Grass Valley Charter School Students on the Capitol steps, December, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 2, 2012

Nevada City, CA— A delegation of local parks supporters will hand-deliver over 10,000 letters and petition signatures to Governor Brown on February 8^th in an effort to convince him and State Parks officials to remove the South Yuba River and Malakoff Diggins State Parks from the list of 70 State Parks slated to close in July 2012.

“The ‘Yuba Express’ is headed to the Capitol carrying the demand from over 10,000 community members that these beloved state parks must remain open,” said Caleb Dardick, executive director of the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL), which launched the letter writing and signature drive less than two months ago with the goal to collect 5,000 names that has since doubled.

Last week, the Nevada County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a letter to State Parks officials supporting the State Parks Departments plan to start charging for parking at Bridgeport to generate needed revenue for the South Yuba River State Park. State Parks staff have stated that new revenues are required if the park is to remain open.

The Nevada County Supervisors also joined City Councilmembers from Nevada City, Grass Valley and Truckee in signing a joint statement as individuals explaining their strong opposition to the closures that will be sent to state officials this week. “It’s very unusual to see 20 individuals – especially elected officials – speak with a common voice. The very fact that we did this shows how highly prized these parks are to our community,” said Nevada City Councilman Robert Bergman who went to each of his colleagues for their support.

Several dozen community members and students from the Grass Valley Charter School will caravan to the Capitol where they will meet with State leaders and deliver the petitions to Governor Brown, Resource Secretary John Laird, Parks Director Ruth Coleman, State Senator Doug LaMalfa, and Assemblymember Dan Logue.

This will be a return visit for more than 25 students at Grass Valley Charter School who collectively collected over 1,100 petition signatures, and met with Secretary Laird in mid-December. On that first trip, students explained to Laird that “nature is their teacher, and the parks are their classrooms,” recalled Alex Ezzell, Adventure & Service Teacher at Grass Valley Charter School.

The grassroots effort to save these two local state parks kicked off with a major Town Hall meeting co-sponsored by SYRCL on December 12, 2011 in Nevada City, which more than four hundred community members attended.

What: Local delegation of community members and students, the “Yuba Express,” to hand deliver 10,000 letters and petitions asking State leaders to remove South Yuba River and Malakoff Diggins State Parks from the Closure List

When: Wednesday, February 8^th, 10:30am (Deliver to Governor’s office at 11:30am) – or carpool from Safeway (105 Neal Street, Grass Valley at 8:30 am)

Where: State Capitol Hearing Room 126, Sacramento (1400 10th Street, Sacramento, 95814)

RSVP: On Facebook or to Miriam Limov at miriam@syrcl.org

Contacts:

Caleb Dardick, Executive Director
South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL)
(530) 265-5961 x207, caleb@syrcl.org

For more information about the Grass Valley Charter School students, contact:
Tom Mooers, tommooers@gmail.com

Grass Valley Charter School Students on the Capitol Steps, December 2011

The Save Our Yuba State Parks campaign has collected over 10,000 letters and petition signatures addressed to Governor Jerry Brown with one clear message: Keep our Yuba State Parks open!

Please join us as we caravan down to the State Capitol in Sacramento to hand-deliver these petitions directly to Governor Brown, Resource Secretary John Laird, and Parks Director Ruth Coleman on Wednesday, February 8, 2012.

A large turnout accompanying these 10,000 signatures will show the Governor that our community will not allow the South Yuba River and Malakoff Diggins State Parks to close.

Please RSVP on Facebook to let us know that you can come and be part of this powerful delegation.

Logistics:

Meet at the State Capitol at 10:30am (We will have a Hearing Room assigned to us.)  We will have a short program with guest speakers active in the local and statewide effort to save California’s State Parks. Afterwards we will hand-deliver the 10,000 signatures to the Governor’s office.

To caravan down from Nevada County, please meet up at the Safeway parking lot at 105 Neal Street in Grass Valley at 8:30am.

We will post more logistical information on SYRCL’s Facebook events page very soon.

