2025 SYRCL Successes: Looking Back on an Incredible Year
The South Yuba River Citizens League’s mission is simple: unite and inspire people to protect and restore the waters, forests, and communities of the Yuba River watershed. In 2025, we lived that mission every single day.
Across five interconnected programs — Watershed Science, Education, Outreach, Film Festival, and Policy — SYRCL advanced river protection through strategic action:
- Restored meadows, forests, and salmon habitat through science-based projects
- Educated youth and community members about watershed ecology and stewardship
- Engaged thousands of people through volunteer events and river safety programs
- Inspired activism through powerful environmental storytelling at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival
- Advocated for strong water policy at local and state levels
None of this would be possible without the community that shows up for the Yuba. SYRCL is grateful for the volunteers, members, donors, partners, and advocates who believe this watershed is worth protecting.
Here are some of the milestones we achieved together in the months of 2025:
January
Salmon Return Numbers in the lower Yuba: September – December 2024
Through SYRCL’s participation in the River Management Team (RMT), our staff receives monthly updates on the number of Chinook and steelhead adults utilizing the fish ladders at Daguerre Point Dam. The numbers were encouraging.
February
Funding Secured – Galiano Fen & Haypress West Meadow Restoration Planning Project
SYRCL secured funding from the Wildlife Conservation Board Block Grant being administered by Point Blue and the Sierra Meadows Partnership (SMP) to plan restoration work in two distinct wetland sites within the North Yuba River watershed. This Project will complete planning on 100 acres of high priority meadow, fen, and associated aspen & forest habitat in the North Yuba Landscape Resilience Project (NYLRP).
SYRCL’s 2025 Wild & Scenic Film Festival Announces Festival Award Winners
SYRCL’s 23rd annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival wrapped up on Monday, February 17th. The festival featured five days of film sessions, workshops, panels, art exhibitions, a virtual reality experience, a media lounge, an EnviroFair, a scavenger hunt, and a wrap party with live music. Thousands of attendees, hundreds of volunteers, and nearly one hundred filmmakers from across the globe gathered in Nevada City and Grass Valley to experience one of the premiere environmental film festivals in the country. Throughout its run, the festival showcased over 100 environmental and adventure films including 14 world premieres, 7 U.S. premieres, 4 West Coast premieres, and 7 California premieres.
March
SYRCL Responds to Federal Staffing Cuts by Organizing a Congressional Letter Writing Campaign
To educate our decision makers about the threats staff layoffs at federal agencies have to our watershed, SYRCL rallied our community to help get all our voices heard. On Monday, 3/24 from 4-6, Tuesday, 3/25 from 4-6, and Wednesday, 3/26 from 5-7, the SYRCL Board and Staff invited the community to their office to take part in a letter writing campaign.
SYRCL’s Quiz Night 2025 Was A Wild Time
On Wednesday, March 19, 2025, SYRCL held its annual Quiz Night Event at the Wild Eye Pub in Grass Valley. Started in 2002, Quiz Night is the annual fundraiser for SYRCL’s Youth Environmentalist of the Year scholarship and its year-round River Education programs.
Together for Fresh Water – SYRCL Delivers Letter To Secretary Crowfoot
Every year at SYRCL’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival, we capitalize on the festival’s mission to inspire activism through the arts by asking guests to take action on a critical environmental issue. During SYRCL’s 2025 Wild & Scenic Film festival, we asked attendees to sign on to our letter urging decision makers to add explicit protections for California’s rivers, creeks, and other freshwater ecosystems in the state’s landmark 30×30 plan. On Wednesday, March 19th, SYRCL’s Executive Director, Aaron Zettler-Mann, hand delivered our letter and the 615 signatures to California’s Natural Resources Secretary, Wade Crowfoot, who is leading efforts to achieve California’s 30×30 plan.
April
Doom on Broom: SYRCL Sweeps Away Scotch Broom
On March 29, 2025, SYRCL assembled a crew in the dappled morning sunlight, breaching the canopy in the South Yuba Recreation area campsite. Shovels leaned against shoulders, gloved hands holding weed-pulling wrenches, and a hopeful determination in the air, 17 volunteers shared their excitement for beautiful weather and a chance to come together to cultivate healthy forests.
SYRCL’s 2025 State of the Yuba: Community, Advocacy, Education, Inspiration, and Successes
SYRCL held its annual State of the Yuba event on Thursday, April 23rd at the Gold Vibe Kombuchary. At the event, attendees had the opportunity to interact directly with SYRCL staff and ask questions about all our programs. SYRCL also honored our Volunteer of the Year, Richard Kaiser, our Sponsor of the Year, The Lee & Dunn Group Baird Private Wealth Management, and our Partner of the Year, the Wildlife Conservation Board. Additionally, SYRCL’s Education Department announced this year’s Environmentalist of the Year Scholarship Award Winner, Devon Giardini.
