The Sierra Business Council (SBC) is a nonprofit association of more than 500 businesses, agencies, and individuals working to secure the social, environmental, and financial health of the Sierra Nevada region for this and future generations. Founded in 1994 and based in Truckee, California, the council explicitly rejects the notion that Sierra communities must choose between economic and environmental health. On the contrary, the Council views environmental quality as key to the Sierra Nevada’s economic prosperity, and natural resource conservation as essential to building regional wealth.

SBC is a resource for business leaders, government officials, and other decision-makers seeking solutions to local and regional challenges. The Council's work includes research, policy analysis, public education, leadership development, and collaborative initiatives with local partners.

The Council represents a new approach. The perspective is regional; clearly the challenges that Sierra communities face are more alike than different. Tactics are proactive and collaborative; creative solutions rarely emerge without effective leadership. The approach is long-term and inclusive; nothing else will ensure the region’s lasting prosperity.

Sample programs:

Heritage Economy

As communities in the Sierra Nevada face the next 50 years of growth and development, they seek new and innovative models to balance their naturalcapital with their social and financial capital. Building upon principles outlined in SBC's publication Investing for Prosperity, heritage economies seek to expand economic development opportunities in a manner consistent with historic town patterns and activities, but in tune with the changing demographic trends and interests of a growing population.

The heritage economy can be defined as natural, cultural, historic, and recreational resources that combine for a cohesive, nationally distinctive landscape arising from patterns of human activity shaped by geography (Pillifant, 2002). There really is no better example of this than the Sierra Nevada.

The first Maidu Indians settling the valleys and mountains, gold seekers stopping at nothing to attain their riches, ex-urban migrants looking for a calmer, quieter, and cleaner place to live - the heritage economy reflects them all. The common themes that encompass the heritage economy include:

• Supporting the arts
• Cultivating local agriculture
• Preserving and enhancing historic assets
• Promoting sustainable tourism opportunities
• Celebrating cultural diversity
• Enjoying and preserving natural landscapes

These common themes can and should drive the economic development strategies for the rural communities of the Sierra Nevada.

Sierra Nevada communities need to differentiate themselves from one another, but also from communities in Washington, Colorado, or Utah. By investing in and developing products that tell a story and serve a purpose, the economies and thereby the communities of the Sierra Nevada will succeed. There is no richer place in the United States with the natural and built assets to capitalize on this model.

Working Landscapes Initiative

Most of the Sierra Nevada’s remaining undeveloped open space is owned by private ranchers, many of whom are struggling to stay afloat in the face of declining cattle prices, low margins, urban encroachment, and the financial and social challenges of passing land on to the next generation. Any strategy to conserve private land in the Sierra Nevada must address these economic realities if it is to succeed.

In 1998, SBC launched the Working Landscapes Initiative (WLI) to help ranchers preserve their agricultural operations for future generations by conserving the land upon which those operations depend. The WLI offers several resources and tools:

• Research
  

• Educational workshops
  

• Estate planning referrals
  

• Farmland Security Zone information
  

• Agricultural Conservation Easement services

The WLI strengthens rural communities by conserving landscapes by supporting and protecting continued agricultural production, and by empowering local residents to work together to tackle shared challenges.

For more profiles of local BALLE networks, click on the links below:

Sustainable Connections, Bellingham, Washington

Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Local First Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

Vest Pocket Business Coalition, Salt Lake City, Utah

Sustainable Business Network of Portland, Portland, Oregon