Sierra Institute for Community and Environment
Located in the Sierra Nevada hamlet of Taylorsville, the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment (Institute) has dedicated itself to building thriving rural communities while promoting resilient, ecologically rich, and productive forests that are valued for the full suite of ecosystem services they provide. Recognizing the direct relationship rural communities have with forest landscapes, the Institute strives to promote social, environmental, and economic approaches that are sustainable from human and ecological perspectives. For twenty years, the Sierra Institute has:
- Conducted social and environmental research to better understand the interrelationship between communities and healthy forested watersheds.
- Sought to improve health, well-being, and education in rural forested communities through development of new policy frameworks and market opportunities, and direct engagement of residents and organizations.
- Facilitated solutions between local, state, and national stakeholders to accomplish environmental goals and improve understanding of rural communities and their relationship to resources that surround them.
Research, education, and community collaboration are the tools of our trade. Our work ranges from researching the implications of a national law on rural communities and resource management to leading tours on the land to showcase rural people’s involvement in taking care of forests, meadows, and waterways; to facilitating assessments and bilingual dialogues about health care, and bringing updated telemedicine equipment to rural communities to testifying in the halls of Congress.
Phone: 530.284.1022 / FAX: 530.284.1023
P. O. Box 11, Taylorsville, California 95983
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Connections...
What's happening in and around Sierra Institute
We are seeking a full-time Renewable Energy/Biomass Utilization Program Leader to help develop the Plumas Energy Efficiency and Renewables Management Action Plan. The position is based in the rural northern Sierra Nevada town of Taylorsville, California and involves advancing efficient energy utilization and a renewable energy network at local public institutions. Read more...
Click here to read more about the GHS Natural Resource Program.
The warm weather of Spring allowed for fifteen students from Greenville High School's Natural Resources program, under the direction of Kelby Gardiner, an USFS hydrologist, to assist with some riparian restoration work along Upper Indian Creek in Plumas National Forest on April 26th, . Read more in our Staff Corner...
Indian Valley Community steps up to help Friday Night For Teens program by supporting their 2013 fundraiser. Read more about it.
 We have received notice that our project proposal to the California Energy Commission for biomass use was funded! (Read more...) We also learned our proposal was ranked second in its category!
The grant will fund a two-year effort to make biomass readily available for public heating system upgrades, which requires coordination of contractors, planners, investors, engineers, and others. The end result will be the ability of public institutions to replace expensive heating fuels with forest biomass from Plumas County forests.
It was the collection of institutions involved in this project and their letters of commitment that ultimately made the difference and led to the award. The Sierra Institute looks forward to working with our many project partners who sent a letter of support and agreed to participate in the project. Work supported by the grant starts July 1, 2013.
What are woody renewables and what's all the buzz?
Click here to learn more about what we do with woody renewables.
Click here for a brochure explaining woody renewables and their possible uses. (pdf)
If you'd like for us to mail you a brochure, contact:
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Also.
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Read our response to the Economic Analysis of the Critical Habitat Designation for the Northern Spotted Owl written by Industrial Economics (2012).
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Dr. Kusel is currently a Board Member of the American Forests Science Advisory Board. To read his interview, click here.
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James Ray, involved with AmeriCorps through the Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Program, has been working with Sierra Institute on a variety of projects. Read More.
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