Case Statement Case Statement
The Sierra Cascade Region
The geographic focus of the Sierra-Cascade Land Trust Council encompasses the natural and human communities stretching from the Oregon border in the north to the Tehachapis in the south, and from the mountainous areas in Nevada and California in the east to the golden foothills leading to California's fertile Central Valley in the west.
The mountains and valleys of the Sierra-Cascade region, like the California coast, help to shape and define us as a region and a people. Gold and other resources drew legions of settlers to the area 150 years ago, and growth has continued as a result of the region's other natural resources and recreational opportunities. Today the Sierra-Cascade continues to enrich California, Nevada and the nation with its natural bounty:
- clean water that sustains us and is essential to our states' prosperity;
- natural habitat for wildlife; majestic scenery for enjoyment by residents and visitors alike;
- productive rangeland, farmland and forest lands for food, wood and other goods essential to our daily lives; and
- abundant recreation opportunities.
Natural assets The Sierra-Cascade region is known world-wide for its natural wonders - including majestic groves of giant sequoia in the south, dramatic glaciated landscapes in the High Sierra, golden oak-studded foothills along the west slope, high desert beauty on the east side, and the volcanoes of Mt. Lassen and Mt. Shasta to the north. But natural icons such as Yosemite, Lake Tahoe and the Range of Light are only part of the story. Together the Sierra-Cascade provides:
- one-third of California's land mass;
- well over 60% of California's water;
- refuge for at least half of California and many of Nevada's plant and animal species; and
- a haven for more than 100 million visitors each year, who contribute to the economic well-being of the region.
Key issues
The Sierra-Cascade is a resource of regional, statewide, and national significance. However, this majestic mountain region is undergoing rapid change. The Sierra-Cascade contains three of the four fastest-growing counties in Nevada and five of the 10 fastest-growing counties in California. Population has almost tripled in the Sierra Nevada alone between 1970 and 1995, and it is expected to double again by 2020.
This rate of growth compounds the problems of sprawl, shrinking habitat, polluted water and impacts on the aesthetic and recreational experiences enjoyed by so many. Now is the time for Californians and Nevadans to exercise good stewardship, wisdom and foresight by protecting the region's natural assets and rural way of life for current and future generations.
The Sierra-Cascade Land Trust Council solution
The Sierra Nevada and Southern Cascade exemplify the dramatic beauty, natural wonders and critical resources the West is known for. Yet, unlike other natural treasures, the Sierra-Cascade region receives relatively little in the way of state investment to support continued clean water, natural habitat, scenery, working lands and recreation opportunities in the face of growth impacts in the region.
Increased investment in the Sierra-Cascade today will obviate the need for more expensive restoration and conservation requirements in the future. Conservation is not an amenity; it is a necessity if we are to safeguard the resources that provide the economic, social and natural foundation of the Sierra-Cascade and dramatically benefit the rest of California and western Nevada.
The Sierra-Cascade Land Trust Council is a broad coalition of local and regional land trust and conservancy organizations working with willing landowners to promote and preserve natural, cultural and recreational resources, open space and working landscapes in the Sierra Nevada and California Cascades. By working with landowners who wish to conserve the natural or resource values of their land into the future, land trusts offer a market-based, pragmatic approach to responsible stewardship and sustainable economic activity in their communities. As a result, land trusts unite family farmers and ranchers, community residents, tourists, business owners, conservationists, resource agencies and policy makers to protect and steward the land, plan for changing land uses and keep the land healthy throughout the region.
Over the next five years, the Council will energize, enable and inspire individual land trusts and conservancies in the Sierra-Cascade region. Specifically:
- SCLTC members will protect and manage an additional 200,000 acres in the region for natural, cultural, recreational, open space and production purposes;
- SCLTC will build the capacity of member land trusts by promoting greater collaboration, networking and use of best management practices to ensure effective, sustained conservation work in the region
- SCLTC will work to foster and improve cooperation, coordination and communication among member land trusts; and
- SCLTC will provide a unified voice for the region's land trust community with elected and appointed officials, decision-makers and funders.
Photo: Chuck Peck