Shasta Environmental Alliance

08/05/2026

Our public lands are under attack! If you want to fight for them (or want to know why you should want to), this article offers some tips and tricks to getting started and staying involved.

24 ways ordinary folks can support the fight to protect California’s embattled landscapes

08/03/2026

Last Beach Clean-Up of the summer!!

We are proudly participating in Whiskeytown’s Adopt-A-Swim Beach clean-up program, and we invite you to join us in showing our beloved recreation park some TLC. We have committed to at least one morning during each of the summer months to roll up our sleeves, put on some gloves and clean up our adopted swim beach. We hope you’ll join us in our efforts to provide safe clean beaches for summer recreating. Donuts may be involved!
All materials will be supplied by WNRA, all we have to do is show up with our can-do attitude. To volunteer please fill out this FORM: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://forms.gle/GHJpeDaGTrmtSDSi6&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1780254619420123&usg=AOvVaw2CnSyeBe-vhYYPEthz7KUR
*Whiskeytown requires their own forms to sign in order to participate, they will be provided prior to the event
For questions contact [email protected].

07/31/2026

Species Feature July:

California groundcone, 𝘒𝘰𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘢

"I met this plant for the first time while participating in a Community Science project to track biodiversity within National Forests. Along with a group of other volunteers, I was up near Ash Creek Butte in Mt. Shasta, CA. Walking down a forest service road, I scouted ahead to find a spot with enough clearance to enter the thick wall of snowbrush ceanothus (Ceanothus velutinus). Finding a path good enough to tromp through without too much effort, I waited for the group to catch up. Our leader fell behind, and then excitedly jogged up to tell us why. They asked if we had seen the pinecones along the road. Being in the middle of a National Forest with many conifer species, the answer was, of course, yes. Then they revealed that those weren’t pinecones at all… they are plants called “groundcones.” The bracts of this plant resemble the cone scales of various conifers..." - Ren Redlich

To learn more about their holoparasitic nature, the plants they feed off of, and where to find them, please subscribe to our newsletter at:

ecoshasta.org/subscribe

(pc: Ren Redlich)

07/29/2026

Species Feature July:

Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

"I started my career assessing Chinook Salmon populations many moons ago, and since then have loved all things salmon, so be forewarned this may be a multipart series, since I could go on about how awesome salmon are indefinitely. But I need to go over some salmon basics first! You may (or may not know) that right in your back yard, here in the Sacramento River, is the largest run of Chinook Salmon in the state. Chinook Salmon, or King Salmon, are the largest Pacific Salmonid species (that is why they are the king!)...
..The Sacramento River supports four distinct runs of Chinook Salmon: Fall, Late-Fall, Spring, and Winter, all of which are technically Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), but their separate life histories are what makes them different..." (Part 1)

"You may think that all these runs are created equal, but this is not the case. Winter-run is one of our most important runs, in that it is the most endangered out of the four runs. It was officially listed as endangered back in 1989, and even had an all-time low of only 186 spawners returning to the Sacramento River in 1993.
You may be asking why this run of salmon is struggling so much… The short answer is Keswick and Shasta dams, but the long answer is a little more complicated. Looking back to their life history, we know that winter-run spawn all the way until July, leaving their nests to incubate for three months after in the hottest months of the year. Salmon eggs need water temperatures to be between 42.5 and 57.5 degrees Fahrenheit to incubate. This made sense as a life strategy when these salmon were able to access the cold waters of the upper Sacramento River, but now they are cut off from those waters..." (Part 2) - Stacey Alexander

To continue reading our species feature article please subscribe to our newsletter at:

ecoshasta.org/subscribe

(pc: USFW, Jane Work, RCD of Tehama County)

07/29/2026

To learn more about the Roadless Rule and why defending it is important visit the full post at:

ecoshasta.org/?s=roadless

Studies have shown that creating roads is more likely to cause wildfires than allow access to fight them. Forest Service roads are already under-maintenanced, adding more will only increase chances of ravaging wildfire due to erosion, human contact, and disruption of ecosystems.

Protect our public lands and our forests! 🌲

07/08/2026

We are proudly participating in Whiskeytown’s Adopt-A-Swim Beach clean-up program, and we invite you to join us in showing our beloved recreation park some TLC. We have committed to at least one morning during each of the summer months to roll up our sleeves, put on some gloves and clean up our adopted swim beach. We hope you’ll join us in our efforts to provide safe clean beaches for summer recreating. Donuts may be involved!
All materials will be supplied by WNRA, all we have to do is show up with our can-do attitude. To volunteer please fill out this FORM: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://forms.gle/GHJpeDaGTrmtSDSi6&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1780254619420123&usg=AOvVaw2CnSyeBe-vhYYPEthz7KUR
*Whiskeytown requires their own forms to sign in order to participate, they will be provided prior to the event
For questions contact [email protected].