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Program Areas
Tourism and Recreation
Physical, Cultural, Archaeological, Historical, and Living Resources
Working Landscapes
Natural Disaster Risks
Water and Air Quality
Regional Economy
Public Lands
The language on this page is taken directly from the Strategic Plan which was adopted by the Board on July 20, 2006. For the complete document go to the Strategic Plan
Tourism and Recreation
Provide Increased Opportunities for Tourism and Recreation
Californians enjoy numerous recreational opportunities in the Sierra and the statute creating the SNC positions it as an advocate for increasing and improving those opportunities.
The Conservancy's mandate to provide increasing opportunities for tourism and recreation is a clear recognition of the major economic contribution of these activities to the region and its communities.
Tourism and recreational opportunities are essential to the Sierra Nevada's changing economy and major contributors to economic growth. In 1999, overnight campers spent over $560 million for use of private and public campgrounds, more than a sixth of such expenditures statewide1. These sectors continue to grow and provide more jobs and wages than many other sectors combined.
Between 1992 and 1998 the jobs generated by travel spending alone grew from about 6,500 to over
9,0002. The growth is driven by the creation of new businesses and the expansion of existing ones, based on providing value-added services on both public and private lands.
Recreational opportunities in the Sierra Nevada offer nearly every type of outdoor activity for visitors and residents (both full and part-time) from camping to snowshoeing, hunting to bird watching, and rock climbing to motorized sports. In fact, some estimates indicate that as many as 50 million visitor days are spent on public lands a year.
At the same time, it is important to note that some forms of recreation can create impacts on natural resources, especially use that is inconsistent with prescribed rules and restrictions. Likewise, increased tourism could create stress to existing infrastructure in many Sierra communities.
Many communities have developed or are exploring "non traditional" opportunities, such as eco-tourism, agri-tourism and heritage related tourism. Also the opportunity for additional recreational activities in the non-peak or "shoulder" seasons present viable options in many areas.
The SNC will work with communities on identifying opportunities that increase tourism and recreation consistent with sustainable practices and in recognition of community infrastructure needs. The SNC will encourage and support efforts that teach visitors how to be good stewards of local resources.
Action 1.1: Identify top priority tourism and recreational opportunities for all, including those in non-traditional activities such as eco-tourism, agri-tourism and heritage related tourism. Promote opportunities consistent with the integration of environmental, economic and social benefits.
Action 1.2: Develop and make available a comprehensive guide to recreational and tourism opportunities in the Sierra, in cooperation with other organizations within the region.
Action 1.3: Identify funding sources relative to tourism and recreation that may be utilized to complement the SNC activities in order to achieve objectives.
Action 1.4: Develop and make available a list of resources, consultants, organizations, etc. with skills, expertise and knowledge to assist communities with projects consistent with this goal.
Action 1.5: Identify and promote opportunities to enhance recreational and tourism activities in the non-peak and "shoulder" seasons.
Action 1.6: Provide opportunities on public lands through increased management, improved access and new trails.
Action 1.7: Promote opportunities on private land by supporting resource and amenity conservation and restoration projects associated with private creation of recreational use.
1 Fire and Resource Assessment Program (FRAP), Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Assessment,
Socio-Economic Assessment, Wildland Outdoor Recreation Assessment. p. 31
2 FRAP, Assessment, Socio-Economic Assessment, Wildland Outdoor Recreation Assessment, p. 29
Physical, Cultural, Archaeological, Historical, and Living Resources
Protect, Conserve, and Restore the Region's Physical, Cultural, Archaeological,
Historical, and Living Resources
The Sierra Nevada is a special place with many areas of interest. The extraordinary landscape draws residents and visitors. Few places on the planet have such beauty, ecological diversity, archaeological, cultural and historical assets.
Humans have lived in the Sierra for about 10,000 years, and have been a factor in the regional ecology for 3,000 to 5,000 years. Early people used fire to improve the land for food, hunting and gathering and to generate plants to make baskets and serve other needs. Today, the Sierra Region continues to be home to numerous tribes.
Later, the Sierra hosted California's famous gold rush, which marked a turning point in the Sierra's cultural, economic and natural history. During that period, a large number of people came to the Sierra to pursue their fortunes and built many of today's communities.
During this time, the practices employed by the miners severely degraded the Sierra's waterways and landscape. The results of these practices are still problems in many areas.
