In another sign of our dire economic times, grant funds allocated by the state of California's Sierra Nevada Conservancy came to a screeching halt last month. The agency announced funds made available after the passage of Proposition 84 will no longer be dispersed. The November 2006 proposition had authorized the state to issue bonds for the protection and restoration of rivers, lakes and streams and other natural resources.

One of the projects losing its funding would have collected and analyzed data on three riparian/meadow monitoring sites in the South Ash Valley area of Lassen County, where landscape junipers were being removed to assist in the restoration of sagebrush steepe habitat, according to an article in the Lassen County News.

The article quoted a Sierra Nevada Conservancy press release that noted UC Cooperative Extension's involvement in the project.

“The University of California Cooperative Extension, Lassen County and faculty at the University of California, Davis have assisted in developing the monitoring methods for this project and will act as the quality control. Information gathered from these sites will provide valuable insight into the effectiveness of the restoration efforts throughout the sagebrush steepe ecosystem," the story said.

The state asked all grantees to stop work on their projects until further notice.