Climate Action Plan of the Sierra Nevada: A Regional Approach to Address Climate Change

The California state agency, Sierra Nevada Conservancy, completed a Climate Action Plan for the the Sierra Nevada region of the state with support from the California Natural Resources Agency. This plan looks at climate change impacts across the region, what additional actions can be taken in mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change, and the gaps in information that were most prevalent for these efforts as of 2009. The plan includes 49 Action items, or specific activities, for addressing regional climate change impacts.

The plan is based on the most significant climate change impacts in the Sierra Nevada including: less snowpack and earlier melt from warming temperatures; increased flooding and drought conditions; reduction of and damage to water quality and supply; reduced forest health and greater susceptibility to pest infestation and drought; increase in catastrophic wildfires and loss of carbon sequestration; impacts on habitat and species survival; and economic devastation to disadvantaged rural communities.   

The report describes key issue areas, the mission, vision, goals, strategies and intended outcomes of the climate action plan for the Sierra Nevada. The key Issue Areas of the CAP focus on the regional issues of:

  • Resilient Forest/Fire Risk Reduction
  • Water
  • Habitat/Biodiversity
  • Renewable Energy in the form of Biomass
  • Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency

The CAP Strategies are specific categories in which to organize actions, created from the key issue areas. Action items within these Strategies are the specific activities suggested for addressing the critical regional climate change impacts - provided in the context of Short-Term (1-12 months) or Mid-Term (13-24 months) time frames for implementation.

The following Strategies provide the framework for 49 detailed Action Items: 

  1. Promoting land management practices that contribute to forest health, resiliency and the reduction of catastrophic wildfire threats
  2. Addressing water quality and supply; increasing “above-the-dam,” basin-wide natural water storage systems for storage and groundwater recharge
  3. Securing carbon sequestration by forests, woodlands, and working landscapes
  4. Promoting actions that contribute to and protect wildlife/vegetation habitat and migration corridors
  5. Promoting clean and sustainable energy production (including but not limited to biomass-to-energy and biomass-to-fuel production) and energy efficiency program development throughout the region
  6. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions region-wide through support for local government efficiency and land use efforts
  7. Educating decision- and policy-makers, as well as community members on the services provided by the Sierra Nevada Region and its’ potential climate–related benefits and losses
  8. Promoting continued development of region-specific climate research
  9. Pursuing and promoting funding sources to achieve the goals and objectives of the SN CAP

And finally, the Outcomes listed describe the characteristics of the Sierra if the SN CAP is successfully implemented to address climate action issues within the region. The sections on Resources and Accountability, and Implementation describe the resources need to fulfill this action plan.    

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy is a California state agency created by bi-partisan legislation (AB 2600) in 2004. The Conservancy was established to, in part: "Protect, conserve, and restore the region's physical, cultural, archaeological, historical, and living resources; Aid in the preservation of working landscapes; Reduce the risk of natural disasters, such as wildfires; and Assist the regional economy through the operation of the conservancy's program."

The SNC Region, made up of all or part of 22 counties covering over 25 million acres, is one of the most significant natural and biologically diverse regions in the world. The Sierra Nevada constitutes about 25 percent of California’s land area and is the state’s principal watershed, supplying more than 60 percent of the developed water supply to residents, agriculture, and other businesses/industries across the state.

 

 

Publication Date: December 2009

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Resource Types:

  • Adaptation plan
  • Plans (other)

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