The Sierra Nevada is the third fastest growing region of California. According to the California Department of Finance, the current population of 600,000 is expected to triple to somewhere between 1.5 and 2.4 million residents by 2040. Due to poor planning, population growth in the Sierra too often comes at the expense of working landscapes, ecosystem health and community character. Approximately 35,000 acres of large ranches and forest holdings are converted to residential development every year. Sierra Nevada Alliance’s Sustainable Sierra Land Use Campaign works to advance sustainable land use planning in the Sierra Nevada region. They work with local land use groups across the Sierra to build and support a regional smart growth movement to protect working landscapes, preserve lands important for wildlife, watersheds and ecosystem integrity, and maintain historic town-centered patterns of Sierra communities.
