From Sierra FoodWineArt magazine:
THE SOUTH YUBA RIVER CITIZENS League is the leading voice for the protection and restoration of the Yuba River and the greater Yuba watershed, a world-class recreation destination.
SYRCL (pronounced “circle”) was founded through a rural, grassroots campaign to defend the South Yuba River from proposed hydropower dams—an epic environmental battle in California. It has developed into a vibrant community group with more than 3,500 members and volunteers and is based in Nevada City.
The environmental nonprofit celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2013. A year-long celebration is planned, including educational river excursions and “Wild for the Yuba,” an elegant organic food, wine and beer, and musical gathering. The group’s annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival continues to draw thousands of visitors to the area.
“SYRCL has become much more than a river advocacy organization—it’s a cornerstone of our community,” longtime supporter and organic food pioneer Michael Funk told us in an interview.
“The service SYRCL provides through its education and restoration efforts are more important than ever.” Adds Executive Director Caleb Dardick: “We play a unifying role in the community.”
Examples include the recent greater Yuba River Cleanup and Restoration Day, now in its 15th year. This year, SYRCL launched the River Ambassador Program to educate and motivate visitors to the Yuba River to help keep the area clean, safe and healthy. The program will be expanded next year, says Dardick.
Nowhere was SYRCL’s ability to unite the community more visible than in the “Save the Yuba” campaign. It was a milestone in the group’s 30-year history.
Earlier this year, the South Yuba River State Park and Malakoff Diggins State Park were slated for closure because of state budget cuts.
But SYRCL joined forces with residents; the County Board of Supervisors; City Council members in Grass Valley, Nevada City and Truckee; active locals, such as Shawn Garvey; and Grass Valley Charter School students to keep the popular parks from closing.
Besides winning the battle to keep the state parks open, SYRCL scored a court victory this spring. It is a major step toward preventing the extinction of Yuba River salmon, steelhead and sturgeon.
“I look forward to the day I can take my children to see salmon on the Yuba where they haven’t been seen for more than 150 years,” says Funk.
A Climate of Change
Wild & Scenic Film Festival, January 11-13
Global warming is one of the most complicated issues facing our world, drawing a wide range of views. “A Climate of Change” is the theme for the 11th annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival.
The festival will feature films, art and work- shops on climate change, as well as highlight the change makers who are helping rethink how we inhabit our planet.
The festival is Friday-Sunday, January 11-13, in historic downtown Nevada City, including the Nevada Theatre and Miners Foundry. Some programs will be in Grass Valley, including the art-deco style Del Oro Theatre, where a 3D film is being shown.
“The Wild & Scenic Film Festival, now in its 11th year, aims to inspire environmental action,” says SYRCL Executive Director Caleb Dardick. Last year, more than 4,500 people attended the festival, SYRCL’s largest fundraiser.
The festival features about 95 films, from all over the world. It is named after SYRCL’s landmark victory to receive “wild & scenic” status for 39 miles of the South Yuba River in 1999.
This year’s speakers will include environmentalist and educator Bill McKibben (via video); pro-snowboarder and environmentalist Jeremy Jones; ecologist and author Anders Halverson; author and photographer Tim Palmer; environmental studies educator Daniel McCool; and Goldman Environmental Prize Executive Director Lorrae Rominger.
There also are late-night events; a gala; awards ceremony; live music (The Brothers Comatose); a wine stroll); and a juried art show in concert with Nevada County Arts. Tickets for the festival go on sale December 1 at Wild and ScenicFilmFestival.com or at the SYRCL office, 216 Main St., Nevada City.
How the Yuba River Got Its Name
The Yuba River was discovered by Jedediah Smith on March 14, 1828, according to California Place Names. When Sutter came to the valley he named the stream “Juba” after the Maidu village near the confluence of Yuba and Feather rivers.
(photo credit: Dave Preston)
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Well done and a wonderful piece Jeff.
Thank you
The Maidu’s did not exist in this area, they are in Plumas County. The Nisenan inhabited this area and further West around Sacramento.
A good piece of work other than that detail.
Thank you Mr. Locke.
Allow me to more clearly elucidate.
All Nisenan are Maidu, but not all Maidu are Nisenan.
In order to help further explain the Nisenan People and their relationship to the Yubas and the Sierra Foothills, CHIRP and the Powell House will be hosting a conversation with Shelly Covert, Secretary of the Nevada City Rancheria and myself, on Saturday at noon. We will be joined in our discussion by Malcolm Margolin, Publisher of Heyday Books as well as culture bearer Tiffany Adams, who will also be exhibiting her fine California Indian traditional jewelry.
At 2:00 pm The Powell House will host a slide show and talk with human rights activist and documentary photographer Francisco Dominguez, with a question and answer period to follow.
The Powell House, CHIRP and the Nevada City Rancheria are honored to play a small but supportive role in the SYCRL Wild and Scenic Film Festival, in the name of environmental education, preservation and activism.
Thank you Judith for the clarification ! I will be unable to attend the discussion today. May the turnout be tremendous.
My best,
Niel
Thank you for announcing it, Judith. Because of this announcement my wife and I made it a point to attend. It was a very thought provoking presentation that you and Shelly Covert made. I am convinced that native American descendants hold in their culture a wisdom about the world that we would all do well to listen carefully to.
“The Yuba River was ‘discovered’ by Jedediah Smith on March 14, 1828″? No one else had ever seen it before him? Don’t you think statements like that are a bit, um, condescending to indigenous people?
I would rather see, “The Yuba River, an important of native American culture for thousands of years, was first discovered by the explorer Jedediah Smith……
The river was the lifeblood of the Nisenan for millennia. They respected it, worked with it, celebrated it and protected it.
Conversely, because of the mining culture’s environmentally devastating practices, within a relatively brief period of time the Yuba and its tributaries have reached their present condition.
The initial discovery of a magnificent land feature like the Yuba is less important than the relationship the discoverers build with it over time.
We can learn a lot from the stewardship practices of the Nisenan.
Thank you and your wife for coming and listening and asking excellent questions. CHIRP and the NCR will remain persistent and reasoned voices speaking out for the health and strength of Nisenan ancestral lands.
But he didn’t discover it, Greg. He just saw it before other white men.
Sharon McKibbin wrote: “The Yuba River was ‘discovered’ by Jedediah Smith on March 14, 1828″? No one else had ever seen it before him? Don’t you think statements like that are a bit, um, condescending to indigenous people?”
I’ve always found quotes like Sharon cites a little humorous. As if the river didn’t exist or no one had seen it until Smith. It’s easy to do, though, when you’re trying to simplify. I’ve found myself saying “electons hate each other” in trying to explain particle repulsion. Of course, electrons don’t “hate”.
Maybe a better statement would be “earliest record, by a European Explorer of the Yuba River, was by J.S. in 1828. And, who even knows if that’s true.