Events
Sierra Nevada Conservation Conference Comes to Nevada City, Nov. 5–6
The Sierra Nevada Alliance's 2026 conference is Thursday, November 5 at the Miners Foundry, with three guided field tours on Friday, November 6. YWI's Chris Friedel leads the Little Deer Creek tour. Register by October 31.
The Sierra Nevada Alliance is bringing its 2026 Sierra Nevada Conservation Conference to Nevada City on Thursday, November 5, at the historic Miners Foundry, followed by three guided field tours on Friday, November 6. Please register by Saturday, October 31.
Register and see tour details →
The conference, November 5
Conservation organizations, Tribal partners, land managers, scientists, funders, and community advocates from across the Sierra Nevada and Sierra-Cascade region will gather for a day of shared learning and collaboration. This year's theme is Connecting to Nature: Deepening Our Relationship with the Sierra.
The keynote speaker is M. Kat Anderson, ethnobotanist and author of Tending the Wild. Sessions will cover:
- Building the conservation workforce
- Sustainable recreation and stewardship, including Tribal perspectives
- Community advocacy and public lands protection
- Community guardianship and land conservation
- Beyond the grant cycle: sustainable funding for healthy ecosystems and resilient communities
- Collaborative problem-solving on complex land management challenges
The day also includes a conservation poster session featuring Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership members, an art exhibit, and an afternoon happy hour with music.
Friday field tours, November 6
Three guided tours are offered on Friday. Tours are $25 per person with limited capacity, so register early to reserve your preferred tour.
Little Deer Creek Landscape Resilience Project · 9–11 AM
YWI Executive Director Chris Friedel leads a guided walk through 206 acres of forest restoration treatments near Banner Mountain. See the results of forest thinning, native understory recovery, and the work to improve ecological resilience and reduce wildfire risk. Learn more about the Little Deer Creek project.
Hoyt-Purdon Fuel Reduction and Prescribed Fire Project · 9 AM–12 PM
Julie Fair of American Rivers, in partnership with Terra Fuego Resources Foundation, leads a tour of a 570-acre forest and watershed resilience project along the South Yuba River. Learn how thinning and prescribed fire are helping protect nearby communities, watersheds, and ecosystems.
Ecological Stories of the Western Sierra Nevada · 9 AM–12 PM
Naturalist and mycologist Thea Chesney and integrative ecologist Christopher Mackessy lead an immersive plant and fungi walk near Nevada City, exploring the relationships among plants, mushrooms, people, and the forest ecosystems we share.
Register
Registration for the conference and the field tours is through the Sierra Nevada Alliance: sierranevadaalliance.org/sierra-nevada-alliance-conference.
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