Why the Sierra Nevada
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada is California’s magnificent backbone. Its incomparable wild lands – home of Yosemite and Sequoia parks – still need protection, restoration and wise management.
Immortalized by Ansel Adams’ iconic photos, the Sierra Nevada dazzles with snow-capped peaks, sapphire lakes and ancient sequoia that have guarded it for millennia. Now this American treasure needs us to guard its wild lands and permanently restore its legacy.
Yosemite. Sequoia. Mt. Whitney. They are some of the iconic places that make the Sierra an American landmark like no other.
Yet there’s also magic in more subtle outdoor experiences: remote cathedral peaks glimmering with alpenglow or a bear family scampering across a wildflower meadow.
Visitors from around the world also visit the Sierra Nevada for its trout-rich streams, winter sports and ancient sequoia forests where some trees are thousands of years old.
Why the Sierra Nevada?
With more than 12 million acres of federal public land, the Sierra Nevada is a vast and diverse range, extending 400 miles from north to south.
But the Sierra’s raw beauty faces threats such as:
- Development
- Heavy recreation use including off-road vehicles
- Mining and other commercial businesses
- Climate change
- California’s 38 million residents
Work we’re doing
The Wilderness Society California team is focused on preserving key wilderness for recreation, wildlife and water supplies.
Our other goals are to:
- Help develop forest management plans to improve their health.
- Restore thousands of acres that will improve wildlife habitat, safeguard water supplies, lower wildfire risk and boost local tourism.
- Improve forest health by identifying illegal or eroding dirt roads that can be reclaimed by nature.
Our partners
The California team is working with its local and national partners on the above projects.
Why Wilderness
Wilderness is a precious resource with many human, natural and economic benefits that we need to protect.
WildAlerts
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mywilderness
Hear artists, activists and adventurers share what the ownership and legacy of these American wildlands means to them.
Friday, May 24, 2013The U.S. Coast Guard began multi-day investigatory hearings on May 20 into Royal Dutch Shell's drilling rig the Kulluk, which went aground near Kodiak Island, Alaska, last New Year’s Eve.
Thursday, May 23, 2013Which is why this week legislation that would protect these lands was introduced yet again, granting these lands another opportunity for well-deserved recognition and conservation.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013Yet, here we are, with people and the government unable to stop furloughs, job losses, and lower revenue to keep the government functioning. Our public lands have certainly not been spared from this indiscriminate budget ax.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013But Alaska’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski refused to accept that decision. She and residents of the tiny community of King Cove are fighting to have the decision overturned.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013Birdwatchers travel from far and wide to northwest Colorado to see male sage-grouse strut their stuff in hopes of attracting a mate. Early spring is prime season to catch these timid grouse dancing on the lek and shaking their tail feathers through organized tours.
Members of the Western Clean Energy Advocates (WCEA), signed a letter encouraging Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper to to sign SB 252, to increase the renewable energy portfolio standard for rural electric providers
. WCEA is a diverse and growing coalition working to transform the way we produce, use, and distribute energy across the West. WCEA aims to create jobs, protect the West’s water, wildlife, and ecosystems, address climate change, and enhance energy security.
Smart Steps to Establish a Responsible Program for Renewable Energy on Public Lands
Since its first day in office, the Obama Administration has made rapid and responsible expansion of renewable energy a top priority. The public lands have played a major role in achieving early goals, but only because of focused effort to correct decades of inattention and inactivity toward developing renewable energy as a major component of the nation’s energy mix.
Expanding energy development to meet the growing needs of America must be balanced with protecting vital wild places.
The Wilderness Society has launched a new quarterly report "By The Numbers" to track how many acres of American land have been protected by Congress and the Executive branch, and how many acres have been leased out to energy development.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013Witness testimony today by Noble’s Offshore Installation Manager Todd Case as he was questioned by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that the Kulluk drill rig -- which Shell attempted to tow across the Gulf of Alaska with a single tow vessel before it broke loose and ran aground last New Year’s Eve -- should have had multiple tow vessels for safe transport.
Case was aboard the Kulluk when it went adrift and ran aground on a small island south of Kodiak.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013U.S. Representatives Don Young and Doc Hastings have introduced H.R. 1964 in an effort to scrap the Department of the Interior’s recently finalized, comprehensive plan for the western Arctic’s National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the nation’s largest tract of public land. The bill is scheduled for a hearing tomorrow on Capitol Hill.
Monday, May 20, 2013Identifying smart steps the Obama Administration, including the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management, can take to continue building a responsible program for renewable energy are part of a “blueprint for action” released by The Wilderness Society today.