Each year, SYRCL releases an Impact Report that details the work we have done over the course of the previous year.
River Education
Vanessa Richards, a Ghidotti Early College High School Senior, is the 2022 recipient of the Environmentalist of the Year Scholarship. This scholarship, administered by SYRCL, is offered to graduating high school seniors who plan to pursue a degree in the environmental field. Each year, a young river steward from our community is awarded a $4,000 scholarship.
Throughout most of the year, the brilliantly colored Sierra newt (Taricha sierrae) lives on land, hunting and eating insects, earthworms, and slugs and hiding from any potential predators in the moist soil beneath rocks and logs. In the winter and spring, however, these members of the family Salamandridae become aquatic, returning to the pond or stream where they were born in search of a good time.
As we begin 2022, we find it useful to reflect back on the work we accomplished in 2021. We could not have done it without hundreds of volunteers and members, dozens of partners, and an incredible staff of 20+ people.
The Wild & Scenic Film Festival has officially opened! We invite you to join us for our live virtual events, check out the films created by some of our community members, and explore our watershed during the rainy season.
For the past eighteen years, SYRCL has been proud to offer a four-year college scholarship to a graduating high school senior who has demonstrated a commitment to the environment. Since 2002, eighteen $4,000 scholarships have been awarded. Details.
The storm that swept through Nevada County between the 23rd and 25th of October dropped between seven and twelve inches of much needed precipitation. This rainfall has led to, among other things, increased flows in the Yuba River and SYRCL’s ‘first flush’ event.
We sat down with our resident hydrologist, Karl Ronning, to learn more about this ‘first flush’ event and to discuss the results of our water quality monitoring.
After a year away from the river, the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) is happy to announce a successful Salmon Expeditions season. Nearly 1,200 students from Nevada and Yuba counties joined us for a day to explore the lower Yuba, reflect on the history of the people and the space, and witness Chinook salmon spawning.
The storm that swept through Nevada County between the 23rd and 25th of October dropped between seven and twelve inches of much needed precipitation. This rainfall has led to, among other things, increased flows in the Yuba River.
We sat down with one of our SYRCL scientists to learn more about how this rain event interacted with the Hallwood Side Channel and Floodplain Restoration Project, a restoration effort that SYRCL has been working on and committed to for the past five years.
Earlier this month, we resumed Salmon Expeditions for grade school students from Nevada and Yuba counties after a year away from the river.
SYRCL has worked with schools to implement COVID-safety precautions so the organization can float nearly 1,200 students down the lower Yuba River on rafts to witness spawning salmon. Thanks to a generous grant from Yuba Water Agency, students from Title 1 schools in Yuba County are able to attend free of charge.