EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. - In recognition of their leadership and dedication to conservation, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently presented the Conservation Leadership Partner Award to the Yuba Watershed Institute. The Yuba Watershed Institute was recognized for collaborating with the BLM and area residents to plan and implement ecologically based forest management treatments, including hazardous fuels reduction and prescribed fire, on more than 3,200 acres of public lands in Nevada County, CA.
“The dedication of the Yuba Watershed Institute’s staff and Board of Directors have greatly increased the BLM’s capacity to plan and implement conservation-based forest land management," says California State Director Karen Mouritsen. “This partnership has effectively engaged and built trust with local communities that are deeply invested in the outcomes of active management on our public lands."
The Yuba Watershed Institute was founded in 1990 by a group of concerned citizens interested in the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of biological diversity, within the Yuba River watershed in the Sierra Nevada region. The Yuba Watershed Institute partners with public land management agencies, professional associations, private landowners, other non-profits and community organizations, to conserve and restore lands within the Yuba River watershed for local and far-reaching benefits.
The Yuba Watershed Institute’s forest health projects were recognized by the BLM for their attentiveness to resource protection, including methods to reduce the spread of weeds, enhance native and rare plant communities and improve wildlife habitat. The conservation partnership between the Yuba Watershed Institute and the BLM continues to expand from the ‘Inimim Community Forest, where it began, to Round Mountain and the Little Deer Creek Resiliency project, with financial support from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, CAL FIRE and other local organizations.
The Yuba Watershed Institute joins an impressive list of organizations that have been recognized by the BLM since the award’s inception in 2002, including several California partners such as the Eastern Sierra Conservancy and Point Reyes Bird Observatory. The annual award recognizes an individual or organization for their outstanding leadership and activities that have directly benefited fish, wildlife, and/or native plants on public lands or their use, enjoyment and appreciation.
Source: Bureau of Land Management