Staff Corner Where...
the Staff share
We Work Hard...and have fun playing!
December 17th marked the Annual Holiday Party for the Sierra Institute staff, Board of Directors, and friends. Held once again at the Genesee Store, participants were treated to a warm, cozy, decorated atmosphere made beautiful by the Store's owner, Robert Meacher, and his staff, Linda Tennant.
We began with wine and a time to chat followed by a fabulous roast dinner with all the trimmings. A 'silly' gift exchange was held, bringing laughter (and some tears when gifts were 'stolen') to everyone. Silliest gift? Possibly the "party bag" which sported a 'pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey' game! (Staff meetings may never be the same!)
This time of year is a perfect time to reflect on the previous months, bringing closer those who we find are important to us, and sharing our wealth with those who are not as wealthy as we are. It's a time to share laughter and joy with co-workers and partners, to become refreshed after a long year's work, and to look ahead, with anticipation, to the New Year.
Happy Holiday to all our friends and partners!
May This Be The Season of Joy for Us All!
Lauri Rawlins-Betta
Administrative Assistant
Sacramento River Watershed Program Annual Stakeholders Meeting
As part of my expanded watershed coordination activities, my first order of business is lay a solid foundation of  knowing the 'lay of the land' of the region that surrounds the Feather River watershed.
To see how our watershed fits into the larger Sacramento watershed, I'm attending the 2011 Sacramento River Watershed Program Annual Stakeholders Meeting on December 14th. There is one agenda item that speaks directly to this need:
Sacramento River Watershed Program: Where We Have Been and Where We Are Going.
Get an overview of SRWP's highlights for 2011 and an update on what's coming up including a summary of the Sacramento River Watershed Regional Coordinator Work Plan Help shape the future of SRWP and find out how SRWP can assist your local watershed.
Additionally, although the Upper Feather River Watershed serves a multitude of users and provides a diverse array of services, no single agency monitors its overall health or continuously assesses impacts for adaptive management. But it appears as though that may change based on this presentation:
Watershed Health Indicators for the Sacramento River Watershed
Hear all about the Watershed Health Indicator Program and a new Water Quality Report Card for the Lower Sacramento River.
Finally, there is a session for "What's Going on in Your Watershed" with presentations on the Big Chico Creek Watershed (Big Chico Creek Watershed Alliance), Battle Creek Watershed (Battle Creek Watershed Conservancy), and the Pit River Watershed (Pit River Watershed Alliance).
I'm looking forward to the presentation of the report card and answering these questions:
- which watersheds does it cover
- what are the indicators used
- how are they measured
- can they be reference to a significant degree of detail for use within our watershed
I'm also looking forward to sharing this with the ABWAC as we meet that night in Chester. Yes, I'll drive home safe!!
Emily Creely
Watershed Coordinator
Attending the Health Summit
 I had the great pleasure of working on and attending the very successful 2011 Plumas Power of Prevention Health Summit that was held November 29th & 30th in Quincy. It was encouraging to see over 40 participants from various agencies throughout the county coming together to learn more about adolescent health care, particularly, substance abuse prevention and depression and suicide information. The information presented was extremely valuable and will be useful for those providers and individuals who work with adolescents in health care and other fields. Recognizing and managing depression in adolescents is a huge issue in Plumas County and it was great to receive more information and training on the topic.
The youth forums which occurred on Tuesday the 29th, were valuable as well. These forums provided our guest physicians and speakers with teen points-of-view on substance abuse among peers, which will enable them to better understand and approach teens about these topics. Forums were held in Greenville and Quincy.
As someone who is working regularly with teens in the Friday Night For Teens program, and studying in the health field, these forums were insightful and very beneficial to me. Thanks, NSCHN for supporting our communities with these types of learning experiences.
Rachel McDowell
SI Intern
Sierra Cascades Dialogs - USDA Forest Service-Region 5
Improving Social and Economic Conditions in Rural Forest Communities
On October 12th, I was able to attend the third in a series of Dialogs to discuss a range of critical issues that affect the Sierra Nevada and the Cascades and the people who live, work, and recreate there.
The October 12th Dialog had the following goals:
- Increase awareness of the declining social and economic conditions in some rural communities
- Learn how some communities are working together to use forest restoration work to improve local economic and social trends
- Discuss potential regional strategies for restoring forests while improving rural economics and social well-being
As a participant, I was asked to help define a potential strategy for federal and state agencies for linking forest restoration activities to improving rural economies. Our work in biomass (woody renewables) in the Upper Feather River Plumas County region fits in with these dialogs as we all search for more sustainability in our rural communities and forests. To read more about upcoming dialogs and those that have already been held, click here.
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