YFN: March/April Newsletter

Hello Yuba Forest Network Stakeholders! I hope you are all staying safe with this winter storm coming in through the Sierra Nevada. Thank you all who were able to attend the first in-person
Yuba Forest Network Quarterly Meeting last month, we had a fantastic presentation from
Erika Seward on the Nevada County Recreation and Resiliency Master Plan and a great
discussion on the direction of YFN moving forward. The meeting notes can be accessed via the
SYRCL website on the YFN page (include link). We will be starting consistent YFN Strategy
Subgroup meetings, and if you are interested in joining, please email me. Listed below are some grants, events, and notifications of upcoming events in March-April. The next Yuba Forest
Network Quarterly meeting will be on May 5 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm in person at the SYRCL office. Email me at annemarie@yubariver.org for any news, announcements, or presentations to be added to the agenda. I hope you all stay safe with all of these storms! – Anne Marie

Upcoming Events

• California Association of Resources Conservation Districts: will be holding their 77th Annual Conference from March 6th to March 30th with many virtual events. Email info@carcd.org for more information.
• Art Exhibition: ‘Uba Seo: Nisenan Arts and Culture at 225 Broad Street in Nevada City! There’s so much to learn from the 2022 Visibility Through Art Exhibit – Perspectives on Erasure. The exhibit will be on display through March 2023.
• Nevada County Coalition of Firewise Communities Meeting: Monday, March 13 at Esterly Hall, NC Association of Realtors, Grass Valley for Firewise Community Leaders/Committee members, and on Zoom for FWC people you cannot attend in person and for members of the public. Contact Jeff Peach at jeff@nccoalitionfwc.com for more information. 2023 meetings: May 2: Esterly Hall and Zoom, August 1: hybrid meeting based in Truckee, November 7: Esterly Hall and Zoom.
• Forests Lab: A monthly meet up on recent literature on forest health, the next one is scheduled for 6 pm on March 15th at Gold Vibe Kombuchary. Email Erin Andrew at erin@sierrastreamsinstitute.org for more information.
• California Forest Resilience Task Force Meeting: The next meeting will be in Sacramento on March 30 from 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm, and a spot may be reserved here for either in-person or virtual attendance.
• SYRCL: The Watershed Science Department is hosting a Rivers Lab on the 23rd of March at 1:00 pm. Stop by the SYRCL office to discuss the paper: “Operational resilience in western US frequent-fire forests” by North et al. Contact Summer Driscoll at restoration@yubariver.org for more information.
• Placer RCD Prescribed Fire 101 Workshop: Colfax Saturday, April 1st from 8:00 am – 4:30 pm at Colfax Elementary School. Link to register.

• Bear Yuba Land Trust: Community Rendezvous Tuesday April 4, 5:30 pm- 7:30 pm at Gold Vibe Kombuchary RSVP here.

• Bear Yuba Land Trust: 2023 NatureFest: family-friendly nature activities on BYLT Preserves and trails. 9:30 am – 1:30 pm on April 8th.

• Sierra Day in the Capitol 2023: on April 19. This event is coordinated by the Sierra Nevada Alliance, Sierra Business Council and The Sierra Fund to bring attention to the Sierra Nevada to legislators. Can register here.
• Watershed Day at the Capitol: April 20 from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. Register here for the online component.
• SYRCL’s State of the Yuba: on April 26th SYRCL will be holding the State of the Yuba in the evening to showcase the projects SYRCL has been working on over the last year. The event will be at Peace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley.
• Yuba Forest Network Quarterly Meeting: An in-person event at the SYRCL office in Nevada City. Email Anne Marie Holt annemarie@yubariver.org for more details or if you have any updates. May 5th, 2023 10:00 am –12:00 pm.
• Yuba Fire Safe Council Meeting: next meeting will be held on Wednesday May 10th from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm at the Alcouffe Community Center and on Zoom.

General News and Opportunities for Public Comments

Idaho Maryland Mine: The proposed Idaho-Maryland Mine has significant and unavoidable environmental impacts that endanger our community’s health and quality of life. Businesses and residents from all walks of life agree that a toxic mine in the middle of our vibrant community is reckless and a huge step backwards – it’s simply not worth the risk. Learn more about the Idaho-Maryland Mine here, read the petition, and add your name using the button on the right in the yellow box.

