Blog

Listening to Eastside Stories

Catherine Stifter — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:06:28 -0700

Some of the most colorful stories in the history of the American West were written in the landscape known as the Eastern Sierra. Yet only the smallest fraction of visitors realizes the riches of the stories hidden in the scenery. The Roadside Heritage project aims to change all that by bringing you engaging-authentic-stories from one of the most beautiful areas of the western United States: California’s Eastern Sierra as told by those who live here.

Explore Google maps, see stunning photo galleries and download stories at this wonderful Web site. If you're traveling in the Eastern Sierra you can also find the CDs for sale at local sites in Bishop, Bridgeport, Independence, Lee Vining, Lone Pine, and Mammoth. The stories are coordinated with scenic markers along Highway 395, so you can download the audio to CD or your mp3 player and enjoy a custom audio tour of the Eastside.

Created by the Eastern Sierra Institute for Collaborative Education.

Producer's Journal: Continuing the Conversation about Civic Engagement

Catherine Stifter — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 11:52:39 -0700

As part of a wide-ranging panel on Inspiring Civic Engagement at the Sierra Solutions 2008, I spoke about using media for outreach and community building. Kris Hansen of Sierra College Truckee Campus moderated the session. John Chapman, board member of East Bay Community Foundation and the Greenbelt Alliance spoke about community input to land use decisions and Stacy Corless, Editor in Chief of Eastside Magazine told the story of starting the magazine with loads of community support and input. She also introduced us to Friends of the Inyo.

I challenged participants to take a simple step toward building their Web 2.0 capacity by sharing information about their work and their organizations here on the STS Blog. I look forward to this interactive follow-up to our session that outlined a wide variety of ways to effect positive change through collaborative business and environmental leadership throughout the Sierra Nevada.

Post a link to your website in the comments below. Point us to the best online information about how your organization will lead change in our region. Tell us your story.

I very much enjoyed meeting all of you and look forward to hearing from you right here online!

Producer's Journal: Words of Wisdom from Sierra Solutions 2008

Catherine Stifter — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:16:57 -0700

Today in opening comments at the Sierra Solutions conference, the founding president of the Sierra Business Council, Lucy Blake, spoke with pride about the evolution of the SBC over the past 14 years. She gave shout-outs to the many co-conspirators who assisted her in jump-starting a Sierra-wide business organization whose members value the environment and understand its value to business success here and everywhere. She finished her opening remarks with a proverb:

"Even three bushels of beads won't make a necklace, until you string them together."

She then suggested that all of us in the audience were beads and the string that connects us all is the SBC. There were murmurs of agreement. Some folks took a note of this metaphor. I expect you'll hear about beads on a string. And now you'll know the origin of this gem of wisdom.

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During the coffeebreak before the sessions began, I said hello and traded phone numbers and email with Sierra Nevada leaders in the arts, conservation, business, recreation, and development communities. This conference is an amazing opportunity to hear from and talk with the people who are creating sustainable communities up and down this mountain range.

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I attended a panel called "Connecting People, Land & Communities" featuring

Paul Hardy of the Feather River Land Trust
Tim Beals, Director of Planning and Transportation in Sierra County
Wilfred Nabahe, the Environmental Coordinator of the Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Reservation
moderated by Lucy Blake

We heard a wide variety of perspectives on the interaction and intersection between people and land, people and government (both local and federal), and people working with each other for the benefit of both people and land.

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Another great session was "Collaborative Leadership" facilitated by Susan Dupre of Global Visions and Susan Clark PhD with Dynamic Competence. They acknowledged that collaborative leadership is expensive, time consuming, and personally challenging. But, because collaborative leadership results in best long-term outcomes, it is worth convincing stakeholders to take part in the process. They gathered us into small groups to share experiences and ideas about collaborations we're been part of now.

We spent the session hashing over three key ideas:

Collaborative leaders need to agree to a common playing field, defined by boundaries (whether physical, financial or other), non-negotiable rules and laws

Collaborative project stakeholders must agree on the ground rules they are playing by. What are your constraints? Agree to and document those to make it easier to work through conflict.

And you must know who you are playing with and agree to respect their different perspectives. Follow up with all team members and respond why information was or was not used. This builds trust within the team.

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The conference concluded with presentations by the Sierra Nevada Youth Empowerment Program. High school students from Tahoe/Truckee area, Bay area and Eastside advocated for food justice, economic equality, and access to the outdoors in order to understand environmental justice. Through speeches, poetry, and presentations they offered a powerful vision for the inclusion of youth voices in our economic concerns and at our next conference! What a dynamic group of young people.

Producer's Journal: Thanks to Center for Sierra Nevada Studies

Catherine Stifter — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:44:19 -0700

Our project partner, the Center for Sierra Nevada Studies at Sierra College has just posted a press release announcing the conclusion of our project (and partnership). I just want to say, one more time, that it's been a real pleasure working with Center Director Gary Noy for the past two and half years to create this successful regional media project.

Now that our public radio documentary has been heard on more than 200 stations across the US by more than 6 million listeners. And our Listener Toolkit has been viewed or downloaded 600 times, this Web site will become the action center of Saving The Sierra.

We welcome you to listen to our stories, make comments, send us news from your area and we'll post it for the more than 100 weekly visitors who explore the Sierra through this site.

Sierra Storyteller

Catherine Stifter — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:51:53 -0700

This blog often reposts items by Tom Knudson from his blog "Sierra Summit," but this is a story about him, written by Dave Bunker of the Sierra Sun.