If you are not on Facebook, please RSVP to Miriam Limov, SYRCL’s River People Coordinator at Miriam@syrcl.org

Cover of postcard to National Marine Fisheries Service

SYRCL has mailed over 500 postcards to agencies that have the authority to create fish passage for salmon above Englebright Dam and provide cold water flows to restore salmon and steelhead to the upper Yuba River Watershed.  Restoring salmon to the upper Yuba River will require many bold actions and SYRCL is leading the way by allowing citizens to comment directly to the key agencies on decision points. Of the two current postcards, one is addressed to the Regional Administrator of National Marine Fisheries Service and includes a detailed request: Require the Army Corps of Engineers to provide fish passage for salmon and steelhead at Englebright Dam.  This opportunity for such a requirement stems from SYRCLs successful legal action requiring a new Biological Opinion for the dam due February 29.  The second postcard is addressed to the US Forest Service and requests that the agency use its authority from the Federal Power Act to require PG&E and the Nevada Irrigation District to release enough water into the South and Middle Yuba Rivers to provide necessary habitat for salmon.  Currently, more than 80% of the water is diverted by these hydropower projects and the rivers are too warm to support salmon.  These projects must obtain new federal licenses to operate by 2013.

SYRCL thanks all the participants in this year’s actions at Wild and Scenic, and invites anyone interested in participating in our ongoing actions to restore wild salmonids in the Yuba Watershed to visit our office at 216 Main St. Nevada City, CA.

John Trudell at the 20th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival

Nevada City, January 17, 2012 –The South Yuba River Citizens League’s (SYRCL) 10^th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival took place over this past weekend.  5,000 tickets for more than 10 film and music events were sold, packing Nevada City with more than 4,000 people over three days.  In addition to events that required a ticket, the many activities free to the public were also well attended, such as the dam removal celebration and the activist workshops.

“The festival’s goals to inspire activism, support SYRCL’s year round work to protect the Yuba River watershed and support the local economy in a traditionally slow time of year, were fully realized,” stated Melinda Booth, Director of Development and Wild & Scenic Events.

The festival kicked off early on Friday morning with a school program in Grass Valley at the Del Oro Theater.  1,300 youth in grades k-12 attended this sold out educational opportunity.  Then, starting Friday evening, the festival began screening 118 films at seven venues in Nevada City and one in Grass Valley—for the first time, Grass Valley was included in the list of venues; on Saturday night, Amy Goodman spoke and the film Schooling the World was shown at the Veterans Hall.  Comments from festival-goers throughout the weekend were positive—they loved the films, the music, the street performances, parades and, most of all, the ability to get involved.  The Wild & Scenic Festival tagline, “where activism gets inspired” was true to its words and opportunities for folks to take action were abundant.  SYRCL promoted its Save Our Yuba State Parks campaign and other activist organizations were on hand to collect signatures and promote their cause.

More than 600 volunteers joined SYRCL to present this film festival.  Help was needed for all aspects of the festival—to sell tickets, emcee the films, provide lodging to filmmakers, handle the audio/visual needs—just to name a few.

The hotels were fully booked for the weekend and Erin Thiem, owner of The Outside Inn, said “as it stands now the Outside Inn is 75% booked for next year’s festival, for MLK weekend.”  Shops and restaurants were also supportive of the event and packed throughout the festival. Alesia Sampson, Sales Associate at Scotch Broom said, “we were pleased to support Wild & Scenic with a custom film festival window display and the 2012 film festival brought lots of people and increased sales to our store.”

Filmmakers and guests from out of the area commented on what a wonderful town Nevada City is and what an amazing community it boasts.  “In addition to being an environmental call to action and an opportunity to showcase historic Nevada City, we’re so pleased that the Film Festival is such an economic driver that supports our friends in the business community, too,” said Caleb Dardick, Executive Director of SYRCL.

