Amador County – The Sierra Nevada Conservancy at its March 3 meeting approved $10 million in Proposition 84 grants to 29 different projects, and the action left the Conservancy with $10 million more to give in grants.

Joan Keegan, Sierra Nevada Conservancy’s assistant executive officer, was in Jackson Wednesday for the March meeting of the Amador-Calaveras Consensus Group, and reported on the next grants. Keegan said “I’m excited to be here. This group is legendary.”

Keegan said Sierra Nevada Conservancy is looking at its grant program, which has $10 million left, and the Conservancy will be “looking at limiting the program,” to really focus the projects on two areas, those being “working landscapes” and “forest health.” She said they want to focus the funding awards because they “only have $10 million left.”

The grant funds were allocated in the amount of $54 million to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy by the Proposition 84 “Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Food Control River and Coast Protection Bond Act of 2006.” The funds were appropriated for the “protection and restoration of rivers, lakes and streams, their watersheds and associated land, water and other natural resources.”

She said the Conservancy will be working on its strategic planning process with public input, and has identified key areas including those two, and watershed protection and restoration, along with tourism and recreation, and the Conservancy’s own long-term effectiveness. The Conservancy is drafting a strategic plan to take to its board in June.

In other reports from member group representatives, Calaveras County Supervisor Steve Wilensky said Calaveras County had agreed to provide its green waste to the Buena Vista Biomass Power plant near Ione on Coal Mine Road. He said the green waste will be delivered to the plant to burn, and “in return we will get their ash to cover our landfill.” He said they had been using sludge, but that was not working as well as ash would.

Wilensky said a recent power outage led to a group of volunteers helping to deliver firewood to families that qualify for the Calaveras Food Bank. The wood was delivered to people for heating, during the power outages.

He said about 80 families were receiving the wood, and the volunteer crew did not know where they were going, and just got a list of delivery addresses. Wilensky said the crew arrived to a number of their own relatives’ houses, which led to impromptu and meaningful reunions. He said when the power was out, and people were snowed in and needing wood for heating, “it was a really big moment for the West Point area, giving people a real sense of mission, delivering heating wood.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.