My dad became a gold mining nut. He had all these gold mining friends from the hills. They dug enormous holes. They drank enormous amounts of beer.

Glencoe

One thing I see as I ride my mountain bike is the damage that is being done by Sierra Pacific Industries and their clear cutting. It’s horrendous what they do and some of the land is theirs so you can’t really argue about it. But it creates erosion problems and then they go in and spray with pesticides and that runs off into our drinking water.

Find out more about CSERC

Twain Harte

No audio available for this story. 

In the 67 stories I’ve transcribed so far, every one has touched on an emotion I’ve felt or a belief I’ve shared about the Sierra and conservation in general. I’m a writer at heart, and I believe the written word has more strength than mere paper and ink belie. I believe it can influence decisions, enlighten the curious, inspire readers to act, and, ultimately, affect the future of our beloved mountains.

Roseville

A land trust is a much more direct way of protecting private land— working with willing land owners and directly acquiring interest in property. It’s important to us not only to protect the natural values, but the human values and cultural values as well.

Beckwourth

I have been very much involved in efforts to make visible the heritage of the Sierra Nevada so that people will look at it not only as something to conserve and preserve, but the idea that within the Sierra Nevada it is really an important aspect of our economy.

Grass Valley

I came face to face with a very large mountain lion holding a deer in its jaws. He had just snapped her in half. It was a full-grown doe. It was a tremendous show of force.

Listen to another version of this story on Weekend America's September 1, 2007 broadcast in the "Summer Chills and Season Changes" segment.

Sequoia NP

It used to be more of an adversarial relationship, between the environmental side and the agricultural side, but we’ve all realized that we’re in the same boat. We’re seeing a lot of people work together to preserve not only the ranch land itself but the way of life that goes along with it.

Quincy

What people don't realize is that everything you do up here has an impact further down the line. Say you are riding quads, driving through creeks, causing erosion. That's going to affect people downstream.

West Point

Our work is doing land transactions for conservation purposes. Something that makes the work rewarding for me is the partnerships. It is so meaningful to be able to celebrate success with our local partners on the land we've worked so hard to protect.

Yuba River

A big success that happened recently was here in Grass Valley called Come Home to Eat. I’ve been in Cooperative Extension for 23 years, and that event is in the top five of highlights for me.

Learn more about University of California Cooperative Extension Services

Learn more about Nevada County's Come Home to Eat event and the Local Food Coalition .

Lake of the Pines