The Sierra Fund is now 
Indigenous Futures Society.
News and project updates from 2006.
December 7, 2006 Chester, CA –-At the quarterly meeting of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy Board of Directors, held in Chester, California, the board unanimously supported The Sierra Fund's proposal for a marketing campaign to…
Gain Recognition for your Class and School! Enter the Sierra Nevada Conservancy Logo Concept Design Contest.The Sierra Nevada Conservancy announces a contest being held to create a logo concept for this exciting new agency.…
Nevada City, CA -- It’s official! Tickets are now on sale for the wildly popular Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival. With more than 110 films, 30 premieres, and 70 visiting filmmakers and activists,…
Saving The Sierra profiles conservation collaborations across the Sierra Nevada. The project broadcasts public radio stories as diverse and compelling as the topography of this unique mountain range. Each one features people taking an…
Nevada City, CA -- Californians went to the polls on Tuesday November 7 and voted to invest billions of dollars in the future of the states roads, houses, schools, levees, parks and natural resources.…
The Sierra Fund joins hundreds of business leaders, local governments, conservation groups, and public safety and labor leaders urging Californians go to the polls on Tuesday, November 7 and vote:YES on Proposition 84, the…
Nevada City, California November 2, 2006 – The Sierra Fund's Mining Toxics Initiative began last June with a grant from The California Endowment. Our goal is to conduct a Sierra-wide assessment of the human…
Bishop, California October 5, 2006 -- The Sierra Nevada Conservancy Board of Directors, at their regularly scheduled board meeting held in the eastern region of the new Conservancy, unanimously adopted a motion asking their…
Press Release from the California Resources AgencySeptember 29, 2006Auburn, California --Secretary for Resources Mike Chrisman announced today that 15 Sierra Nevada communities will receive $27.5 million for project grants to protect water quality and…
The Sierra Nevada range has the greatest opportunity in history! Proposition 84 on the November 2006 ballot will allocate $54 million directly to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, for distribution to important conservation projects throughout…
From Sierra Nevada Alliance September 29, 2006 Proposition 90 is a classic bait and switch: a ballot initiative which claims to be about eminent domain reform, but which would actually take away our community’s…
Nevada City, California – This weekend the public is invited to stand with the Tsi-Akim Maidu Tribe as they recreate a ceremony that was swept away by the Gold Rush. Before being decimated and…
"Saving The Sierra: Voices of Conservation in Action" uses storytelling, radio and the Internet to explore Sierra Nevada conservation issues. In September, October and November, the regional media project will send its Storybooth up…
Press Release fromSierra Watch andMountain Areas Preservation FoundationSeptember 20, 2006Martis Valley, California - Sierra conservation groups announced a landmark legal settlement with Placer County and Martis Valley landowners, ending two and a half years…
Press Release fromSave Round Valley AllianceSeptember 28, 2006
fromSierra Nevada Alliance andSouth Yuba River Citizens LeagueOctober 2, 2006Want to live, work, learn and give back to Sierra Nevada’ ecosystems and communities?Apply to be a Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps MemberThe Sierra Nevada is seeking…
Sacramento, CA -- Today Governor Schwarzeneggar signed into law Assembly Bill 84 (Leslie/Laird). This bill, sponsored by The Sierra Fund and endorsed by fifty-six environmental, community, labor and business organizations, creates a California specialty…
THE CALIFORNIA RIVER PARKWAYS PROGRAM GRANT GUIDELINES AND APPLICATION FOR THE SECOND ROUND OF FUNDING IS NOW AVAILABLE: The Proposition 50 California River Parkways Program in the Resources Agency is a competitive grant program…
August 25, 2006Sacramento, CA -- Assembly Bill 84 (Leslie/Laird), creating a new specialty license plate program that can be used to create license plates to provide funding for important state agencies such as the…
Wednesday, August 9, 2006Sacramento, California --A bill that creates a new state program for specialty license plates, AB 84 (Leslie/Laird), passed the Senate Appropriations Committee late Monday afternoon, and is now heading for a…
Mt. Whitney, CA --Earthmoving equipment showed up along Whitney Portal Road on Saturday July 15, 2006 - poised to carve up the landscape for the so-called 'Whitney Portal Preserve' project despite consistent local opposition.…
Sacramento, CA --AB 84, proposing a new program in the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) that would allow state agencies such as the new Sierra Nevada Conservancy to sponsor specialty license plates, will be…
July 11, Nevada City –- The Sierra Fund’s urgent appeal for support for the appeal to protect Mt. Whitney from development, sent out on Wednesday July 5, has already raised $1,580! This upwelling of…
Sacramento, CA --While Republican and Democratic leadership from the Assembly and Senate looked on, Governor Schwarzenegger signed the California state budget on Friday, June 30, meeting the state constitutional deadline for the first time…
Sacramento, CA --The Clean Water, Parks and Coastal Protection Bond has qualified for the November 2006 ballot, and been given the number Proposition 84. Momentum is building for the Clean Water, Parks and Coastal…
Saving the Sierra, a project of The Sierra Fund, explores the geographic, political and philosophical boundaries of the new Sierra Nevada Conservancy using the tools of public media and story-based community development. A six-part…
