Sierra Nevada Conservancy Meets in Nevada City

At 6 p.m. on March 5 the Sierra Nevada Conservancy held a public input session at Miner's Foundry in Nevada City. The Conservancy (SNC) is a newly formed state agency tasked with fostering and preserving the physical and cultural environment of the entire range, comprising parts of 22 counties from the Oregon border south to Kern County. For program purposes SNC groups these counties into six sub-regions and has established its headquarters in Auburn, essentially the center of its domain. Beginning July 1, 2007 SNC will be funding projects to the tune of $17.5 million in state money plus another $54 million in Proposition 84 money derived from a 2006 bond issue. The purpose of the Nevada City meeting and another 17 like it throughout the Sierra this spring was to discuss SNC's mission and perfect the guidelines to be used in distributing the available funds. For the dates and locations of additional such meetings as well as contact information for SNC, please see www.sierranevada.ca.gov . The Nevada City session drew about 25 attendees to interact with SNC Executive Director Jim Branham and four of his staff. Among the attendees were representatives of the California Division of Forestry, the South Yuba River Citizens League, Saving the Sierra and various Placer and Nevada County neighborhood associations. Topics like the prevalence of toxic metals from abandoned mining sites, the need to define sustainable practices as meaning ecologically sustainable, dealing with urbanization pressures and ensuring balance between governmental and NGO grant recipients were advanced and kept the staff members scribbling away on their flip charts. If the other input sessions are as lively and informative as this one, the SNC and likely the Sierra itself will be well served. Bill Pieper Author of Belonging – A Novel of Downieville and California's Modern Gold Country (Comstock Bonanza Press, 2006) http://stores.ebay.com/bpbooks