The Award Ceremony on Saturday afternoon was packed and all but one award was announced.  The People’s Choice Award wasn’t tallied until the end of the session on Sunday and that winner was announced at the Nevada Theatre’s Sunday Night Movie Series—that evening a selection of the award winners was screened as a benefit for SYRCL.  The winners are:

Best of Festival

Into Eternity

Spirit of Activism
The Naked Option

Most Inspiring Adventure Film

Kadoma

Jury Awards

Windfall
You’ve Been Trumped
We Still Live Here

Best Short Short
The Story of Broke

Student Filmmaker Award

Roots & Hollers

John de Graaf Environmental Filmmaking Award
Mill Valley Film Group, The New Environmentalists

People’s Choice Award
Rock the Boat

Honorable Mentions

Food Stamped

Liter of Light

Chasing Water

Best Children’s Film (Decided by our Kids’ Jury)
Origins: Obe and Ashima

Honorable Mentions for Best Children’s Film
The Shark Riddle

Animal Beatbox

The Nevada County Board of Supervisors will vote on Tuesday, January 24^th to send a letter to the State Parks Department endorsing a new partnership plan to charge for parking at Bridgeport. Generating new revenues for state parks is a necessity if we are to keep these parks open. Please join SYRCL at the meeting to encourage and thank the Board for taking this important next step.

Please attend the Board meeting on Tuesday, January 24^th
(Meeting starts at 9am; no need to arrive before 10am)
Board Chambers, Eric Rood Administrative Center, 950 Maidu Avenue, Nevada City
You can also email the Board at: bdofsupervisors@co.nevada.ca.us
(Please copy Miriam at SYRCL: Miriam@syrcl.org)

Background:

With over 400 people at the December 12^th rally to Save Our Yuba State Parks, and with nearly 10,000 letters and petition signatures collected since, this community has succeeded in making its’ voice heard at the County and State levels that we will defend our local state parks.

The South Yuba River and Malakoff Diggins State Parks were put on the 70-park closure list because they do not generate significant direct revenue. Therefore, the best chance for keeping the state parks open is to generate new revenue.

The State Parks staff proposes to institute pay parking at Bridgeport to generate needed funds. To ensure maximum use of the parking lots and enhance pedestrian safety, the State has requested that the County increase the area of restricted parking within several hundred feet of the park entrance along Pleasant Valley Road.

Over the past few weeks, State and County officials have met with community members to review this plan. We applaud Supervisor Hank Weston for his leadership in forging a partnership between the state and county that we hope will help keep our state parks open. Supervisor Weston has prepared a letter to State Parks Acting District Superintendent Matt Green confirming the County’s endorsement of this plan. Weston’s letter also includes the Board’s offer to facilitate efforts to reduce operating costs at Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park by installing solar panels to lower energy costs there.

We recognize that charging for parking is a necessity if we are to keep the state parks open. Therefore, we urge parks’ supporters to contact the Nevada County Board of Supervisors, either in writing or by coming to the Tuesday, January 24^th Board meeting, to encourage and thank the Board for sending this important letter to State Parks, which demonstrates our County’s commitment to support the State Parks’ effort to generate needed revenue.

LOCAL SCHOOL SUBMITS MORE THAN 1,100 SIGNATURES, WINS SYRCL CONTEST

Contact:
Caleb Dardick, Executive Director, South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL)
265-5961 x207, caleb@syrcl.org

Nevada City, California—South Yuba River Citizens League has announced the winner of its signature collection challenge, part of its ongoing effort to keep Malakoff Diggins and South Yuba River State Parks off the list of 70 State Parks slated to close in July 2012. On Wednesday, students from the Grass Valley Charter School submitted 1,103 signatures – bringing the petition effort well over its goal – and earning the school free tickets to the Wild and Scenic Children’s Film Festival on Saturday morning and $250 from The Grant Farm towards its highly acclaimed environmental education effort.  With the latest submissions, SYRCL now counts more than 7,000 individual letters and petition signatures.

More than 100 students at Grass Valley Charter School participated in the petition effort, with one team of 4 young people generating more than 500 signatures. This team included Skyler Garvey, Emma Garvey, Evan Oelrichs, and Trinity Rivera.  Other leaders in the effort include Shendo Ellis-Lavigne, Eli Washburn, Ben Washburn, Hannah Youngman, Cameron Collins and Luca LaMarca.

Members of this team were part of a widely watched Lobbying Trip to the State Capitol on December 12, where they presented legislators and the Secretary of Resources a plea to keep their local parks open.  Alex Ezzell, Adventure & Service Teacher at GVCS, notes “through the experience of organizing to have their voices heard, delivering their message to Secretary of Natural Resources, John Laird, at the State Capital and most recently gathering over 1,100 petition signatures – these students have become empowered. I am proud of our students and their response to a threat to our State Parks – they have become both citizens and stewards to the resources of this community.”