The Sierra Fund’s website includes a page for links to organizations whose mission and activities are compatible with our own. We are hoping to include any organization that meets this criteria on our website.…
URGENT APPEAL! FUNDS NEEDED TO PROTECT MT. WHITNEYWednesday, July 5, 2006 @ 2:47 PMRecent news from the slopes of Mt. Whitney is alarming. In May, Inyo County Superior Court ruled in favor of a…
Auburn, CA -- Today the new Sierra Nevada Conservancy released its second draft version of its Strategic Plan. This revised plan reflects input from community forums held throughout the region about the first Strategic…
State Capitol, Sacramento, CA --Tuesday at approximately 6:35 p.m. AB 84 passed the Senate Transportation Committee with nine votes in favor out of thirteen committee members. Sierra Nevada Conservancy Board member and former State…
On March 22, 2006 the IRS issued a letter stating that a final determination of foundation status under section 509 (a) was made in favor of The Sierra Fund. This confirms that the Public…
Sacramento, CA --AB 84, proposing a new program in the Department of Motor Vehicles that would allow state agencies such as the new Sierra Nevada Conservancy to sponsor specialty license plates, has been scheduled…
As announced last month, The Sierra Fund has received a grant of $150,000 for an eighteen month project to assess and begin to address the problem of mining toxics in the Sierra Nevada.The Sierra…
This organizational report – our first – outlines how The Sierra Fund has worked to achieve our vision of a Sierra Nevada protected and restored for future generations. Among our notable victories, The Sierra…
Sacramento, CA --In early May 2006 Governor Schwarzenegger introduced his suggested revisions to the proposed California state budget. Due to higher than anticipated revenues, the budget proposes increasing expenditures across a number of programs,…
Sacramento, CA --On Tuesday, May 23 nearly 40 conservation leaders from throughout the Sierra Nevada went to the State Capitol in California to talk about their ideas and concerns for the Sierra Nevada. This…
The Stewardship Council is continuing to seek public input on the development of a Land Conservation Plan (LCP) that will recommend how the beneficial public values of over 140,000 acres of watershed lands across…
Nevada City, CA -- The Sierra Fund is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a grant from The California Endowment to begin working with a broad coalition of partners to build a…
Sacramento, CA ---On Monday the Senate Budget Sub Committee on Natural Resources and the Environment approved the Governors budget requests for both the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and the Sierra Cascade Grant Program. The Sub…
Independence, CA; May 5, 2006 --A proposed high-end subdivision, located in one of the most pristine landscapes in America, Mt. Whitney Portal, may be closer to breaking ground today. This, after the Inyo County…
Sacramento, CA ---On Friday May 5, the California State Legislature adopted a slate of four bond measures to place on the November ballot. The $37.3 billion infrastructure bond package passed Friday morning has four…
Eastern Sierra ----Getting Outside on the Eastside Just Got EasierWith so many wonderful outside opportunities in the Eastern Sierra, the local non-profit community has created a one-stop online site for locals and visitors alike.…
In April the Sierra Nevada Conservancy released a draft Strategic Plan for public review, and The Sierra Fund announced the dates of the six regional meetings that are currently underway to provide public input…
In 2006 The Sierra Fund Launched a multi-year environmental justice initiative to address gold mining's toxic legacy in the Sierra, working with scientists, tribes, conservationists, health professionals and government agencies to research and remediate…
Press Release from Sierra WatchCONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT GROUPS REACH LANDMARK AGREEMENT ON MARTIS VALLEY DEVELOPMENTSUPPORT FROM PLACER COUNTY CREATES NEW FRAMEWORK FOR LONG-TERM COOPERATION AND COLLABERATIONMartis Valley, CA -- March 29, 2006 Sierra conservation…
Auburn, CA --The Sierra Nevada Conservancy has announced that they will be holding a series of six strategic planning workshops, one in each region served by the new Conservancy. These workshops provide residents an…
Washington, DC --Agriculture Under Secretary Mark Rey has announced that the public will have another month to comment on a list of forest lands that would be available for sale in a proposal to…
The Sierra Nevada Alliance released the report State of Sierra Waters: A Sierra Nevada Watersheds Index on Wednesday March 22nd to the public and media. Staff, board and allies conducted news conferences in Sacramento,…
Press Release from Mono Lake Committee, March 9, 2006SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Crowds filled the Courtyard Marriott in downtown San Francisco last Wednesday from sunup to sundown, anxious to voice their concerns about the…
Sacramento, CA --The Sierra Cascade Grant Program, created when voters passed Proposition 50 in November 2004, is accepting applications for funding until May 12. The Program provides funding for the acquisition of land and…
Sacramento, CA --Any hope of putting a bond with funding for natural resource investments on the June 2006 ballot has ended. The legislature and the Governor failed to win any agreement around placing a…
The Sierra Fund's official letter from the Internal Revenue Service stating our status as a 501(c)3 nonpofit organization. Click here to view or download the letter.