Federal, State, and Local Agencies Announce Initiatives for the Yuba Watershed
On April 25, 2025, the State of California, NOAA Fisheries, and the Yuba Water Agency announced a significant initiative aimed at enhancing water management and ecosystem restoration. SYRCL has been engaged in the development of the environmental portions of this initiative for nearly five years.
May
The Yuba Forest Network (YFN) is a forest health collaborative comprised of groups whose goal is to accelerate the pace and scale of forest health initiatives throughout the Yuba and Bear River watersheds. YFN emphasizes cross-boundary collaboration and stakeholder engagement through quarterly meetings and public events to promote the sharing of resources and collaborative learning. Outreach is further amplified by organizations such as SYRCL through public education on forest health, fire ecology, and climate adaptation, including specific programs for youth and private landowners.
June
SYRCL at SERCAL 2025: Advancing Restoration Across California
In April, SYRCL’s Watershed Science team joined over 300 restoration professionals, agency representatives, academics, NGOs, and students in Sacramento for SERCAL 2025 — the annual conference of the California Society for Ecological Restoration. Held April 21–23, the event was a powerful reminder that the most effective restoration work happens through collaboration across disciplines, geographies, and generations.
Salmon & Packer Creek Aspen Restoration Project to launch in Tahoe National Forest
SYRCL, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, is launching the Salmon & Packer Creek Aspen Restoration Project, a major forest restoration effort aimed at revitalizing quaking aspen habitat within the Tahoe National Forest. Spanning a total of 292 acres north of Highway 49 and west of Gold Lakes Highway, this project includes degraded quaking aspen stands along Packer and Samon Creek in the Lost Sierra along Packer Lake Road. The primary goal is to restore and enhance 116 acres of aspen habitat, a critical but declining habitat in the Sierra Nevada.
Nature Returns: Striking Before-and-After Photos Show Life Flourishing at Lower Long Bar
Three years after SYRCL’s restoration efforts, the Yuba River floodplain is thriving with new growth and renewed hope. Danielle Horvath, SYRCL’s Fisheries Restoration Program Manager, conducted photopoint surveys at our Lower Long Bar Restoration site and collected some exciting pictures throughout the entire project area.
July
Celebrating a Magical Evening: SYRCL’s Wild for the Yuba 2025 Recap
On Friday, July 11, SYRCL gathered with friends, supporters, and river lovers for a truly unforgettable night: Wild for the Yuba 2025. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Schrammsberg Estate in Nevada City, this special Dinner & Auction was an evening full of connections, generosity, and celebration.
At SYRCL, our river, meadow, aspen, and forest restoration projects do more than heal the watershed; they actively drive local economies, create meaningful jobs, and reaffirm the connection between ecological health and community well-being. This is known as the Restoration Economy, an economic model built on repairing what was once harmed.
2025 YOLO Program Brings Students into the Field
From June 16th to 19th, a group of twelve high school students ventured into the Sierra Nevada to take part in SYRCL’s annual Youth Outdoor Leadership Opportunity (YOLO) program, an immersive four-day field science and leadership program held at Loney Meadow. This program is an incredible opportunity for high school students to actively aid in restoration efforts, get better acquainted with the outdoors, and explore a career in environmental science.
September
Inspiring the Next Generation of Environmental Leaders: Girls in Science 2025
SYRCL proudly welcomed two Earthwatch Girls in Science teams to the watershed. The fellowship program, launched by Earthwatch in 2016, empowers high school girls to build confidence and leadership skills through hands-on environmental research. This year, 12 students from across California joined SYRCL’s science and education teams in the field. Their work focused on meadow restoration and monitoring — critical projects that support biodiversity, improve hydrology, and reduce human impacts on Sierra ecosystems.
SYRCL’s 2025 River Ambassadors: What We Learned At The Yuba
This year’s River Ambassadors made an impact:
- 36,407 people encountered: up slightly from 34,980 during the 2024 river season
- 8,827 meaningful interactions: a 34% increase over last year
- First-time visitors nearly doubled: River Ambassadors counted 1,710 first-time visitors in 2025 vs. 882 in 2024
- Broader reach: River Ambassadors interacted with more out-of-town visitors in 2025 vs. 2024, and more from Sacramento and the Bay Areas. River Ambassadors also noted a rise in Spanish-speaking interactions
From Washington, D.C. to the Yuba: Standing Up for Our Rivers
From September 8th to the 12th, SYRCL’s Executive Director, Dr. Aaron Zettler-Mann, had the privilege of traveling to Washington, D.C. as part of the Hydropower Reform Coalition, alongside incredible partners from American Whitewater, American Rivers, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, and Friends of the River. Together, they carried a shared message: protecting rivers and responsible permitting at the federal level are essential to safeguarding clean water, healthy watersheds, and resilient communities here at home.
