A Cohesive and Shared Vision

The Programmatic Watershed Plan was established to form a cohesive and shared vision for sustainably managing the upper American River watershed for long-term resiliency and community prosperity

See the Programmatic Watershed Plan

The Status Quo is NOT an Option

The drastic change in land covers in the upper American and Cosumnes River watersheds after the following three major incidents between 2019 and 2023 is alarming:

  • The most severe 3-year drought in records from 2020 through 2022, ending earlier than many of western states with significant and statewide flooding conditions in early 2023.

  • 2021 Caldor Fire (221,835 acres) that burned over the Sierra Nevada ridge into the Tahoe Basin.

  • 2022 Mosquito Fire (76,788 acres) that was the largest wildfire in California that year.

The watershed has not even recovered from the 2014 King Fire (97,717 acres).

The effects of climate change continue evolving in our everyday life and surrounding environment. The status quo is not an option; the scale of the challenges and interconnectedness among issues and realized symptoms require a holistic approach on a watershed level.

Credit: Phoenix7777 - Own work'; Data source: U.S. Drought Monitor - Animations, National Drought Mitigation Center 2020.gif 2021.gif 2022.gif 2023.gif, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=127437303)

We do not have the luxury of taking the benefits provided by our watershed for granted. Existing State policy declares that the headwaters/source watersheds are part of the statewide water infrastructure. We need to maintain and improve our watersheds like we do for other infrastructure and assets. This is the only way for us to preserve the ecological benefits for future generations.

Ecological Approach to Watershed Health and Community Resilience

The Programmatic Watershed Plan presents a holistic approach to leverage natural, built, and social capitals to expand and reinforce natural, built, and social capacities for watershed sustainability and community resilience.

Big ideas, real impact.

We collaborate with partners from different interests, as well as varying roles and responsibilities, to envision and implement landscape-scale management actions and projects with lasting impacts.