Danielle Berry at the Sierra Institute

 I am conducting my practicum with the Sierra Institute for Community and the Environment. The Sierra Institute is a non-profit that promotes healthy forests, watersheds, and communities by investing in the well-being of rural communities and strengthening their participation in natural resource management. Their work is grounded by the concept of triple bottom line values, supporting initiatives that simultaneously benefit the environment, economy, and equity within a given landscape.

The Sierra Institute is partnering with the Lassen National Forest to pilot collaborative planning processes for forest and watershed restoration. This work is part of a 600,000- acre focal landscape of the South Lassen Watersheds Group whom focus on collaborative planning for the future of forest management, climate resilience, and economic development in critical upper watersheds of Northern California. This work is essential to improve the capacity for project planning and implementation that is necessary to accelerate the pace and scale of forest restoration in California.

As part of my practicum I will be analyzing and documenting the lessons learned from this innovative process. Sharing these lessons will enable the efficient widespread adoption of best practices for collaborative planning in forest and watershed restoration. In addition to this analysis, I am also involved to a variety of other duties such as: conducting Common Stand Exam surveys, planning and implementing public outreach efforts in accordance with NEPA scoping requirements, and planning of collaborative field meetings.

The Sierra Institute has provided me with an opportune practicum, allowing me to combine my passion for natural resource stewardship and community involvement. Every week offers a new and exciting challenge and I am eager to see what this amazing team can accomplish!