Yuba Watershed Institute

08/24/2026

Do you have questions about herbicide use on our public lands?

On Thursday, Aug. 27, Nevada County is hosting a town hall about the forest management choices behind a major new wildfire risk reduction effort on the Tahoe National Forest, including the choices that are hardest to talk about.

Hard Choices in the Woods: Forests, Fire, and Herbicide

🗓️ Thursday, Aug. 27, 5:30–7 p.m.

📍 Miners Foundry Cultural Center, 325 Spring St, Nevada City

Free and open to the public

Where we stand: Nevada County is facing an unprecedented wildfire crisis, and taking no action is the most detrimental management decision available. We don't have all the answers, but management is needed to protect the landscape we live, work, and play in.

We support the common tools of the toolbox: thinning, mastication, hand cutting and piling, prescribed fire, permitted timber harvest, and targeted herbicide on invasive species. The nuance is in how each one gets applied: where, when, how much, under what safeguards. That's where thoughtful people, our partner organizations included, sometimes land in different places.

This meeting isn't here to sell you on anything. It's here to explain the strategies and to hear from you.

Can't make it? The county's survey is open now.

Details, links, and the full project background: https://www.yubawatershedinstitute.org/news/escape-town-hall-2026

Community members are invited to attend a Town Hall on forest health and management tools used to reduce wildfire risk in Nevada County.

The Town Hall will be held on Thursday, Aug. 27 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Miners Foundry Cultural Center, 325 Spring St., Nevada City.

08/13/2026

Do you have questions about herbicide use on our public lands?

On Thursday, Aug. 27, Nevada County is hosting a town hall about the forest management choices behind a major new wildfire risk reduction effort on the Tahoe National Forest, including the choices that are hardest to talk about.

Hard Choices in the Woods: Forests, Fire, and Herbicide

🗓️ Thursday, Aug. 27, 5:30–7 p.m.

📍 Miners Foundry Cultural Center, 325 Spring St, Nevada City

Free and open to the public

Where we stand: Nevada County is facing an unprecedented wildfire crisis, and taking no action is the most detrimental management decision available. We don't have all the answers, but management is needed to protect the landscape we live, work, and play in.

We support the common tools of the toolbox: thinning, mastication, hand cutting and piling, prescribed fire, permitted timber harvest, and targeted herbicide on invasive species. The nuance is in how each one gets applied: where, when, how much, under what safeguards. That's where thoughtful people, our partner organizations included, sometimes land in different places.

This meeting isn't here to sell you on anything. It's here to explain the strategies and to hear from you.

Can't make it? The county's survey is open now.

Details, links, and the full project background: https://www.yubawatershedinstitute.org/news/escape-town-hall-2026

04/30/2026

We set up trail cameras so we could monitor wildlife movement through one of our projects. What we didn't expect was mountain lion cubs.

Our newly expanded trail camera gallery is live on the website — 47 photos and videos of the animals that share this landscape when people aren't around. Black bear cubs, ringtail cats, a northern flying squirrel, a pileated woodpecker, and yes — mountain lion cubs.

We also added a short video of field biologist Jeff Alvarez walking through what a western pond turtle's shell can tell you about its age, s*x, and history of injuries. It's a lot more than you'd think.

https://www.yubawatershedinstitute.org/programs/watershed-wildlife

03/26/2026

🎙️ KVMR News covered the three wildfire prevention grants totaling more than $3 million recently awarded to Yuba Watershed Institute and Nevada County OES, funding critical fuels reduction work in the South Yuba River Canyon. YWI Executive Director Chris Friedel and Nevada County OES Director Alex Keeble-Toll share details on the Round Mountain, South Yuba Rim, and Town of Washington projects. Give it a listen!
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The Yuba Watershed Institute and the Nevada County Office of Emergency Services have been awarded more than $3,000,000 to reduce wildfire fuels in the South Yuba River Canyon.

03/24/2026

The burning of machine-piled logging slash on the 'Inimim Forest Restoration Project may start next Tuesday (3/31) or Wednesday (4/1). The piles are located off of Jackass Flats Rd, Silverthorne Ln, Kadaheska Wy, and North Canyon Rd on the San Juan Ridge. There may be localized smoke impacts from the operations.

EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. — The Bureau of Land Management plans to conduct prescribed fire operations in the ‘Inimim Forest located east of North Columbia in Nevada County. Mechanical pile burn operations were scheduled to start on Monday, March 16, and may continue through June. Timing of the bur...

03/17/2026

Wildfire prevention is coming to the South Yuba canyon on a scale we haven't seen before. Three new projects will treat nearly 600 acres on the canyon's north rim, south rim, and upper reaches — protecting homes, evacuation routes, and communities from Nevada City to Washington. Proud to be partnering with Nevada County OES on this work.

NEVADA CITY, CA — Three state grants totaling over $3 million will fund wildfire prevention across nearly 600 acres of overgrown forest surrounding the South Yuba River canyon, protecting homes, evacuation routes, and an isolated river community with only two roads out. The Yuba Watershed Institut...

03/16/2026

Standing Dead: Overstocked, Overgrown, Overdue — Film Premiere & Expert Panel

Date: March 28
Time: 2–4 PM
Location: Don Baggett Theater, Nevada Union High School, Grass Valley

Join us for the premiere of the documentary Standing Dead: Overstocked. Overgrown. Overdue., followed by a panel discussion with wildfire experts and community members who experienced Butte County’s North Complex Fire.

The film explores how dense forests and heavy fuel loads drive extreme wildfire behavior and what that means for western Nevada County and the Sierra Nevada. After the screening, experts will discuss what our community can do now to reduce wildfire risk and make our forests less flammable.

Admission: Free with advance RSVP. A $20 suggested donation will be accepted at the door (space permitting).

Panel moderated by Pascale Fosshoeller, Editor of YubaNet.

Presented by the Wildfire-Ready Coalition of Nevada County.
Documentary by Riparian Studios LLC.

Learn more, RSVP, or become a sponsor here: https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/jNHmZINi-jgLDUg1aH-Iig