Squaw Valley Institute Presents: The Future of Our Local Forests

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2009
PLUMPJACK CONFERENCE CENTER - SQUAW VALLEY
6:30 pm socialize at no host bar - 7:00 pm presentation

$10 donation to Squaw Valley Institute requested
Children and students with I.D. Free

Squaw Valley Institute thanks PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn for sponsoring this event

For more information, visit www.squawvalleyinstitute.org or call 530.581.4138 

If you would like to become a member of Squaw Valley Institute, please visit our website at www.squawvalleyinstitute.org for more information on our programs and member benefits.

Join Squaw Valley Institute on Thursday January 22nd at PlumpJack for a discussion on the Future of Our Forests given by Sugar Pine Foundation founder John Pickett and Executive Director Maria Mircheva. Global warming, invasive species and other human influences are having profound effects on the health of Sierra Nevada forests. The forests of the Sierra Nevada support a diverse wildlife population, clean the air and store water into the dry summer months. Changes to the forest ecosystem now threaten the very foundation of the biodiversity that visitors to the Sierra Nevada enjoy.

However, there are a number of groups who are implementing forest restoration projects. The sharp divide between environmentalists and loggers is evaporating. So, while the threats to Sierra Nevada forests are real and the scope of the problem is large, there are also reasons to be optimistic about the future forests of the Sierra Nevada.

The Sugar Pine Foundation is a non-profit that is restoring sugar pines and western white pines in the Tahoe basin. White pines are being devastated by a non-native rust introduced into North America around 1910. The group has located over 30 sugar pines that are resistant to the fungus and has planted over 2000 resistant sugar pine seedlings in the Tahoe basin. The Sugar Pine Foundation is now looking to expand its operations to the entire Sierra Nevada.

John Pickett is the founder of the Sugar Pine Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to restoring white pine species in the Sierra Nevada. He is also the operations manager for the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team, a collaboration that is implementing fuels reduction projects in the Tahoe Basin. Governor Schwarzenegger appointed John to the California Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission in 2007.

Maria Mircheva is the Executive Director of the Sugar Pine Foundation. Maria earned a Masters in Environmental Science and Management from the University of California at Santa Barbara. She is also currently working on the Lake Tahoe Clarity Crediting Program, a program designed to create incentives for water quality similar to carbon credits.