Tuesday, 08 June 2010 06:25

SNC Board Votes to Launch Sierra Nevada Forest and Community Initiative

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slide4-snc_board_votes_to_launch_sierra_nevada_forest_and_community_initiative.pngAmador County – The Sierra Nevada Conservancy Board unanimously voted last week to launch its Sierra Nevada Forest and Community Initiative, which aims to “promote forest health, create jobs, increase biomass energy production, and reduce fire risk in Sierra forests,” according to a news release from the agency. “For the past several decades people have been fighting about how best to manage the public forestlands in the Sierra Nevada, to the point where our forests are dangerously overgrown and in poor health,” said Jim Branham, Executive Officer of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. “Today we can proudly acknowledge a new era of dedication and cooperation to help improve the forest environment and our local economies.” The release said the board’s action effectively launches the Initiative, “designed to find collaborative approaches to reducing the overgrowth of public forestlands.” Branham said the Initiative focuses on public forest lands and indicated that the SNC will work with a coordinating council at the regional level to identify key policy, funding and scientific issues essential for success. Materials removed from the forests can be used for dimensional lumber, wood specialty products or used for fuel in clean-burning biomass energy plants. He said the SNC will now be seeking support for this initiative from local governments, environmental organizations, the wood products industry, community organizations and others interested in the issue. They will also work closely with the federal land managers in determining how these efforts can work to improve forest health and community vitality. A TSPN Report, via release This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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