Sixty percent of California’s developed water supply originates high in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Our water supply is largely dependent on the health of our Sierra forests, which are suffering from ecosystem degradation, drought, wildfires and widespread tree mortality. 

Participants joined us as we guided them on a virtual journey into the foothills and the mountains to examine water issues that happen upstream but have dramatic impacts downstream and throughout the state.

This virtual tour traveled through portions of the American River watershed, beginning at the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountains and heading down into the foothills and eventually ending at Folsom Lake near Sacramento. Along the way, participants visited rivers, forests, and meadows that make up this region and heard from experts on the challenges being experienced in our headwaters and the work being done to address them.

The virtual tour was immediately followed by a live Q&A with the speakers where participants dove deeper into the topics. 

As part of the event, participants were entered into a drawing to get a free California Water Map.

In addition, every participant received their choice of:

• A copy of our Layperson’s Guide to California Water
  OR
• A copy of our Layperson’s Guide to Climate Change & Water

Stops Included:

• Meadow restoration site
• Donner Lake Overlook
• UC Berkeley’s Blodgett Forest Research Station
• King Fire burn site
• American River watershed
• Eldorado National Forest
• Folsom Lake

Topics Included:

• Forest management
• California’s tree mortality epidemic
• Climate change and carbon sequestration
• Water supply & quality
• Meadow restoration
• Wildfire impacts
• Bioenergy production