March 4, 2026 Prior to California’s Gold Rush, even as the land was part of Mexico’s northern frontier, English-language newspapers began to open for business. Most of these early papers were headquartered in San Francisco, but a few trekked inland past Benicia onward to the delta where a small settlement had taken root on the […]
Early Newspaper Accounts of the Yuba River, Part 1 Read More »
Yesterday, 17 February 2026, Dr Joe presented to ten students at their weekly Science Club meeting. Korey Champe and Jeff Stollberg provided commentary along the way. All in all, students were encouraged to sign up for the summer internship (paid, BTW) and seemed receptive. Dr Champe reinforced how our certifications in Water Management and Soil
Recruited the Scientists Read More »
January 27, 2026 Fact: In the State of California, water is GOLD!!! The item that follows? People fight over gold, and that includes what comes out of the Yuba River. Additional truths? Fights over water, i.e., CALIFORNIA GOLD, ended up in court systems – county, State, and Federal. There’s a whole historical backlog of these court battles stretching back
Lower Yuba River Accord Gets a 25-Year Extension Read More »
Jan 21, 2026 – The South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) made the news this week with two impressive achievements. Which of them is more noteworthy, I will leave that for you to decide. First, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife awarded SYRCL a grant of over $1.8 million to restore salmon and steelhead
Super SYRCL? Absoulutely Read More »
January 9, 20206 – It’s no secret, the southern portion of the Yuba River faced a century and a half or more of abuse at the hands of gold, progress, and residential development. For decades, solutions to human coexistence with the South Yuba River have been called for by a myriad of concerned citizens, organizations,
Verdantas and the South Yuba River Read More »
OREGON HOUSE, CA, Jan 6, 2026: — Community members from across Yuba County (and beyond) gathered at the Alcouffe Center in Oregon House. The draw was Yuba College as they introduced a new summer internship designed to prepare students for careers in natural resources and outdoor stewardship. Yuba College presented exciting, college-credit–earning opportunities connected to
Our First Recruitment Event Read More »
Yuba County Supervisor Gary Bradford recently published an op-ed about the need for California’s continued biomass infrastructure in Cal Matters (December 22, 2025). The supervisor pointed out that biomass electric generating facilities exist as a critical tool for wildfire prevention, necessary for promoting climate resilience. Over half of Yuba County is forested. Unfortunately, past forestry practices place the
Supervisor Bradford Encourages Camptonville’s Biomass Facility Read More »
9 December 2025 – I had a great conversation yesterday with Jason Landers and Shaun Clarke, both representing Bear Yuba Land Trust. Again, it’s the creation of a job pipeline, the goal for Yuba College, that appealed to Jason and Shaun. In fact, they are currently searching for an “Engagement Manager” and not finding folks
Bear Yuba Land Trust Read More »
Ah, that old cliché, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Recently, I came across a photograph of the South Yuba River snapped by NASA’s ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer). There are way more than a thousand words embedded in the below photograph. [story continues…] This satellite-rendered image was snapped in 2001,
One Photograph, One Inflicted River Read More »
Of course, I am not a one-man pony show. Saving the Yuba River watershed has attracted a whole host of people, agencies, and corporations, and some of their actions are downright inspiring. I promise, I will post blogs about them as I go. For now, know that my passion to save the Yuba River is
