-Platform Web 2.0 Projects of 2009 that Torque Documentary Form. Who knew there was such a list? We are honored to be on it.

Zimmerman writes, "Saving the Sierra, coordinated by Catherine Stifter and jesikah maria ross, is a compelling, elegant, clear-sighted regional project chronicling the culture, economy and environment of the Sierra Nevada as it confronts development challenging sustainability. It marshalls public media, radio documentary, citizen storytelling, and story mapping. The multiple and diverse voices in this project as a mighty and awe inspiring as Yosemite, Lake Tahoe and the sequoias, the spectacles and clichés of the Sierras."

Thanks to all of our partners and funders along with the Sierra residents and Sierra lovers who shared their stories.

STS blog in hiatus, for now

Catherine Stifter — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:51:58 -0700

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of our regional media project, Saving The Sierra, which was funded in part by a grant from the California Council for Humanities and sponsored by The Sierra Fund, Center for Sierra Nevada Studies at Sierra College, The Sierra Nevada Alliance, the Sierra Business Council and the Morgan Family Fund.

STS concluded in 2008 with the national broadcast of our public radio documentary. You can listen here, or download the podcast.

This Website serves as an interactive archive of our 3-year exploration of conservation in action. The Storybooth contains 100 stories of people who care about the Sierra Nevada.

Search the Blog topics for essays and resources about the ecology, economy and community of the Sierra.

We welcome inquiries from individual or groups who would like to revive the Blog as a learning tool. Contact us at info@savingthesierra.org

Here's to the Sierra, all her residents (human and otherwise) and all the explorers who have found wonders here.

Tahoe Truckee Earth Day April 18th - "Living Local"

beth ingalls — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 09:01:29 -0700

UC Davis digital project makes case for rural way of life

jmross — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:02:07 -0700

Read about a new rural community media project, in the spirit and tradition of Saving The Sierra! This project is done through the new UC Davis Art of Regional Change Initiative. Read on!

UC Davis digital project makes case for rural way of life
By Chris Bowman
cbowman@sacbee.com

Published: Saturday, Mar. 14, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 1B

Regional Op-Ed | The Sierra Fund: What do "Green Jobs" mean for rural California?

Yubanet.com — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:36:43 -0800

Regardless of political party and position, when it comes to economic stimulus and the hundreds of billions of dollars that the federal government is getting ready to pump into the system, everyone agrees that if the money doesn't result in massive job creation the economy will likely sink from crisis into catastrophe.

TCAN kicks off production on "Truckee's Guide to a Smaller Footprint"

beth ingalls — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:14:22 -0800

Truckee Climate Action Network Contact: Beth Ingalls, Director info@truckeecan.com 530.386.3128

For immediate release: January 23, 2009

“Truckee’s Guide to a Smaller Footprint” Will Showcase Local Climate Change Efforts, Encourage Community Participation & Innovation

Truckee, CA - Truckee Climate Action Network (TCAN), in conjunction with Moonshine Ink, is delighted to announce that production has officially begun on “Truckee’s Guide to a Smaller Footprint,” a new project funded by a grant from the Nature Fund at the Truckee Tahoe Community Foundation. Set to be released in time for Earth Day 2009, the guide will be distributed free within the community and will highlight programs which are currently being undertaken by our local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, schools and businesses to reduce carbon emissions within our Town.

According to Project Manager Beth Ingalls, “This publication will be the first of its kind for Truckee. It will provide residents with the most current information on programs and services in one convenient place.” The guide will also feature an assessment of Truckee’s current carbon footprint and offer useful strategies to help our community move collectively toward a greener future. Through “Truckee’s Guide to a Smaller Footprint”, TCAN hopes to usher in a new spirit of participation, collaboration and innovation as we take on the challenge of climate change. “In addition to getting the information out, we want to inspire the community to action. The challenge of combating climate change requires unified effort and smart solutions. There’s no better place than Truckee for both.”

TCAN fully acknowledges that human induced climate change is a serious threat to our fragile mountain environment, our economy and our very way of life. TCAN also firmly believes that by working together cohesively as a community, we can begin to mitigate our impacts, and become a model for other mountain towns across the west and the perhaps even the nation.

For more information about and submission guidelines for “Truckee’s Guide to a Smaller Footprint” please contact Project Manager Beth Ingalls by email, info@truckeecan.com or by phone at 530.386.3128.

New Survey Documents State Contracts Freeze Blow to Sierra Green Economy

Yubanet.com — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:16:11 -0800

A recent survey by the Sierra Nevada Alliance confirms that the State's stop work order on bond funded contracts as of December 17, 2008 has effected 60% of surveyed conservation groups in the Sierra Nevada, with 26% laying off workers to date. The stop work order has withdrawn millions of dollars stimulating the Sierra economy, turning the existing green economy of the Sierra to muddy brown.

Obama's Agenda for Rural America

Catherine Stifter — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:46:26 -0800

From the new whitehouse.gov website: "Rural communities face numerous challenges but also economic opportunities unlike anything we have witnessed in modern history. President Obama and Vice President Biden believe that together we can ensure a bright future for rural America. They will help family famers and rural small businesses find profitability in the marketplace and success in the global economy."

Read the outline of plans for sustaining family farms, promoting agriculture, preserving private lands, and building rural connectivity and infrastructure.

Sierra Conservation Groups Push for Land Swap to Preserve Whitney Portal Property

Yubanet.com — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:18:05 -0800

As the January 21 deadline for comments on the 'Whitney Portal Preserve' development proposal approaches, local conservationists and regional organizations are stepping up their efforts to stop the project and protect the threatened land.

Fire, climate and thinning

Sierra Summit — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:24:44 -0800

My recent article about the Moonlight Fire in Plumas County - and how scientists now believe climate change is helping to spark more destructive wildfires - drew a number of responses about the value of thinning over-crowded stands before a fire starts. You might think of it as preventative medicine - and while controversial among some environmentalists - it has been shown to reduce the damage caused by today's increasingly severe fires.

From Chester, Jay Francis, forest manager at the Collins Pine Company wrote to say that the same day the Moonlight Fire began (Sept. 3, 2007), another fire started on his company's property about 15 miles to the west. "Officials estimated it had been burning for about 10 hours (overnight) when they first arrived on scene yet they were able to catch it with just 1 engine and a water tender," Jay wrote in an email. "Human caused, probably a cigarette, but probably not intentional. The big difference is that our fire was in an area that had been biomass thinned about 12 years ago and then logged again (for the 4th time) about 3 years ago. Quite a contrast."

Jay attached a photo of the Collins Pine fire, shown immediately below. A few smaller trees

have obviously been killed, but many more bigger ones survived. Now compare that with a different photo - one directly below. That picture, which I took this fall, shows a part of the Plumas National Forest north of Indian Valley that has been badly burned by the Moonlight fire. Not much living remains.

Which forest will sequester more carbon dioxide in coming decades - and help California meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets? Which forest will be home to a greater variety of wildlife? As fires continue to burn, some fear Sierra Nevada forests will become an overall source of CO2, not a natural green reservoir that soaks it up. What are your thoughts? What role should thinning play in keeping forests healthy? Do you know of examples where thinning has helped - or hurt - our western forest? Let me know. With your input, I hope to continue a dialogue on this subject in coming months.