The grassroots effort to save two local state parks kicked off with a major Town Hall meeting on Monday, December 12, 2011 in Nevada City. Co-sponsored by the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL), more than four hundred community members attended the meeting to learn how to take action to remove the South Yuba River and Malakoff Diggins State Parks from the list of 70 state parks slated to close on July 1, 2012.

That night, SYRCL announced a campaign to collect the signatures of 5,000 residents within 30 days urging Governor Brown to remove the South Yuba River and Malakoff Diggins State Parks from the list.  SYRCL noted at the time that 5,000 signatures would amount to the highest number of signatures gathered on behalf of any single State Park.

SYRCL Executive Director Caleb Dardick is optimistic about upcoming efforts with the State, including the presentation of signed letters and petitions to Governor Jerry Brown, planned for early February.   ”SYRCL is deeply impressed with the commitment demonstrated by our local community to preserving our state parks.  Our petition has received widespread support, and we couldn’t be more thrilled than to divide the prize between these hard-working, young activists, whose enthusiasm is an inspiration to us all.”

Petitions will continue to be collected all week and attendees of this weekend’s Wild and Scenic Film Festival will have the opportunity to sign a postcard or petition to preserve local parks throughout the festival. The award to Grass Valley Charter School will be presented at the Children’s Film Festival on Saturday at 11:00.

Learn more about the ongoing threat to State Parks, including the proposed elimination of rangers, at: https://secure3.convio.net/cspf/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=308

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More:  The Wild & Scenic Film Festival will include a special workshop on Saturday, January 14 from 3-4pm at Nevada City’s City Hall Activist Center, 317 Broad Street. This workshop is free and open to the public and includes a panel discussion with The Future of California State Parks. Join local and regional experts to learn about the latest updates on the State Park closures, and other issues effecting California State Parks.  Panelists will include Elizabeth Goldstein, President of the California State Parks Foundation; Caleb Dardick, Executive Director of the South Yuba River Citizens League; Caryl Hart, Chair of the California State Parks Commission & Director of Sonoma County Regional Parks; and David Vassar, Director of California Forever, The First 70, featured in this years festival, which documents the 70 Parks threatened with closure in 2012.

Have you purchased your tickets? You can purchase online (24 hours a day until Thursday at 3pm) or in person at the SYRCL office (12-5pm through Thursday).  If you miss that deadline you can purchase tickets at Festival HQ (210 Broad St.) starting Friday at 10am.  However, we anticipate selling out for many sessions and highly recommend purchasing in advance.

If you want to be a festival insider, a few volunteer opportunities are still available.  For our tech crew positons, email Beth and for all other opportunities, sign up online.  Thanks to the 500+ volunteers who have already signed up to help.

In addition to all the amazing and inspiring films throughout the weekend,  here is a peek at the other events you’ll be treated to during festival:

• FRIDAY NIGHT OPENING MUSIC: Arrive early to the venues on Friday and enjoy the music of local musicians.
• LATE NIGHT MUSIC ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY : Join us after the films on Friday & Saturday night for late night music at the Haven Underground, 226 Broad Street.
• WORKSHOPS – FREE TO THE PUBLIC: Learn more about the issues and what you can do, get filmmaking tips from pros, and much more at our Activist Center at Nevada City’s City Hall on Saturday and Sunday, open at 9:30am. Check out our workshop page for details about all of the workshops in our Activist Center. Be sure to stop by to meet reps from local and regional organizations tabling in the foyer. SATURDAY MORNING KID FILMS
• AWARDS CEREMONY: Be the first to learn of the award-winning films, Saturday, 4:15pm, in the Stone Hall of the Foundry. Sat. Morn/Aft Ticket or Weekend Pass required. Limited seating. First come, first served.
• WINE & ART STROLL: Nevada County is increasingly known for our fabulous local wine. Take a stroll during the evening break between films and sample local wines & beer, Saturday, 4:30 – 6:30pm. Separate ticket required, available at Fest HQ for $15. Organized by the Nevada City Chamber of Commerce.
• ART SHOWS – FREE TO THE PUBLIC: Nevada County is a mecca for talented artists. We are partnering with Nevada County Arts to bring over 57 artists from throughout the Yuba Watershed and beyond that are featured at this years’ festival. Stop by any SYRCL booth or Fest HQ to pick up a special program listing all of our featured artists and venues.
• DAM REMOVAL CELEBRATION – FREE TO THE PUBLIC: American Rivers, the South Yuba River Citizens League & Patagonia invite you to celebrate Dams Coming Down! Join filmmaker Andy Maser for a premiere of The Craziest Idea with incredible footage of the Elwha & Condit Dam removals. Come watch some spectacular explosions, and share a toast to celebrate rivers running wild and free. There will be an opportunity to take action to help remove more outdated dams and restore wild salmon habitat, and win great raffle items.
• SPECIAL GUEST, AMY GOODMAN: A special film session with Amy Goodman is on Saturday night at 7pm at the Grass Valley Vets Hall. Amy will talk about her lifetime of work in independent media. We will also screen the film, Schooling the World: the White Man’s Last Burden, with a Q&A after the film.
• WILD & SCENIC GALA: Rub elbows with the festival’s special guests and meet other film enthusiasts while enjoying wine and gourmet hors d’oeuvres in the beautiful Nevada City Winery. Saturday evening, 10pm- midnight at the Nevada City Winery. The Gala is not included in your weekend pass. You will need to purchase a separate ticket for this event.
• ECO TOURS – FREE TO THE PUBLIC: Co-Housing, Take a fun tour of Nevada City’s unique co-housing project with architect Katie McCamant on Sunday, 10am. Meet in front of the Nevada Theatre. Trail Walk, Take a break from watching films to get out in the natural world. Join Sierra Streams Institute and naturalist David Lukas for an hour-long stroll on the new Tribute Trail along Deer Creek. They will share information about the Deer Creek watershed, and the ecology, hydrology and natural history of the area. Meet at 12pm on Sunday in front of the Miners Foundry.
• THE A.P.P.L.E. CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING: at 412 Commercial Street, will be hosting several Festival activities throughout the weekend. Please stop by to hear first-hand about Nevada City’s sustainability movement, and for these special events.

Public shaving on Friday, January 13^th at 5 PM in front of the Mowen-Solinsky Gallery at 225 Broad Street by stylists from Bel Capelli Salon

Nevada City, CA – Some Nevada County, CA residents are stepping up to very publicly shave their heads to keep the South Yuba River and Malakoff Diggins State Parks from closing.

Shawn, Mike and Robert getting their heads shaved! S(have) the Yuba!

The State’s budget issues have led to draconian cuts, and the State Parks are one of the hardest hit, but regions that have fought for their parks have seen progress towards taking them off of the closure list. The South Yuba River Citizen League (SYRCL) is spearheading this fight locally, educating the public and generating community energy to save the parks and keep them open and accessible. A petition is circulating, the goal is to send 5000 signatures to California Gerry Brown to show support for the parks and, hopefully, stem their impending closures.

Generating as many signatures as possible inspired a new movement – “S(h)ave Our Yuba State Parks.”

It started when former SYRCL Director Shawn Garvey agreed to bare his dome once the petition reached 2000 signatures, a number achieved in just a few days. Soon after, two more residents, Robert Trent and Mike Mooers, agreed to undergo the same hair-styling procedure should other benchmarks be reached.

Mooers set that benchmark at six thousand signatures. “Let’s show the state that this community needs and loves these parks. Five-thousand signatures sends a powerful message, but when we hit 6000 it gets loud.” He notes that getting buzzed is a bit of a sacrifice. “I have nice hair – definitely nicer than Garvey’s – but our parks are far more valuable than vanity.”

Adds Trent: ” There’s an alignment: The Yuba is the fiber of our community, my hair is the fiber of my head. I love my community and the parks that are such a big part of it. I will proudly sacrifice my personal fibers for the greater good, and to get people to step up and sign.”

“The ‘S(h)ave the Yuba State Parks’ movement has definitely raised the stakes of personal commitment to keeping our parks open,” said Caleb Dardick, SYRCL’s Executive Director. “We surpassed our goal of 5,000 signatures in only 10 days so we raised the goal to 7,000 – maybe that will challenge a few others to put their locks on the line too.”