KINGS BEACH - When Tom Knudson took the podium Saturday in Kings Beach he didn’t talk much about himself. Instead, he did what he has been doing for nearly 20 years — he told intriguing and little-known tales of a majestic mountain range undergoing dramatic changes.

He talked about the Alpine Chipmunk, a minute harbinger of a warming ecosystem, and yellow-bellied marmots. He praised the work of Derhman Guiliani, an obscure Big Pine naturalist who has no job and is not working on any research paper, but still spends his life tracking ground squirrels through the bristlecone pines of the White Mountains.

It’s those stories, that knack for observation and research, that has made Truckee’s Knudson the most accomplished journalist covering the Sierra Nevada today. It has landed him two Pulitzer Prizes. It has launched a Sierra Nevada environmental movement that lasts to this day.

Read the rest of Dave Bunker's story at the Sierra Sun.

Producer's Journal: Saving The Sierra Blog on Booktown Radio Show August 4th

Catherine Stifter — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:49:06 -0700

Eric Tomb (host of the community radio program Booktown on KVMR-FM) spoke with me about a workshop I'm conducting at the 2008 Sacramento State Summer Writer's Conference. It's an introduction to the power of online community for writers. I've talked the organizers into letting us blog the conference live as a way to learn! This Blog for Saving The Sierra is great example of a community blog on a specific issue. Tune in to KVMR-FM 89.5, Monday August 4 at 1pm to get a listen and learn more.

Sierra Leadership Institute Scholarship Opportunity

Catherine Stifter — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:47:33 -0700

The Sierra Business Council offers special funding for small business owners to attend the 10th Sierra Leadership Institute during the week of September 22-26 at Ironstone Vineyards in Murphys, CA.

The Institute has graduated 231 leaders, community members, business owners and employees trained in facilitation, effective leadership and management styles, conflict resolution, and collaborative process skills. Go to the SBC Web site for application information. Indicate that you are interested in this opportunity. We will follow up with you to confirm your eligibility. For more information contact Anna Toso at atoso@sbcouncil.org or call 530-582-4800 x10.

Northern California Fires: Interactive Maps

Catherine Stifter — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:34:08 -0700

The Sacramento Bee has published a comprehensive map of the fires burning in Northern California, many in the Sierra. Click here for details.

The Governor's Office of Emergency Services has published a map of emergency efforts and resources here.

Cal Fire home page has downloadable maps and links on latest fire updates. Here is today's map .

Big Meadows Restoration Project Tour July 5th

Catherine Stifter — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:00:15 -0700

The public is invited to tour a successful Big Meadows restoration project in the Sequoia National Forest on July 5th with Forest Service Wildlife Biologist Jeff Cordes.

This collaborative project in the fall of 2007 restored the natural flow of water to one of the largest meadow systems in the area. As a
result, the plant and animal life in the meadow is rebounding. Contributors to this project include: The Fresno Flyfishers for Conservation, Flyfishers for Conservation, Plumas Corporation, Kaweah Fly Fishers, California State University Fresno, Southern and Northern California Fly Fishing Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Kings River Conservation District, Fly Fishing Team USA, The Tulare County Fish and Game Commission, and other private contributions.

The tour will explore the meadow, learn about the techniques used to restore it and examine plants and animals that depend on the area. It is recommended that you wear boots that can get wet and binoculars will be helpful.

The Big Meadows Trailhead parking area is located on Big Meadows Road and can be accessed via Generals Highway, (a 1 1/2 hour drive east of Fresno).

Click here for more information or visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/big-meadow/

Thanks to Kern River Valley Revitalization for this information.

Producer's Journal: Growth and Development Issues Resonate in Communities Across America

Catherine Stifter — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:27:47 -0700

We received an email the other day that made us smile. It came from all the way across the country where residents face the same issues addressed in our documentary .

"Greetings from the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

We are pleased to have received the program Saving The Sierra thru Creative PR (Editor's note: our national marketing firm, which is doing a great job BTW) . WJSK would like to play the program for members of Conservation units in the Mount Washington Valley of New Hampshire, an area covered by this Radio station and also inundated by "Vacation Home " construction. We are adjacent to the White Mountain National Forest, which, were it not for Federal Legislation a few decades ago, would be empty of its natural setting. I would like to gather local voices concerned about our region to sit in and do commentary, followed by your program."--Frank Pingree, GM

This is what it's all about, folks--making the connection. I was just thrilled to think how our stories will inspire folks in New Hampshire to share their stories and concerns about their environment, economy and culture *because of* their local broadcaster. What a great use of community media! What a great example of sustaining communities by connecting people through media!

Congratulations WJSK! We applaud your community involvement. I hope some of your listeners will comment here to let us know what happened.

WJSK is one of more than 170 radio stations throughout the US, Canada, and Australia that will broadcast Saving The Sierra: Grassroots Solutions for Sustaining Rural Communities. Check our Tune In Guide for a complete list of stations. Or download the complete program here .

Here are some upcoming broadcast times all around the US:

Colorado Public Radio Network (including Denver, Boulder, Pueblo, Grand Junction) June 22 2:00pm and June 23 9:00pm

KZSC Santa Cruz, California July 4 at 5:00pm

WPTC, Williamsport, Pennsylvania July 19 at noon

WFIU, Bloomington, Indiana July 20 at 8:00pm

WUFT, Gainesville Florida August 30 at noon