Saving The Sierra: Grassroots Solutions for Sustaining Rural Communities

Catherine Stifter — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:05:08 -0700

Download the whole documentary (52 minutes)

Or scroll down for individual stories.

Urban development threatens rural communities across America. People who live and work in these beautiful landscapes face some tough decisions about the future. We traveled California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range to explore communities in the midst of struggle against the development pressures closing in on them. In each place, we met unlikely allies who came together to find grassroots solutions for sustaining both the environment and their ways of life. Most rural communities within driving distance of sprawling cities and suburbs face these issues. And most urban dwellers have been to a place just like the communities in these three stories:

Download the Sierra Valley story (13 minutes)
In a remote mountain valley, both ranchers and environmentalists have begun to use conservation easements to save open space and preserve the largest wetlands in the mountain range.

Download the Martis Valley story (18 minutes)
In a small town north of Lake Tahoe, resort development will blanket the mountain with million-dollar luxury homes. But after a long legal battle, a deal was struck that will provide permanent, on-going funding for affordable housing, public transit, and habitat restoration.

Download the Mono Lake story (20 minutes)
The city of Los Angeles was forced to become a leader in water conservation because of a landmark legal ruling that kept them from draining an entire watershed in pursuit of drinking water.
View photo gallery of Mono Lake Canoe Tour