Increasing pressures including growth, economic decline, the risk of catastrophic fire, climate change and decreasing water and air quality put these important features at risk.
By 2040, almost 20 percent of the Sierra's current private forests and rangelands could be affected by projected development3. Such conversion would put at risk, among other things, the Sierra Nevada's wildlife and ecosystem health and its rich cultural and historic treasures.
In addition, nearly 70 percent of the Region's forests and rangelands are ecologically at risk from wildfire4. Catastrophic fire would have profound environmental, economic and social impacts.
Climatic changes also present significant potential impacts to the Sierra's physical and living resources. Currently, even conservative projections of warming temperatures suggest a significant decrease in the Sierra snowpack and changes in precipitation patterns, which must be considered in planning processes.
In order to protect, conserve and restore the region's living resources, it will be essential to promote ecosystem and watershed health. This will require an integrated approach recognizing the importance of terrestrial and aquatic habitats and the activities and conditions that may threaten their health.
Collaborative, integrated watershed planning efforts that address a wide range of issues will be encouraged and supported.
Action 2.1: Identify priority projects, partners and mechanisms, that protect, conserve and restore physical and natural resources, watersheds, wildlife habitat and other living resources.
Action 2.2: Identify priority projects, partners and mechanisms that protect, conserve and restore cultural, archaeological and historical resources.
Action 2.3: Identify critical information needs at the regional and community levels to assist in assessing resource protection needs.
Action 2.4: Identify specific funding sources that may complement the SNC activities in order to achieve program objectives.
Action 2.5: Develop a strategy to work in partnership with other governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other interested parties to identify information, assistance and resources needed to support community projects that protect, conserve and restore these important assets.
Action 2.6: Develop a strategy to partner with local governments to identify information, technical assistance and resources that would be of value in local land-use decision-making.
Action 2.7: Facilitate and foster good planning and education efforts (including those aimed particularly at students) to protect and enhance ecosystem and watershed health, sustainable working landscapes and economically viable communities.
4 FRAP Assessment Summary, p. 89
2 FRAP Assessment Chapter 3,Health - Wildfire Risks to Assets, p. 12
Working Landscapes
Aid in the Preservation of Working Landscapes
Working landscapes are lands managed to produce goods and commodities from the natural environment (most commonly farms, ranches, forests, and watersheds). These lands often provide important contributions to habitat, biodiversity, water quality, air quality and open space that benefit everyone. Based on landowner skills, resources, and voluntary conservation and restoration actions, the benefits can be substantial.
Although management responsibilities and costs rest with the landowner, in many communities these lands are an important part of the local economy, culture and social fabric. Working landscapes represent a scenic and historic asset for the region, covering approximately 36 percent of California's forests and rangelands5. Many of these working landscapes are at risk because landowners have difficulty keeping their businesses economically viable. In many places, development pressure is strong and the potential economic gain for converting the lands to other uses is substantial. The resulting conversion of use is often detrimental to natural resource values that remain.
In some instances the management of public lands in the area affect private landowners. Many are dependent on availability of government lands to create a scale of operation to make their own endeavors profitable. For example, in the Eastern Sierra 95 percent of land ownership is held by federal and other governments, 2.5 percent in ranches, and 2.5 percent in other private ownership6. In this area many private enterprises rely on these public lands for ranching, recreation, etc. In addition, government policies designed to respond to other resource issues can have unintended consequences and destabilize private working landscapes dependent on a mix of resources.
Action 3.1: Collaborate with governmental and non-governmental partners in identifying willing landowners interested in preserving their working landscapes through conservation easements and similar mechanisms.
Action 3.2: Identify voluntary incentive-based programs (including those complementing and enhancing regulatory efforts) to assist in preserving working landscapes consistent with achieving sustainable environmental protection, natural resource conservation and watershed management objectives.
Action 3.3: Identify opportunities for more cohesive public and private land management, including "checkerboard" ownership patterns, by identifying and facilitating potential voluntary land exchanges.
Action 3.4: Identify voluntary incentives to private and public landowners to manage the upper watershed to increase natural water storage and groundwater recharge.
Action 3.5: Facilitate local, regional and State planning to encourage upper watershed conservation efforts that result in increased natural water storage, groundwater recharge and habitat improvement.
Action 3.6: Provide regional perspective and coordination expertise to help local planning efforts consistent with working landscape goals; assist communities in minimizing adverse impacts of public land management on private working landscapes.
