The Yuba Strategy is SYRCL’s approach to organizing citizens in support of a restoration economy, watershed governance and the regeneration of wild salmon throughout the Greater Yuba River Watershed, from Source waters to Sea.

The San Juan Ridge bridges the Middle and South Yuba River Sub-Basins. Photo by Hank Meals.

SYRCL’s vision and strategy for the Yuba River over the next generation is summarized in  A 21st Century Assessment of the Yuba River Watershed (June 2010).  This document overviews the entire watershed from cultural, physical and biological perspectives, provides a framework for ongoing watershed assessment by citizens and cooperating organizations, and identifies priority restoration actions for both the upper and lower watershed.

Download the pdf version (40 MB), or click the “Buy Now” button below to purchase the complete layout of this attractive, informative and provocative report.

The Yuba Strategy involves many elements to support the development of a healthy future for our watershed, including:

Accessible Information – The Yuba River Watershed Information System, YubaShed.org contains water quality monitoring data, links to other information sources, a photo library and a growing bibliography.

Citizen Involvement – SYRCL offers many volunteer opportunties for involvment in monitoring, assessment and restoration.  We also provide Salmon Tours on the lower Yuba River and various Watershed Excursions – be sure to suscribe to our newsletter.  Citizens wishing to report a potential violation of environmental laws are encouraged to use our Reference Guide for contacting the appropriate authorities.

Watershed Guilds – Everyone lives in watersheds, and most people live in one that is only slightly larger than the scale of their neighborhood.  When people concerned for a common watershed begin to share their stories, hopes for the future and willingness to take action they have started a watershed guild.  SYRCL is the Guild for the Yuba Watershed, but smaller groups vested in their tributary-scale watersheds are critical to the “Yuba Strategy. SYRCL facilitates watershed guilds by convening meetings, documenting concerns and issues, and guiding local watershed assessment process to generate locally-derived projects.   We also work with guilds to coordinate representation at the Yuba Watershed Council, and to find funding for priority projects.  The Draft Watershed Assessment for Rush Creek is a pilot project for this long-term work.  See Watershed Assessment page.