SYRCL Leads Over 600 Volunteers in Tackling Micro Trash at 28th Annual Yuba River Cleanup
SYRCL held its 28th annual Yuba River Cleanup event on Saturday, September 20, 2025, from 9am to noon. We would like to thank the 657 volunteers who donated their time and energy to help remove trash from 25 sites throughout the Yuba watershed. We would especially like to thank the 29 individuals who took on the extra responsibility of being a site leader at the many different sites throughout the watershed.
North Yuba Forest Partnership Advances Wildfire Risk Reduction near Camptonville
The North Yuba Forest Partnership, nine organizations including SYRCL that are committed to collaboratively planning, funding, and implementing forest restoration across the North Yuba River watershed, announced that wildfire risk reduction treatments will begin near the community of Camptonville and New Bullards Bar Reservoir. Following the Tahoe National Forest’s signing of the Record of Decision for Subproject Area #2 of the North Yuba Landscape Resilience Project (NYLRP), implementation is now cleared to begin within this priority area.
October
Yuba River Salmon Return Numbers: March– September 2025
This year, Chinook salmon passage numbers are approximately twice those observed during the same period in 2024. The majority of these fish are likely spring-run Chinook, a threatened strain of Central Valley Chinook, based on their summer migration behavior. To confirm the run type, genetic samples would need to be collected. Some of these salmon have already made redds at SYRCL’s Upper Rose Bar spawning restoration project. Completed in 2024, this project enhanced salmon spawning habitat by adding appropriately sized gravels to two riffles and a side channel, creating healthier conditions for egg incubation.
SYRCL’s Van Norden Meadow Restoration Reaches Major Milestone: Lytton Creek Reconnected to Historic Floodplain
SYRCL is excited to share that Phase 2 of the Van Norden Meadow Restoration Project was completed this year! Phase 2 focused on restoring the Lytton Fan within the larger 485-acre Van Norden Meadow Restoration Project. The main objective of this portion of the project was to reconnect Lytton Creek with the Lytton Fan to activate a significant part of the floodplain in Van Norden Meadow, providing hydrologic and ecological benefits to a dry section of the meadow.
November
Galiano Fen and Haypress West Pre-Project Monitoring
We spent the 2025 field season conducting pre-project monitoring, hiring project contractors, and beginning to review restoration designs. Meadow restoration projects like Galiano Fen and Haypress West Meadow require years of careful planning, scientific monitoring, and dedicated staff time before a single shovel breaks ground. Your support makes this work possible. From baseline data collection to hiring expert contractors to long-term post-restoration monitoring, every phase of meadow restoration depends on community investment in watershed health.
“Our Connected Landscape” – Dr. Zettler-Mann on Forests, Water, and Climate Resilience
On November 15th, more than 50 attendees gathered at Peace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley for a presentation by the South Yuba River Citizens League’s Executive Director, Dr. Aaron Zettler-Mann, hosted by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Nevada County Branch.
December
Wrapping up Salmon Expeditions: A Reflection on Another Successful Season
The Salmon Expedition program is one of SYRCL’s most far-reaching programs, engaging thousands of students and community members over the course of a few months. This year alone, nearly 2,400 students, teachers, parent chaperones, and community members from 35 different schools had the chance to see the magic of Chinook salmon spawning season by rafting on the lower Yuba River.
Yuba River Salmon Return Numbers: September – November 2025
At the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL), we track Chinook salmon returns closely because healthy populations of this keystone species are a key indicator of a thriving river ecosystem. Through SYRCL’s participation in the River Management Team (RMT), our staff receives monthly updates on the number of Chinook and steelhead adults utilizing the fish ladders at Daguerre Point Dam. This information is collected using VAKI River Watcher camera systems installed in the North and South ladders, which snap a photo every time a fish swims past it. For 2025, we have seen more Chinook salmon than in the past 10 years: 6198 adults and counting.
Looking Ahead
As we look ahead, 2026 offers a powerful moment to pause, reflect, and then move forward together. January 1, 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the State Wild & Scenic designation for the South Yuba River, a hard-won protection made possible by community members who believed this river was worth fighting for. That same spirit carries into our 24th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival, where this year’s theme, Mobilize, invites all of us to turn inspiration into action. The work ahead — protecting flows, restoring habitats, strengthening communities — will require the same collective commitment that defined 2025. We hope you’ll continue this journey with us as a member, donor, volunteer, or advocate, and help ensure that the Yuba River remains wild, scenic, and protected for generations to come.
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