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
Be the first to hear about important campaigns, victories and features related to enjoying and protecting wilderness by joining our email and mobile WildAlert network.
mywilderness
Hear artists, activists and adventurers share what the ownership and legacy of these American wildlands means to them.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013If the Senate is any indication, your support of wilderness bills may meet success this year.
Saturday, June 15, 2013Whether you intend to visit a major city, or you live in one and are looking for a quick weekend trip, a visit to Wilderness is often nearby.
Friday, June 14, 2013Just as you rely on wild places to rejuvenate and restore you, those places rely on you to keep them in good condition.
Friday, June 14, 2013A final plan for the SunZia transmission project raises serious concerns about impacts to Arizona’s sensitive San Pedro Valley.
Friday, June 7, 2013The memorandum specifically calls on federal agencies to collaborate on identifying suitable places on public lands that avoid sensitive na
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.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013It was at the Three Forks Natural Area in Snoqualmie, WA where Sen. Patty Murray and Rep.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013Like a dutiful sentinel, the lookout quietly watches over the wild, waiting for visitors to make their way through beautiful alpine meadows to the summit of Green Mountain.
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.
A factsheet about the Green Mountain Lookout.
A support letter for H.R. 908/S. 404, the Green Mountain Lookout Heritage Protection Act, introduced in February by Reps. DelBene and Larsen and Sens. Murray and Cantwell.
Dear Representative Gosar:
On behalf of the National Association of Counties (NACo), I am writing to express our support of the Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act (H.R. 596). This landmark legislation would extend royalties and lease income from solar and wind projects developed on Federal lands to home states and counties.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013The Wilderness Society tonight applauded the passage of five wilderness and conservation bills in the U.S. Senate. We are hopeful that the passage is a sign of things to come in the House, as the previous Congress – the 112th – was the first since 1966 to not designate a single new acre of wilderness.The wilderness and conservation bills that passed include:
Tuesday, June 18, 2013Contacts:
Alan Rowsome, (202)285-8134, alan_rowsome@tws.org
Emily Diamond-Falk, (202) 841-8605, emily_diamond-falk@tws.org
WASHINGTON (June 18, 2013) – The Wilderness Society today took a position on several bills being marked-up in the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Friday, June 14, 2013A final plan for the SunZia Southwest transmission project was released today by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) identifying the agency’s preferred routes in Arizona and New Mexico.