Stand Up For All That’s At Stake

The dramatic changes rolling out from the federal government are negatively impacting the Yuba watershed: the weakening of the Environmental Protection Agency, the move to sell off or indiscriminately log public lands, and the very clear intent to gut the Endangered Species Act. 

And these fast-moving policy changes are only adding to the challenges that we at the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) already have been facing: 

• The elimination of our Americorps program 
• Cuts to grant programs for wildfire outreach & education 

Your special gift now will help us constructively confront this period of uncertainty. SYRCL is ready to step up to defend the Yuba and shore up our programs, especially those related to public safety and environmental quality. 

The dismantling of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a direct threat to the Yuba. Ensuring water is drinkable is partially the responsibility of the EPA. The proposed 65% funding cuts would leave 43 people responsible for safe drinking water in all of California.  

With just 43 staff, how much attention do you think will get paid to the Yuba watershed? This is why SYRCL’s River Monitoring program is so critical. Our scientists and volunteers must be ready to help our community to do what it can to detect pollution and report any threats to public health and safety. 

In addition to the EPA cuts, there is an aggressive push to open up public lands and waters for development, logging, and mining to the highest bidder – it was slipped into a budget reconciliation bill that’s now in committee. 

Further, proposed changes by the White House to the Endangered Species Act put threatened Chinook salmon populations in the lower Yuba in the crosshairs. These changes would wipe out over 20 years of effort to get the lower Yuba designated as critical habitat for salmon and 15+ years of restoration work. 

SYRCL is diligently tracking how these massive changes within federal agencies will affect our region, and we are acting as a central hub to make Yuba voices heard by federal legislators.

So much is at stake. Your support will enable us to continue our vital work and do the best that we can, as a community, to buffer the worst of these impacts. Please do what you can today by making a special gift.