5 FRAP Assessment Summary, p. 75
2 FRAP Report to the California Biodiversity Council, September 18, 1997
Natural Disaster Risks
Reduce the Risk of Natural Disasters, such as Wildfires
The Sierra Nevada geography, geology, climate and vegetation make it particularly susceptible to natural disasters, particularly wildfires, floods, landslides, avalanches, and volcanic events. Effective fire suppression efforts in recent decades have increased fuel build-up in many areas. At the same time active public land forest management (timber harvesting and fuels management) has also been reduced
As this occurred, substantial residential and commercial growth occurred in historic wildlands. Increased length of the wildland-urban interfaces increase natural disaster risks. The existence of thousands of presently undeveloped parcels of land extending randomly into wildlands has the potential of exacerbating that latent risk.
For example, 79 percent of housing units in the Sierra wildland-urban interface are at significant risk from wildfire (Very High or Extreme fire threat). 7 Collaboration among local jurisdictions and local landowners may help affect future land-use decisions that could exacerbate the problem.
In addition, significant management challenges have increased fire risk on many publicly held lands. The proximity of these lands to developed areas creates additional threats.
In recent years, there has been an increase in efforts to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire on public and private lands. Substantial federal funding has been allocated to many of the Sierra Nevada's National Forests. Local Fire Safe Councils have been formed in many communities and there is a growing awareness of the fire problem among local decision-makers.
Similar investments are made for landslides and floods, but often after a fire event. Due to changing land-use patterns, official floodplain and other geographic hazard mapping are not always up to date and new construction sometimes occurs in those areas.
Some areas in the region face the risk of avalanche during the winter. In addition, volcanic hazards are of particular concern to some parts of the region.
Sierra communities must also determine the potential effects of climate change and develop strategies to deal with those changes.
Action 4.1: Collaborate with State and federal land managers to identify projects and activities that will reduce risks of, and prepare for, natural disasters on public lands.
Action 4.2: Assist communities in the development and implementation of firesafe community plans, flood prevention and other natural disaster prevention and response community-based plans. Collaborate with local governments and community-based organizations to create incentives for hazard mitigation and disaster planning.
Action 4.3: Collaborate with federal, State and local fire agencies to identify opportunities for the SNC to assist in risk reduction efforts on private lands.
Action 4.4: In cooperation with local governments, identify strategies to reduce the wildland-urban interface fire risk created by building structures that are within or encroach into wildlands.8
Action 4.5: Provide assistance to the Region in the development and implementation of alternative, multi-benefit natural disaster risk reduction programs such as bio-fuel creation.
7 FRAP Assessment Summary, p. 102)
8 Where houses and other human development meet or intermingle with wildland vegetation and wildfire poses a significant risk to human lives and structures.
Water and Air Quality
Protect and improve water and air quality.
Water
The Sierra Nevada Region has numerous major rivers, hundreds of lakes, and thousands of miles of streams that form 31 watersheds. These watersheds are the lifeblood of California as they contribute over 60% of California's water needs, (primarily to areas outside of the Sierra Nevada) and substantial hydro-electric power.
Many watersheds retain negative impacts from historic land uses, ongoing land-use changes, and episodic, intense wildfires that have degraded water and air quality and aquatic habitat conditions. Historic mining activities also have significant water quality impacts, from both sediment and heavy metals. In addition some forms of recreation can create impacts on water resources, especially if not conducted consistent with prescribed rules, regulations and restrictions.
Today, new construction, mining, timber and range management, residential and commercial land use, and road construction are all activities that are regulated to address impacts on water quality. Planning and regulation takes place at the State, regional and local levels. In addition, communities are facing issues such as wastewater treatment and storm water runoff that can affect water quality. At the same time, many Sierra dams are in the process (or will be in the near future) of being relicensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The outcomes of these efforts will have important consequences in many communities.
The SNC will work closely with these regulatory agencies and the communities to determine efforts that will contribute to improving water quality.
Air
While California faces some of the nation's most difficult air quality challenges, some Sierra communities enjoy some of the state's cleanest air.
However, in the more urbanized areas of the Sierra Nevada, as in other parts of California, motor vehicles are significant contributors to air pollution. Some areas, most particularly in the foothill region, receive substantial additional negative impacts from urban pollution carried by wind.
Air quality issues in the Sierra are further complicated by the role of fire. Catastrophic fires can create substantial amounts of pollution and can be particularly intense during active burning. At the same time, land managers use fire as a tool to reduce the risk of wildfire through prescribed burns. Reconciling land management activities and air quality standards continues to be a challenge.
