Saving the Sierra: Voices of Conservation in Action
Saving the Sierra: Voices of Conservation in Action is a community storytelling project that aims to capture the conservation efforts of people living in or directly affected by the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in California. The project is not just about the environment, though - it also captures changes to the economy, culture, and people's daily lives.

Most of the people featured in the Saving the Sierra project live in rural or remote areas, and have resided there for most, if not all, of their lives. They have a passion for their home, and a fear that it will be lost forever. The people encompass all walks of society - ranchers, academics, Native Americans, conservationists, and many others that fall somewhere in between.

The Sierra Nevada mountain range is facing severe ecological damage as a result of human processes. In turn, the people and cultures that rely on this mountain range are slowly eroded away. The Saving the Sierra project began in an effort to answer crucial questions about the Sierra Nevada mountain range and its surrounding communities in the wake of this environmental damage. Some of the questions are strictly ecosystem-based, while others look into the history of the area. Some questions even push into the political and cultural realms. The Saving the Sierra project is currently co-directed by Catherine Stifter and Jesikah Maria Ross.

Radio broadcasts, workshops, and a mobile storybooth all contribute to the growth of this community storytelling project. The website that catalogs all of these stories is interactive, allowing discussion and reflection on the problems faced by Sierra Nevada community members on a daily basis. The stories are short, yet they pack quite a punch. Each audio clip falls somewhere in the 45 second to 2 and a half minute range.

The stories are cataloged according to location, so when someone logs onto the Saving the Sierra Storybooth, they see a map of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Clicking on a map marker then transfers the viewer to an audio story told by the person who lives in that exact place.

The stories are further divided into three categories: Conservation, Collaboration, and Place. Stories that focus on saving the environment are placed into the conservation category, while stories that focus on the history, culture, and politics surrounding the Sierra Nevada communities that only exist in memory are put into the place category. The collaboration category is a designation given to people sharing their story of how they mobilized people in an effort to change the grave situation in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

The Saving the Sierra project isn't just a platform for people to tell their stories. It is a place in which people who genuinely care about the conservation of the Sierra Nevada mountain range can think and collaborate. It is a place where people who have never been to this beautiful place can imagine themselves there, and maybe gain a better understanding of what living in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains means. It is a place to find solutions to the disintegrating environment, culture, and society of a place so deeply rooted in American history.