A giant construction crane looms above the Village at Mammoth Lakes, where thirty area residents met to discuss the draft strategic plan for the new Sierra Nevada Conservancy. The setting in this town of 7,500 in the eastern Sierras provides a stark reminder about the challenges facing the Sierras, where real estate development and unchecked population growth is transforming California’s mountain communities.

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy, which was created by an act of the state legislature in 2004, faces a monumental task. Unlike the Coastal Conservancy, which was created to preserve and protect California’s natural environment, the new conservancy must also promote the “economic well being of the Sierra Nevada region, its communities and its citizens.�?

As Steve Frisch, vice president of the Sierra Business Council, sees it, this is the first state agency whose central mission is to promote sustainable economic development.

The conservancy staff held six regional meetings, from Alturas near the Oregon border to Exeter in the southern foothills of the Sierra, to unveil the draft plan that will guide the work of the new state agency over the next five years. The staff will incorporate comments it received from the forums, and then present the revised plan to the conservancy board at the June 1st meeting in Auburn.

Sierra Nevada Conservancy Board Meeting

• Thursday, June 1, 2006, beginning at 9 a.m.
  Auburn City Council Chambers
  1225 Lincoln Way, Auburn

Conservancy Field Trip and Reception

• Wednesday, May 31, Noon
  Field Trip to review watershed issues in Placer and Nevada Counties. Meet at the Holiday Inn Express, 120 Grass Valley Highway, Auburn.

• Wednesday, May 31, 5 p.m.
  Reception celebrating the opening of the conservancy’s new headquarters, 11521 Blocker Dr., Auburn.

All events are open to the public. For more information, call the conservancy at 530/823-4670.

To download a copy of the June 1st meeting agenda and board packet, go to the [1] Sierra Nevada Conservancy.

The conservancy staff has posted the [2] draft strategic plan on its website, along with an [3] online “workbook,” which can be used for submitting comments on the plan. Comments can also be sent to max@sierranevada.ca.gov.