Climate Change
Issues involving climate change are especially relevant to the Sierra Nevada's water and air quality. Governor's Executive Order (S-3-05) notes increased temperatures threaten to greatly reduce the Sierra snowpack, one of the State's primary sources of water; and increased temperatures also threaten to further exacerbate California's air quality problems with adverse effects on human health.
New approaches such as carbon sequestration hold great promise for the region and carbon emission offsets created by Sierra land management and other practices could enhance overall statewide goals.
Even under lower emissions scenarios, the Sierra snowpack is projected to face significant decline in the coming years. A regional approach on how to adapt to climate change is necessary to protect our natural resources and local economies.
Action 5.1: Identify and support voluntary incentive-based programs that complement and enhance regulatory efforts to achieve environmental protection and sustainability goals.
Action 5.2: Identify and support priority projects aimed at assessing, protecting, and improving watershed health, particularly those that provide multiple benefits.
Action 5.3: Develop and make available a list of funding sources, resources, consultants, and organizations with skills, expertise and knowledge to assist communities with projects consistent with this goal.
Action 5.4: Provide incentives for watershed restoration projects resulting in upper watershed health, water quality improvement and water source conservation efforts.
Action 5.5: Engage in cooperative efforts with agencies and other partners aimed at educating the public about, planning for, and monitoring the effects of climate change on the Sierra Nevada Region. For example, investigate technology and program options for carbon sequestration.
Action 5.6: Work with local governments, air quality organizations, and other stakeholders to encourage efforts to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire through increased biomass energy production, thereby reducing open burning and associated negative impacts on air quality and greenhouse gas emissions.
Regional Economy
Assist the regional economy through the operation of the Conservancy's program.
The Sierra Nevada economy is rooted in its natural environment by tourism, recreation, sustainable resource management, the production of agricultural products and the extraction of valuable minerals and building materials.
Many Sierra Nevada communities face ongoing economic challenges. At the same time, the changing local economies described earlier in this document present opportunities for greater diversification. Many communities are in need of assistance in developing efforts to attract diverse, sustainable economic activity. California as a whole will benefit from greater economic vitality within the Sierra.
In carrying out its programs, the SNC will support developing the needed information technology and other communications infrastructure that will help attract economic activity, particularly activity that reinvests in the region.
Population and economic growth constitute a dilemma for various parts of the region. Some seek and benefit from expansion while others prefer less development. SNC will need to take these differences into consideration in project planning.
The SNC will carry out its operations with an emphasis on providing economic benefits for Sierra communities. This includes being a consumer in the local economy by purchasing goods and services locally, conducting meetings and events in the region and assisting local businesses in gaining more State business opportunities. SNC will also invest in program areas in ways that enhance the economy of the Sierra.
The Conservancy will also play a role in fostering collaboration and cooperation among producers of regional goods and services to improve markets.
Action 6.1: To the maximum extent feasible, focus the SNC's expenditures and conduct activities within the region, utilizing community businesses.
Action 6.2: When investing in the SNC's information technology system and other infrastructure, factor in approaches to increase value to the region.
Action 6.3: Identify resources and assistance that will benefit communities in efforts to improve their economic well-being.
Action 6.4: Assist in growing and diversifying local economies that are compatible with the area's natural resources, through innovative investments and economic development that are regionally distinctive.
Public Lands
Undertake efforts to enhance public use and enjoyment of lands owned by the public.
Over 60 percent of the Sierra Nevada Region is owned by the public, with the federal government being the single largest land manager. These lands provide substantial recreational opportunities for Sierra residents and visitors and simultaneously provide for the protection of significant natural resources. The use of public lands for recreation and tourism provides substantial economic benefits for many communities. Just as significantly, those spending time on them, receive hours of enjoyment and fond memories.
However, with public use come management challenges relating to law enforcement, resource protection and development and maintenance of facilities. The SNC will work collaboratively with land management agencies and others to address these challenges and to increase the quality and diversity of use and enjoyment of public lands.
Action 7.1: Support community efforts to identify specific opportunities for sustainable public use and enjoyment of public lands. This includes conservation and restoration projects that result in public use.
Action 7.2: Develop and support, in consultation with State and federal land managers, sustainable projects that meet this objective, consistent with the land management agencies' objectives and responsibilities.