Analysis by Izzy Martin, The Sierra Fund
After its first year as a grant-making organization, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy has awarded more than $10.4 million in grants throughout its service region. These grants were invested in water quality, planning and conservation projects in each region of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy service boundary. The results are notable for the equitable distribution of the investments, ensuring that each region got somewhere around $1 million in “regional grants.” The remainder was invested on a competitive “region-wide” basis.
Grants covered a range of activities, from a Fire Safety chipping program in Mariposa to acquisition for public ownership of river footage on the Yuba River; from conservation easements on historic ranches in Lassen County to developing a Working Landscapes Watershed Management Plan for the Almanor Basin; from efforts to develop a comprehensive trail system for Mammoth Lakes to a program for reviving the upper watershed of the San Joaquin River.
Many of these projects have been featured in the Conservation Project Profiles produced annually by The Sierra Fund and the Sierra Nevada Alliance detailing the specifics of conservation projects in the region that are “ready to go” and looking for money.
A summary of grants by region and type follows, based on public records from Sierra Nevada Conservancy’s website, www.sierranevada.ca.gov. Their website also includes summaries and budgets for each of the projects funded.
|
Region Wide |
$3,497,812 |
|
East |
$1,392,999 |
|
South |
$1,132,756 |
|
South Central |
$975,000 |
|
Central |
$1,119,270 |
|
North Central |
$1,157,000 |
|
North |
$979,314 |
|
Executive Authorized |
$188,495 |
|
Total |
$10,442,646 |