The heads will be publicly shaved during SYRCL’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival. Every year Wild & Scenic brings leading filmmakers, activists, social innovators, celebrities and adventurers to the largest festival of its kind in the country, and the audiences pack the small town. This year’s begins Friday, January 13^th, with hair styling commencing at 5 PM in front of the Mowen-Solinsky Gallery on Broad Street. Stylists from Bel Capelli Salon will provide professional shearing services.

Garvey, who spends much time at the Yuba with his children, is putting tremendous effort into raising awareness about the closures. “The parks are so important to us. The river is our soul, and Malakoff is our history. Beyond the personal connections my family and I have to these parks is the impact closures would have on the community. Tourism would drop off, jobs would be lost, and it would be emotionally and economically devastating to Grass Valley, Nevada City and the entire area.”

Now with SYRCL’s leadership, the community is responding to the increased goal. “Anyone can sign, adults, kids, whether you live here or not,” says Garvey. “All you need is a love for the river, or Malakoff’s link to our history.”

If you are interested in signing, visit SYRCL’s website, www.yubariver.org, and click on the link for the on-line petition. Or take it up a level, download a printable petition form, and go get some signatures in person.

About the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) and the Wild & Scenic Film Festival:

SYRCL (pronounced “circle”) is the leading voice for the protection and restoration of the Yuba River and the Greater Yuba Watershed. Founded in 1983 through a rural, grassroots campaign to defend the South Yuba River from proposed hydropower dams, SYRCL has developed into a vibrant community organization with over 3,500 members and volunteers based in Nevada City, CA. SYRCL is the leading regional advocates for creating resilient human and natural communities throughout the greater Yuba River basin by restoring creeks & rivers, regenerating wild salmon populations, and inspiring & organizing people—from the Yuba’s source to the sea—to join in the movement for a more wild & scenic Yuba River. More information at www.yubariver.org

This January 13-15th, SYRCL’s 10th Annual Wild & Scenic® Film Festival returns with another incredible selection of films to change your world.  Each year, the Wild & Scenic® Film Festival draws top filmmakers, celebrities, leading activists, social innovators and well-known world adventurers to the historic downtown of Nevada City, California. More information at http://www.wildandscenicfilmfestival.org/

Example of 2011 Water Quality Chart

The 11^th year of SYRCL’s river monitoring program was successfully completed in 2011 and we would like to thank all of our fabulous River Monitors for all their dedication and hard work! Results from the most recent year of monitoring can be viewed on Yuba Shed.  Posted reports include the Annual Quality Assurance Report and sets of comparative charts for each of the 44 sites monitored by SYRCL volunteers.  The Quality Assurance report evaluates how often monitors met precision standards and data quality procedures that SYRCL maintains with the State Water Resources Control Board. The report also summarizes measurements for which values exceeded referenced water quality standards and helps identify target sites for more extensive monitoring in the future.  If you are interested in becoming a River Monitor in 2012, sign up as a SYRCL volunteer with that stated interest, or send an email to rivermonitoring@syrcl.org.

Do you have an alternator (commonly called generator) fueled by gasoline, diesel, or propane? Capacity 120 VAC, 240 VAC, 3000 Watts (steady state) or more? Can you transport it to Nevada City? Then please become a W & S Film Fest possible-power-provider: join our list of Festival Power People. We will call for actual deliveries of your alternator on Jan 11, ONLY if the weather forecast during the Film Festival makes power outages likely (high wind, significant snow). If loaned to SYRCL, your alternator will be locked inside a secure, limited access building, ready for deployment to a festival venue only if needed. Technically-competent festival staff are trained to connect, and operate equipment with safety and security in mind. It will be available for your pick-up on Jan 16.

Please send the following information to Miriam Limov at Miriam@syrcl.org

Power available: (Watts or KVA, steady state)
Voltages AC available: (120? 240?)
Fuel: (Gasoline? Diesel? Propane?)
Weight of unit (lbs, approx)
Manufacturer:
Model Number:
Your contact info:
Name:
Email:
phone numbers: