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This Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we honor the Pit River Tribe’s enduring connection to their ancestral lands - Sáttítla.
Protecting this sacred place is critical to preserving Tribal culture, history, and natural resources. Let’s work together to safeguard Sáttítla by urging President Biden to designate it as a National Monument.
Join us in calling for action at www.protectsattitla.org/take-action
#ProtectSattitla #IndigenousPeoplesDay |
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Chapter Chair's Column
by Andy Sawyer - This year our Sierra Club volunteers need to engage in electoral politics like our environment depends on it, because it does.
On a wide range of environmental issues, including administration of federal environmental laws like the federal Endangered Species Act and the National Policy Act and protection of natural areas and sacred sites as National Monuments, the Trump Administration rolled back environmental protections. We challenged some of the rollbacks in court, and the Biden administration reinstated most of the protections. But the fight is not over. Industry groups and right wing state attorneys general have filed suits challenging many of the Biden administration’s actions—and challenging environmental regulations that have been in place for decades.
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Molok Luyuk: Expansion of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument
by Adelita Serena - On October 2nd allies, organizers, conservationist’s and people that care, gathered at Berryessa Gap Vineyards Estate in Winters, California to celebrate the expansion of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument to include Molok Yuluk, which means Condor Ridge in the Patwin language. The evening was hot in Winters but that did not dampen the mood, as many Yolo County Board of Supervisors, Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar Curry, and Congressman Mike Thompson all made comments about how special and necessary the expansion was for our future. Berryessa Snow Mountain first was designated a National Monument in 2015 by President Barack Obama in an effort to protect this rich wilderness, breathtaking vistas, historical and cultural resources, and critical habitat. |
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Sacramento ICO news - Fall 2024
by Harry Spanglet, Chair of Sacramento Inspiring Connections Outdoors (ICO) - It’s been a while, and we have been quite busy! We work with local agencies and schools to organize fun and exciting outdoor outings for youths, which are always completely free. We supply leadership, transportation, food, and absolutely everything anyone needs in the outdoors such as clothing, hats, boots, water bottles, backpack, and sunscreen; and everything needed for fun too, like beach balls, sand toys, sleds, snowshoes, soccer balls, and kites. It’s a lot of fun, it's very rewarding to see people marveling at nature for the first time, and volunteers get to do all the fun things too! |
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Chapter Annual Banquet Recap
by Dyane Osorio - The Mother Lode Chapter Awards Dinner which was held on August 17, 2024, at Antiquité Maison Priveé in Midtown Sacramento, was a return to tradition after a four-year hiatus. The evening kicked off with a social hour, followed by our Awards Ceremony and a delightful buffet dinner. I was delighted to welcome our guests along with our Chapter Awards Banquet Chair Jose Montoya who also introduced distinguished guests, including our empowering speaker Dr. Flojaune "Flo" Cofer, who is the Sierra Club endorsed candidate for Mayor of the City of Sacramento. Dr. Cofer delivered an inspiring talk which highlighted environmental progress and the ongoing collaborative work needed to create a sustainable future. |
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Sacred lands in Northern California are finally getting needed national protections
by Bob Schneider - I once called the Berryessa Snow Mountain region the undiscovered landscape. Now it is not.
The Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument is located about 50 to 100 miles west and northwest from Sacramento. In the winter, the Snow Mountain, at 7,056 feet, will often be covered in white. I am awed by the forces of plate tectonics and the diversity of the plants and animals visible here.
A strong and inclusive coalition of partners — including conservation groups, businesses and elected officials — have worked with tribal leadership to permanently protect these federal public lands. On May 2, President Joe Biden signed a proclamation under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to add 13,696 acres to the national monument. In addition, Walker Ridge was renamed to Molok Luyuk, and co-stewardship by the tribe and the Bureau of Land Management was mandated.
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Golden State Natural Resources and DRAX Wood Pellet Update
The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for Golden State Natural Resources' (GSNR) proposed forest resiliency demonstration project is now anticipated to occur on October 22, 2024.
Once available, the report will be posted on the project page on GSNR’s website located here. Golden State Finance Authority (GSFA), the project's lead agency, is providing a 60-day review period for public evaluation and comment.
JOIN US at the following meetings to learn about the project and provide comments on the details of the report:
- Lassen Meeting: October 28, 2024 at 6:00 pm
- Stockton Meeting: October 30, 2024 at 6:30 pm
- Tuolumne Meeting: November 4, 2024 at 6:00 pm
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Join Our Campaign: Coyote Creek Agrivoltaic Project in Sacramento County
While advocating for clean energy production, we are also fighting to conserve some of the last remaining spaces in Sacramento County, such as the oak covered woodlands along Scott Road. A transition to clean energy CANNOT involve the loss of valuable indigenous landscapes, forests and savannah which provide critical habitat and carbon sequestration.
Although we are still waiting on the DEIR, if you live in Sacramento County, please contact your Sacramento Board of Supervisors representative and ask them to protect Coyote Creek and stop this project.
Contact us to learn how you can help at sacramentosierraclub@gmail.com.
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Intro to Campfire Events & Tabling - MLC Volunteers
Join Mother Lode Chapter on Wednesday, November 20th, at 5:30 PM to learn how to use Campfire, the Sierra Club's software platform designed to help you organize and manage events easily and find resources to help volunteers protect our planet. Whether you're looking to create new events, access learning resources, or find ways to make a bigger impact, this training session is for you!
The session will last about an hour and teach everything from setting up your account to planning your next successful event. If you are a Group Leader, we can even set up a Campfire account for you in advance so you are ready to learn on the go.
Don't miss this chance to enhance your event planning skills with Sierra Club.
https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=701Po00000RqhUWIAZ |
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Please Help Sierra Club Yolano Group Stop Caltrans’ Freeway Sprawl
On May 29, the Sierra Club and the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) filed a lawsuit against Caltrans alleging inadequate environmental analysis and insufficient mitigation proposed for the environmental harm resulting from an I-80 freeway widening project through Yolo County.
Caltrans wants to widen 17 miles of the I-80 freeway from six to eight lanes between Davis and Sacramento through the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area. Our lawsuit seeks to stop this project until Caltrans conducts an accurate analysis of the true adverse environmental impacts that would result from the project.
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Looking for local hiking trails?
Sierra Club volunteer Elaine Gorman from the Yokuts Group has written VALLEY VENTURES, which offers 20 hikes that are easily accessible from Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties in the San Joaquin Valley of California. The narrative hike descriptions include natural and cultural history, mileage, special attractions, directions/drive time, and hiking tips. All hikes are within a two-hour driving range, and include hikes in the San Joaquin Valley, the foothills, and eastern Bay Area.
About the Author: Elaine has been a Yokuts Group Sierra Club outings leader for over 30 years, and is a Certified California Naturalist. She is an avid hiker and backpacker, and spends as much time as possible in the Sierra Nevada, Sierra foothills, Bay Area, and the San Joaquin Valley, exploring the wilderness and nature with her hiking pals.
VALLEY VENTURES is available from Elaine or the Bookish Bookstore in Roseburg Square in Modesto. Contact Elaine for more information at vevado@yahoo.com. |
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