BREAKING NEWS FROM THE SIERRA FUND

Sacramento, CA --

The Conference Budget Committee has affirmed the Governor's full proposed budget of $21.6 million for the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, including $17.5 million (from Proposition 84) to create a grant program for the protection and restoration of rivers, lakes and streams, their watersheds and associated land, water, and other natural resources in the Conservancy service region. The Conference Committee, composed of three Senators and three Assemblymembers, passed the Conservancy budget in an unusual Saturday budget conference meeting on June 2, sending it onto the Governor as part of the overall state budget package.

On Tuesday, June 5, approximately 30 Sierran leaders and advocates attended the annual Sierra Day in the Capitol, distributing information about the state of the Sierra and thanking legislators for their support for Sierra Nevada Conservancy budget funding. A summary of ready-to-go Sierra Nevada conservation projects was distributed to every member of the legislature along with information documenting the need for greater investment in the region. This Lobby Day was sponsored by The Sierra Fund and the Sierra Nevada Alliance. Speakers at Lobby Day included Jim Branham from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Gary Patton from Planning and Conservation League, Joan Clayburgh from Sierra Nevada Alliance, Elizabeth "Izzy" Martin from The Sierra Fund, and Dennis Hall from Trust for Public Land.

"Sierra Nevada Alliance, Sierra Cascade Land Trust Council and the California Council of Land Trusts were key partners in helping to move this agenda item forward," noted an enthusiastic Izzy Martin. " Thanks to Assemblymen John Laird and Mark Leno and Senators Ducheny, Machado and Hollingsworth for supporting the Conservancy budget."