The Resources Agency has released the Guidelines and Application for the California Sierra Nevada-Cascade Conservation Grant Program. Grant Applications for this program will be accepted until May 12, 2006 at 4:00PMBoth documents can be…
The U.S. Forest Service has opened a public comment period on its proposal to sell public land to provide funding for rural schools. The sales will fund the reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools…
The legislature this week is still debating whether to put a large natural resources bond on the ballot in time for the June election. With the "official" deadline for getting on the ballot expiring…
Assemblywoman Lois Wolk has introduced the Mercury Monitoring and Remediation Act (AB 2901). The bill would establish the Mercury Monitoring and Remediation Fund for grants for mercury monitoring, projects that reduce mercury levels, and…
The Planning and Conservation League is convening a Legislative Symposium in Sacramento on Saturday April 29, 2006. The Symposium will examine hot topics in California environmental policy including water politics, air quality, global climate…
The Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council (Stewardship Council) is a private, nonprofit organization that was established in 2004 as part of the settlement of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E) bankruptcy.…
Sacramento, CA – The Sierra Nevada Conservancy Board of Directors today chose Auburn, CA as the interim location for their new headquarters. This decision was announced at the Sierra Nevada Conservancy Board of Directors…
Sacramento, CA – The Sierra Nevada Conservancy Board of Directors today announced adoption of a strategic planning process that will be used to create a plan that will guide the development of Conservancy programs…
The Sierra Fund is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that helped establish the conservancy. We are maintaining this website for informational purposes for a limited time. You can visit the official government site at: http://www.sierranevada.ca.gov.…
Mammoth Lakes, California - Wednesday, February 1, 2006 was a red-letter day for public access to the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada range. On that day, the Town Council of Mammoth Lakes voted to…
"Saving The Sierra: Voices of Conservation in Action" is one of eight documentary projects funded by the California Council for the Humanities as part of the Council's California Documentary Project. Through public radio broadcasts,…
Sacramento, California -- The voters passed Proposition 50 in November 2002 with a $30 million "earmark" for the Sierra Cascade to provide funding for acquisition of land and water rights to protect water quality…
February 7, 2006Dear Senator Kuehl & Other Members of The Senate Natural Resources Committee,Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak to your committee this week regarding Integrated Regional Water Bonds. The Sierra…
The response to the Sierra Nevada license plate has been impressive. More than 1,100 folks have already pre-registered, putting us on our way to the goal of 7,500. When officially released, this Sierra License…
Sacramento, CA --On January 10, 2006 Governor Schwarzenegger unveiled his proposed budget for 2006/2007 fiscal year for California. This new budget includes $ 3.662 million for the Sierra Nevada Conservancy operations budget, a slight…
Sacramento, CA --The Proposition 50 Sierra Nevada-Cascade Conservation Grant Program in the Resources Agency provides funding for acquisitions to protect water quality in lakes, reservoirs, rivers, streams and wetlands in the Sierra Nevada-Cascade Mountain…
Nevada City, CA --The Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival - presented by Patagonia- will run from January 13th-15th, 2006 in Nevada City, CA. The event is a production of--and a fundraiser for--the South…
Sacramento, CA -- Secretary for Resources Mike Chrisman recently announced that Patrick Wright has been named executive officer for the California Tahoe Conservancy. Wright currently serves as Assistant Secretary for Program Development at the…
Sacramento, CA -- Searching for the Sierra Conservancy Headquarters At the December 2, 2005 meeting of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Board members approved a process for choosing which community will be used for the…
