Mission: The Sierra Institute for Community and Environment promotes healthy forests and watersheds by investing in the well-being of rural communities and strengthening their roles in decision-making.

Founded in 1993, the Sierra Institute is a non-governmental, non-profit research and education organization based in the northern Sierra Nevada town of Taylorsville, California.

Research, education, and community collaboration are the tools of our trade. Our work ranges from researching the outcomes of a national law on rural communities, 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 healthcare, to testifying in the halls of Congress.

We work with rural people – from newly arrived immigrants to long-time county residents – along with organizations and government agencies to design and facilitate processes that help us understand and build collaboration for sustainable community development and stewardship of our natural resources. And we work hard to bridge what we learn locally to what is happening in state and national policymaking.

The Sierra Institute is a leader in designing and facilitating:

• Public involvement activities for research and policy processes
• Assessment and monitoring tools and indicators for rural community wellbeing and ecosystem health
• Applied research relevant for rural communities
• Dialogue and collaboration among scientists, policy-makers, land managers, agencies, and local community members
• Participatory, community-based approaches to development that are socially, culturally, economically, and ecologically sustainable

Programs: The Sierra Institute partners with diverse communities and decision-makers to address four major program areas: Socioeconomic Monitoring and Assessment, Community Forestry and Natural Resources, Environmental Justice, and Rural Community Development and Capacity Building. More...