Sierra Streams Institute

TO PROMOTE COMMUNITY STEWARDSHIP AND ADVANCE SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE OF WATERSHEDS THROUGH RESERARCH, MONITORING AND EDUCATION FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE SIERRA NEVADA REGION AND BEYOND.

RESTORATION: CONTINUED VARIOUS RESTORATION PROJECTS IN THE SIERRA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILL STREAMS AND WATERSHED PARTICULARLY THOSE IMPACTED BY MINING LEGACY AND WILDFIRES. WE COMPLETED HIRSCHMAN'S POND PROJECT, ACCOMPLISHING THE GOALS OF IMPROVING FOREST HEALTH BY REDUCING DENSE OVERSTOCKED TREES AND INVASIVE PLANTS, HELP PREVENT CATASTROPHIC WILDFIRE AND IMPACTS TO WATER QUALITY AND WILDLIFE HABITAT, AND PROTECT THE COMMUNITY. WE REDUCED FUEL LOADS THROUGH SELECTIVE THINNING OF TREES LESS THAN 6 INCHES IN DIAMETER, FLAMMABLE UNDER-STORY VEGETATION, DEAD AND DOWNED MATERIAL, AND INVASIVE SPECIES SUCH AS SCOTCH BROOM, IN ORDER TO PROMOTE HEALTHIER FOREST CONDITIONS.

EDUCATION: OUR FORESTS PROGRAM IS A NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION-FUNDED PROJECT BEGUN IN 2019, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY AND CITIZEN SCIENCE AT UC DAVIS AND NEVADA COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS. WE ARE DESIGNING HANDS-ON SCIENCE CURRICULUM FOR 3RD TO 5TH GRADERS WITH AN EMPHASIS OF COMMUNITY AND CITIZEN SCIENCE IN WESTERN NEVADA COUNTY. STUDENTS WILL COLLECT FOREST HEALTH AND FIRE RESILIENCE DATA ON PLOTS WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF THEIR SCHOOL, WHILE UC DAVIS RESEARCHERS STUDY WHETHER THIS METHOD OF TEACHING SCIENCE IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN TRADITIONAL, IN-CLASS CURRICULUM.

RESEARCH & MONITORING: WE USED THIS YEAR TO REVISE OUR WATER QUALITY MONITORING APPROACH, UTILIZING TWO DECADES OF MONITORING DATA TO IDENTIFY "SENTINEL" SITES THAT BEST TRACK CHANGES OVER TIME. THIS ALLOWED US TO LAUNCH NEW APPROACHES TO ASSESSING CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON LOCAL WATERSHEDS. FURTHER, OUR RESEARCH EFFORTS IN THE REALMS OF MINE WASTE IMPACTS ON HUMAN HEALTH, DRIVERS OF FIRE SEVERITY, PRESCRIBED FIRE IMPACTS ON FOREST REGENERATION, AND DRIVERS OF DROUGHT-INDUCED FOREST MORTALITY HAVE ALL YIELDED MANUSCRIPTS SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION IN ACADEMIC JOURNALS AND PUBLIC DISSEMINATION OF RESULTS OF THESE STUDIES IS PENDING. OUR MONITORING OF BACTERIA CONCENTRATIONS IN LOCAL STREAMS HAS BEEN LEVERAGED BY THE LOCAL CITY AND COUNTY FOR HUMAN HEALTH OUTREACH PURPOSES, AND OUR MONITORING OF WATER QUALITY IMPACTS OF FIRES WAS USED BY THE COUNTY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES TO MONITOR POST-FIRE EROSION MITIGATION EFFORTS.