The Sierra Nevada’s are a very important landscape for Californian’s. Over 60% of the state’s water originates in the Sierra Nevada, which supplies 25 million people, 3 million acres of agricultural land, and the Sierra Nevada forests are responsible for sequestering massive quantities of carbon every day. In other words, the Sierra Nevada Region is pivotal to the water we drink, the food we eat, and the air that we breathe here in California!

bark beetles — Sierra Forests riddled with bark beetle’s following the drought.

And if you’re a hunter, fisherman, hiker, or backpacker, the national forests that make up this region hold a very special place in your heart. That’s why the National Wild Turkey Federation has partnered with the Eldorado National Forest to help improve wildlife habitat, restore forest health, and create a more resilient landscape where fire can be safely introduced back into the ecosystem. This began as the Cleveland-Icehouse Stewardship Agreement, but has continued to expand into new areas of critical importance.

A feller buncher removing the smaller diameter trees to make room for the larger trees to grow on the Cleveland-Icehouse Forest Health Project.

On March 8th, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy announced that they would be officially funding the NWTF’s grant proposal in the amount of $487,715 to impact over 270 acres of national forest land around the community of Grizzly Flats, called the Trestle Forest Health Project. This is a forest thinning project that will improve habitat for wild turkeys, deer, and other wildlife, as well protecting the sole water supply line for the community of Grizzly Flats.

Stay tuned as we begin work on this project this summer!