Reports, announcements, and articles on forest health, community programs, and YWI news.
FeaturedThe Yuba Watershed Institute's community journal is gathering essays, poems, drawings, photos, and wildlife sightings for issue #31, its first in five years. The theme: how you relate to the natural world around you. All ages welcome.
YWI intends to award the Round Mountain Phase 1 fuels reduction work to GP Development & Land Clearing LLC, and the South Yuba Rim Phase 2 work by Bid Item to First Rain Land Stewardship Services LLC, Wildland Corporation, and GP Development & Land Clearing LLC. Work is planned for November 2026 through February 2027.
Sierra Commons and the Sierra Business Council are hosting a tuition-free, two-day Forest Entrepreneurship Bootcamp on November 7–8 at Sierra College's Rocklin campus for people launching or growing forest and wildfire-resilience businesses. YWI Executive Director Chris Friedel will present as part of the class.
YWI intends to award the Round Mountain 2026 Timber Operations contract to Chris Swanson Trucking LLC, pending final contract execution. Work is planned for October 2026 through February 28, 2027.
YWI has released two Requests for Proposals for fuels reduction contractor services — about 152 acres of ridgetop shaded fuel break on BLM land at Round Mountain, and about 232 acres of fuel breaks across 31 private parcels on San Juan Ridge for the South Yuba Rim project. Both are due October 2, 2026, with non-mandatory field meetings on September 14 and 18.
YWI is seeking a Licensed Timber Operator to carry out a 40-acre timber harvest at Round Mountain — cedar sawlogs to the mill, sub-merchantable thinning, burn pile construction, and about 3,610 feet of fireline. The pre-proposal field meeting on August 24 is mandatory; proposals are due September 14, 2026.
Nevada County OES and its partners are holding a public town hall on Thursday, August 27 in Nevada City about the forest management choices behind the ESCAPE Good Neighbor Agreement — including the targeted use of herbicide. Free and open to the public, with a survey open now for anyone who can't attend.
YWI intends to award the Phase 2 Qualified Biologist Services contract for the South Yuba Rim Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project to Streamlined Ecological Services, pending final contract execution.
YWI is delighted to welcome Lynne Westerfield as our new Landscape Resilience Project Manager. A recent arrival to the San Juan Ridge with more than two decades in conservation, Lynne will help plan, implement, and monitor forest and watershed resilience work across the Yuba River watershed.
Update: this position has been filled and YWI is no longer accepting applications. The original announcement — for a part-time, seasonal Education Programs Lead to coordinate our fall and early-winter community education, anchored by the annual Fungus Foray & Wild Mushroom Exposition — is kept here for reference.
The Yuba Forest Network is hosting a free, all-day field tour on June 24 — an on-the-ground look at two active prescribed fire projects along the South Yuba River. Visit broadcast burn units, hear from project leads, and explore the landscape-scale strategies behind the work.
YWI is seeking a qualified biologist or ecological consulting firm to conduct focused special-status species surveys, compliance monitoring, and reporting for the 232-acre South Yuba Rim Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project (Phase 2). Questions are due June 15 and proposals are due July 1, 2026.
After more than two years of planning, contracting, and on-the-ground work, fuel reduction treatments are complete across the Little Deer Creek Landscape Resilience Project. A milestone update from the project team.
The project has treated 292.8 acres on San Juan Ridge, completed a major slash pile burn, and is on track to wrap up by Spring 2027. Here's where things stand heading into the new season.
After weeks of waiting for a weather window, a crew from Terra Fuego, the BLM, and Yuba Watershed Institute put fire on roughly 250 acres of machine piles in the ‘Inimim Forest over two long days in spring. A photo and video story of how it went.
Join us in April for a guided walk through 206 treated acres in the Nevada City/Banner Mountain area. See the results of two years of hand and mechanical thinning, check on native understory regrowth, and discuss the ecological and fire-resilience impacts of the work.
We've added a western pond turtle video and an expanded trail camera gallery to the Watershed Wildlife page — 47 candid photos and videos of the animals that share this landscape.
YWI secured two state grants totaling over $2 million to treat nearly 430 acres on both rims of the South Yuba River canyon and reduce wildfire risk for Nevada County communities.
YWI intends to award the contract for the Inimim Forest Restoration Project – Phase 3 Timber Harvest, advancing landscape-scale forest resilience in Nevada County.
Over 200 goats will maintain the Round Mountain shaded fuel break—reducing wildfire risk and protecting our communities in the Nevada City area.
Forest resilience treatments to protect communities and critical infrastructure near Nevada City, with work spanning multiple seasons.
Landscape-scale fuel reduction on the South Yuba River rim—learn about scope, partners, and timelines for this multi-year stewardship effort.
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