The Yosemite-Stanislaus Solutions (YSS) collaborative group is a highly diverse coalition of interests who share a common goal of restoring and maintaining healthy forests and watersheds, fire-safe communities, and sustainable local economies using a science-based approach.
In spring 2010, U.S. Forest Service staff and interested stakeholders participated in a joint field trip to view previously burned areas with restoration needs within the Stanislaus National Forest. As a result of that field session and subsequent discussions, nearly 30 stakeholders agreed that forming a collaborative under the guidance of the Forest Service would aid the potential for increasing the pace and scale of restoration efforts within the southern portion of the Stanislaus Forest and on adjacent Park Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and private lands. Throughout 2012 and 2013, YSS continued their work holding field trips and resource discussions to promote restoration treatments across the region. Membership expanded, and common goals and concerns of the member agencies led to further coordination with county leaders, resource user representatives, businesses, and other interested parties to support expanded forest management and restoration treatments.
2014’s devastating Rim Fire severely damaged a vast portion of YSS’s focus landscape. Due to the massive amount of restoration planning that is needed, the value of collaborative support became even more evident. With so much national attention being given to Rim Fire recovery planning and actions, YSS members agreed it was time for YSS to become fully independent. In 2014, YSS approved governance agreements, finalized a new charter, and launched outreach efforts to look for funding to respond to the massive recovery needs of the Rim Fire. YSS members and committees are currently interacting with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and with foundations to pursue Rim Fire recovery grant funding to be applied on both public and private lands.
At a time when national, regional, and local resource management discussions are often highly polarized and contentious, the YSS collaborative group has effectively brought together representatives of the timber industry, grazing interests, local government, environmental organizations, business interests, motorized recreation groups, state and federal agencies, and other diverse interests. YSS is using the collaborative process to promote balanced, highly informed recommendations to agencies that are determining which actions to implement in the 402 square miles of the Rim Fire area. The goal of YSS is to build on fire recovery successes and continue expanding the scope of YSS efforts over time in order to increase management actions within the unburned, still-green forest areas of the local region.