• Yuba is the Heart: SYRCL’s 40th Anniversary Film is now available to view! Posed as a love letter to the river and the community that surrounds it, Yuba is the Heart considers what it means to love and be loved by a river. The film produced by Spruce Tone Films features beautiful footage of the Yuba Watershed and includes interviews with Aaron Zettler-Mann, SYRCL’s Watershed Science Director; Amy Guy-Wagner, a SYRCL board member; and Shelly Covert, Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribal Spokesperson.  
• CAL FIRE: CAL FIRE has updated their website! Check out their new burn permits portal and other new features on their site.
• University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Board: The Forest Stewardship and Post-Fire Forest Resilience Programs have just released the 2022 Annual Report. Read the full report here and the report synopsis here.
• Forest Business Alliance: Capacity and Peer-Learning for Yuba Forest Health. This is a new project that has been awarded funding from the Yuba Water Agency and CAL FIRE. Designed to support healthy, resilience forests and the people and ecosystems that depend on them through capacity-building, training, and collaboration. For more information about receiving technical assistance, participating in workshops or in the peer-learning network, contact Vance Russell Vance.russell@outlook.com or Keri Rinne keri.rinne@gmail.com for more information.
• California State Parks Foundation: this organization provides free clean up kits for a DIY Earth Day Climate Action with REI. You can register here to pick up a free Earth Day kit to help clean up your local community starting April 1st.
• SYRCL is Hiring: SYRCL is looking for candidates for the following positions: Development Associate, Wild and Scenic Film Festival On Tour Coordinator, Headwaters Science Project Manager, Forest Restoration Crew Leader, Forest Restoration Crew Member, Digital Media Specialist, and Executive Director.
• Yuba College Career Technical Education Program: Yuba College is planning to develop a new certificate in Forestry with an emphasis on forest management and fire prevention. They are looking for an advisory committee of experience in the field to help them design their curriculum, learn about job opportunities in this line of work, and possibilities of internships. If interested, contact Professor Carmen Bowmen at cbowen@yccd.edu or Dean Michael Bagley at mbagley@yccd.edu for more information.
• Sierra Nevada Conservancy: The Sierra Nevada Conservancy Approves $27 million in Watershed Improvement Program grants News release on March 3rd
• Yuba County RCD is hiring a new executive director!
• Yuba Fire Safe Council has a cost share program for up to $2000 for household defensible space. Check out the link for more information. They are also offering a free Wildfire Mitigation Review as part of their new program. The Residential Chipper Program is taking in chipping requests for up to 3 hours of free chipping.

Webinars

• Rocky Mountain Research Station: Sciencex Webinars: Will they survive? Management solutions to increase the resilience of high-elevation 5-needle pine forests to climate change, pests, and pathogens March 8 9:00 am -10:00am PST. Landscape Fuel Treatment Effectiveness April 5, 10:00 am -11:30 am PST
• Sierra Eastside Regional Coordination Group Meeting: March 10th from 10:00 am –12:00 pm, Email Tristain Armstrong for more information Tristyn.armstrong@sierranevada.ca.gov
• Natural Areas Association webinars: Configuring ArcGIS Field Maps for Invasive Species Management on March 21st from 9:00 am—10:30 am, Maximizing Volunteer Impact with ArcGIS Hub from 9:00 am –10:30 am.
• CalVTP Webinar: Environmental review pathways to long-term success: prescribed fires April 6th from 10:00 am –12:00 pm. A presentation by CAL FIRE Battalion Chief, Marshal Turbeville on how the environmental review process will differ project to project with an intro to CEQA from, Robert Aguero, case studies presented by Kim Batchelder, and Bob Neale sharing experience from the Sonoma Land Trust and CalVTP.
• Tahoe Regional Trails Plan Public Webinar: This webinar will include an overview of the strategy’s planning process and the biggest priorities for the next five years. March 21 at 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm. Register here.
• Science Speaks Series: Managing water during California’s wild changes in climate, a presentation by Jeffrey Mount from the PPIC Water Policy Center. On April 27 at 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm. Register here.

Grants

• Nevada County: now accepting proposals to a second round of funding for the Outdoor Visitor Safety Fund Grants. Up to $434,000 is available to eligible entities, with proposals due March 15th @ 5PM PST.
• Bureau of Land Management National Interagency Fire Center Fuels Management and Community Fire Assistance: To assist with fuels management and community fire assistance program activities to reduce the risk and impact of catastrophic wildfires to local communities through coordination, reducing the amount of hazardous fuels, and furthering the education of landowners about wildfire prevention and mitigation. Due May 5.
• Sierra Nevada Conservancy: 2023 Strategic Land Conservation Directed Grant Program. This grant program supports planning and implementation of land conservation through fee title or conservation easement acquisition projects to provide access for public use or to public lands, and protect lands threatened by conversion, unique cultural or natural areas, or lands providing critical resilience to climate change. Due March 20.
• The CALFIRE Fire Prevention Grant Program: funds wildfire prevention projects and activities that increase the protection of people, structures, and communities. Funded activities include Hazardous Fuels Reduction, Wildfire Prevention Planning, and Wildfire Prevention Education. Due March 15.
• The CDFW Drought, Climate, and Nature Based Solutions Initiative: funds multi-benefit ecosystem restoration and protection projects for critical habitat and watersheds, including mountain-meadow ecosystems and wildlife corridors. Rolling applications.
• The CA Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) Forest Conservation Program: advances the protection, restoration, and improvement of upper-watershed lands in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains. Rolling applications.
• The CA WCB Habitat Enhancement and Restoration Program: rolling supports habitat enhancement, wildlife corridors, and fish-barrier-removal projects. Rolling applications.
• National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) Fuels Management and Community Fire Assistance Program: Grant from the Department of the Interior. Closing date for applications is May 5th.
• Equity in Conservation Outreach Cooperative Agreements: USDA. Goal is for NRCS and collaborators to expand conservation assistance to historically underserved producers and communities and to provide opportunities for students to pursue careers in agriculture, natural resources, and related sciences. Closing date April 27th.

Literature

• “Fire modifies plant—soil feedbacks”
• “Fusaroid community diversity associated with conifer seedlings in forest nurseries across the contiguous USA”
• “Long-term monitoring in transition: Resolving spatial mismatch and integrating multistate occupancy data”
• “Reducing Wildfires through Better Utility Pole Inspections”