Long, long ago, CSERC founder Bob Rajewski convinced volunteer activist John Buckley to shift from his career fighting wildfires (top left) to instead help to start a local non-profit environmental center. CSERC was formed to preserve threatened wild places, defend at-risk wildlife species, and protect streams and rivers of the Northern Yosemite region. After a year of initial efforts, CSERC officially acquired non-profit status in the spring of 1991.
Within the first two years, CSERC played a key role in helping convince the U.S. Forest Service to halt clearcutting in the Sierra Nevada region. In the local Stanislaus National Forest, CSERC’s legal efforts led to thousands of acres of old growth stands being spared from logging. To protect roadless areas, CSERC negotiated agreements that led to the halt of new road construction into local wild forest areas. CSERC also began providing free slide show presentations to schools and community groups, as well as organizing volunteers to do restoration projects on public lands of the region.
With a small, but dedicated staff, CSERC launched fieldwork and forest monitoring programs as well as photo-detection surveys for rare wildlife species. One key role has been for CSERC to serve as a respectful, highly informed “voice for nature” at a truly incredible number of county meetings, field sessions, FERC meetings, utility meetings, collaborative sessions, workshops, and agency hearings.