Reclaiming the Sierra

Program

Select filmed speakers and presentation slides are now available online! Click here to view.

Click here to download the full conference program.
Click here to view speaker’s biographies.

View Program

Below is a quick outline of the program for Reclaiming the Sierra 2017: Headwater Resiliency, May 8-10, 2017 at California State University, Sacramento. To check out the full conference program, click here.

Click the links below to jump to each day’s schedule.

 

Day 1: Monday, May 8

8:00 amRegistration Opens
Exhibitor Set Up
9:00 - 10:15 amOpening Plenaries

Welcoming Remarks: Elizabeth "Izzy" Martin, CEO, The Sierra Fund

Keynote Speaker: Lawrie Mott
"A New Look at the Cadillac Desert"
10:15 - 10:30 amBREAK
10:30 - noonOpening Plenaries

Adrienne Alvord, Union of Concerned Scientists & Board Member, The Sierra Fund

Dr. David Bunn, Director, CA Department of Conservation

Thomas O'Neill, The Habitat Institute

Dr. Mathias Kondolf, UC Berkeley

Trina Cunningham, Maidu Summit Consortium and Conservancy
12:00 - 1:00 pmLUNCH PROVIDED

Poster Session
1:00 - 2:55 pmBreakout Session: Mine Remediation

This session on mine remediation and restoring resiliency will address the unique issues associated with mine-impacted landscapes with a focus on low-impact methods for remediation and effectiveness evaluation.		Breakout Session: Challenges to California's Water Infrastructure

This panel will discuss the state's water infrastructure from dams to ditches, infrastructure impacts on fish passage and water supply, and the challenges to restoring resiliency to the system in the face of climate change.
2:55 - 3:10 pmBREAK
3:10 - 5:00 pmBreakout Session: Meadow Restoration

This session on meadow resiliency will identify key components of desired meadow conditions and explore methods for quantifying the benefits of meadow restoration on species diversity, hydrologic function, water quality, and carbon sequestration.		Breakout Session: Surface Mining and Reclamation Act Implementation

This panel will discuss the development of regulations and programs as a result of the legislation passed in 2016, identify opportunities for public input around SMARA enforcement issues, and discuss the impact of the new regulations on communities and the mining industry.
5:00 - 6:00 pmEVENING RECEPTION

5:00-6:00 pm Poster Session & Networking Hour with Sacramento State Jazz Quartet
6:00 - 7:00 pmEVENING RECEPTION

6:00-7:00 pm Reclaiming the Sierra Tonight Show

Gideon Kracov, Chair, State Mining and Geology Board

John Laird, Secretary, CA Natural Resources Agency

MC: Elizabeth "Izzy" Martin, CEO, The Sierra Fund

Day 2: Tuesday, May 9

8:00 amREGISTRATION OPEN
Exhibit Hall Open
9:00 - 10:15 amOpening Plenaries

Welcoming Remarks: Dr. Carrie Monohan, Science Director, The Sierra Fund

Keynote Speaker: Jordan Fisher Smith
"A Fatal Bear Attack, a Lawsuit, and the Philosophy of Ecological Restoration in the Sierra Nevada"
10:15 - 10:30 amBREAK
10:30 - noonOpening Plenaries

John Hillenbrand, US Environmental Protection Agency

Jim Branham, Executive Director, Sierra Nevada Conservancy

Dr. Craig Tucker, Karuk Tribe

Dr. Fraser Shilling, UC Davis
12:00 - 1:00 pmLUNCH PROVIDED
1:00 - 2:55 pmBreakout Session: Regional Models for Prioritization

This session on regional models will explore the use of visual, spatial, and predictive models to inform watershed and landscape scale project prioritization and adaptive management decision-making processes.		Breakout Session: Ethical Gold

This panel will discuss how to create an environmentally sound and ethical certification process, including identification of techniques and a chain of custody, to bring gold that is produced as a result of restoration activities to the market as a specialized product.
2:55 - 3:10 pmBREAK
3:10 - 5:00 pmBreakout Session: Forest Resiliency

This session on forest resiliency will highlight the implications of fire suppression and logging practices on terrestrial and aquatic forest ecosystems and provide insight into policy changes and on-the-ground techniques that can be used to restore forest health in the Sierra Nevada.		Breakout Session: Reservoir Mercury Discharge

This panel will address pending Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) regulations under development by the State Water Resources Control Board to control mercury sources to reservoirs, reduce mercury methylation in reservoirs, and reduce bioaccumulation of methylmercury through in-reservoir fisheries management.
5:00 - 5:15 pmBREAK
5:15 - 5:30 pmClosing Remarks

Shelly Covert, Nevada City Rancheria, California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project

Elizabeth "Izzy" Martin, CEO, The Sierra Fund

 

Tour: Wednesday, May 10

Please click to view more details regarding the Sacramento River Charter Boat Tour, Wednesday May 10