Current Projects - Sierra Nevada Foundation

About the Foundation
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Explore the Sierra
- - Northern Sierra
  - With densely wooded conifer forests, large active volcanoes, and a richly diverse collection of plants and animals, the Northern Sierra is as beautiful and memorable as it is remote and rugged.
- - Central Sierra
  - With a diverse range of flora and fauna set among vast granite slabs, domes, and cliffs, the Central Sierra has some of the most iconic landscapes most people imagine when they think of the Sierra.
- - Eastern Sierra
  - Dramatic peaks, and sprawling valleys with geothermal and volcanic activity, this area of the Sierra distinguishes itself as one of the most beautiful and remote places in California.
- - Southern Sierra
  - Home to the largest trees in the world, towering jagged peaks, sprawling forests, and deep granite valleys, this area of the Sierra is less visited, yet home to some precious and delicate ecosystems.
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Sierra Nevada Foundation Funding

This year, the Sierra Nevada Foundation created a grant process where nonprofits that are working on protection, preservation and restoration projects within the Sierra Nevada Conservancy Map could apply through a simple Letter of Inquiry for funds to support their work. Nonprofits had two months to submit their Letters of Inquiry, and then the Sierra Nevada Foundation committee vetted the letters and funded 9 impressive projects for this coming fiscal year.

The recipients of the first, annual Sierra Nevada Foundation grant process include:

The Alpine Watershed Group for their East Carson Prioritization Project
American Hiking Society for their El Dorado National Forest Trail Stewardship Project (Camp Irene Trail in Mokelumne Wilderness)
American River Conservancy for their Steely Ridge Property Easement Project Support
Climate & Wildfire Institute for their Teakettle Prescribed Burn Project
Eastern Sierra Land Trust for their University of Redlands Summer Interns Program
Feather River Land Trust for their Landscape-scale Watershed Conservation Efforts
Foothill Conservancy for their Green Gen Storage Project Opposition (Mokelumne River)
Plumas Audubon Society for their Northern Sierra Wildlife Connectivity Working Group (NSWC) Development
The Sierra Fund (DBA Indigenous Futures Society) for their Tribal GIS Data Hub Development

Each nonprofit organization received $5,000 for their efforts to preserve, protect and/or restore different areas within the Sierra Nevada Conservancy Map. The Sierra Nevada Foundation is excited to support these organizations and others as our world moves forward to balance our community needs and our environmental impacts in the 21^st century. The Sierra Nevada Foundation will be running this grant process annually each spring moving forward. Watch for upcoming Sierra Nevada Foundation funding opportunities on the El Dorado Community Foundation Grants Page. Congratulations to the inaugural Sierra Nevada Foundation recipients!

Sierra Nevada Foundation Impact

On October 18-19th, 2023, California State Senators John Laird and Brian Dahle co-hosted a great two-day tour of the Sierra that showcased ways the state legislature can support building more resilient forests and help communities recover from wildfire. This Sierra Nevada Foundation event included informational support from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. Over twenty legislative staff who guide natural resource policy and budgeting participated.

The tour featured the Feather River watershed and Dixie Fire area. Topics covered:

The importance of Sierra watersheds and forests to California;
The severity, and massive scale, of recent fires along with approaches that decrease fire severity to better protect communities;
The importance of integrated projects that address fuel load and support cultural or prescribed burning, creating markets for small diameter fuels waste, hydraulic mine restoration, meadow restoration, and/or other nature-based watershed restoration;
The power of tribal led workforces and forest guardianship efforts.

The tour highlighted specific California state budget, policy, or future resource bond opportunities to advance Sierra Nevada forest health and community needs. The power of this tour was legislative participants experiencing the vibrant and inspirational Sierra– and contrasting this beauty with devastation from massive high-severity fire-scarred landscapes and communities. Sierra conservation champions look forward to building on the education from this tour to advance improved forest stewardship for the Sierra.