Sierra Nevada Research Institute

04/20/2026

The Sierra Nevada Research Institute and emerging UC Merced Earth Institute was thrilled to host its second Distinguished Climate Speaker Series event at UC Merced this past week, featuring keynote speaker, political scientist Dr. Leah Stokes, Her talk, “Transforming Energy Systems to Address the Climate Crisis,” emphasized the need to move away from a narrow focus on reducing individual carbon footprints. Instead, she advocates a “carbon wave” approach of collective action that promotes structural policy change and builds clean electricity and electrification at scale.

UC Merced Distinguished Professor and Sustainable Energy Center Director, Dr. Sarah Kurtz, who opened the afternoon session, highlighted the key role of solar energy, batteries, daytime load shifting, and other integrative solutions in reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

Thank you to the students, faculty, and other campus and Merced community members who joined us on April 13th at the UC Merced Conference Center Ballroom for an engaging and inspiring afternoon focused on proactive and hopeful ways to bring about a more sustainable energy future that is accessible to all.

📸 Swipe through to see some highlights from the event!

Follow SNRI social media accounts for updates on upcoming events, including our next distinguished climate speaker.

04/20/2026

⚡🌍Excellent lightning talk presentations of and other research from early-career researchers at this year’s SNRI UC Merced Week event!🎓🔬

🎉Congratulations to graduate student, Adrianne Seiden, winner of the $500 Research Travel Award for Best Talk as determined by popular vote of all the attendees.

Huge Congratulations to all of our presenters and thank you to all who came out to support our early-career researcher community! 🤝💚

03/24/2026

SNAG YOUR EARLY BIRD TICKETS TODAY!
link: https://events.humanitix.com/merced-river-fest

We are so happy to partner with SYRCL and host The Wild and Scenic Film Festival in Mariposa for the 5th year in a row!
Celebrate with us this April—bring your family, come hungry, and settle in for an inspiring night of film. We are bringing the magic to you.

03/24/2026

To Donate, Contact: [email protected] OR message us here!

The Merced River Fest will be here soon! April 18th‼️ Mark your calendar, and save the date 🗓️

03/16/2026

SNRI Research collaboration continues to advance nature-based that advance Forest Resilience in the Sierra Nevada

SNRI Researchers are a key scientific partner in the long-running French Meadows Ecological Restoration Project, a large collaborative effort that serves as a model for landscape-scale ecological restoration. And now, more than $1.3 million in funding has been awarded to accelerate this work restoring forest health in the headwaters of the Middle Fork American River in Placer County. The funding will support mechanical thinning and forest health treatments that reduce wildfire risk and improve ecosystem resilience.

These treatments play an important role in reducing wildfire risk, protecting vital regional water supply and infrastructure, and enhancing wildlife habitat and biodiversity. The project is a "shared stewardship" model involving Placer County Government, Placer County, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Forest Service-Tahoe National Forest, American River Conservancy, and the Sierra Nevada Research Institute at UC Merced. SNRI researchers use water and energy balances and high-resolution imagery to analyze pre- and post-restoration conditions, assess treatment effects, and ultimately inform long-term management decisions.

By increasing the pace of restoration activities, project partners aim to reduce hazardous fuels, strengthen watershed resilience, and protect communities from severe wildfire impacts across the Sierra Nevada.

Read more: https://www.kolotv.com/2026/03/12/more-than-13-million-awarded-accelerate-french-meadows-ecological-restoration/?outputType=amp

This project’s goal is to enhance forest resilience and minimize the risk of severe wildfires.

12/02/2025

Support your local scientists this Giving Tuesday.

At the UC Merced Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI), our faculty, researchers, and students are committed to advancing science and developing solutions for the complex socio-environmental challenges facing our region.
From composting practices to climate change, snowpack to groundwater, fire behavior to rural energy, SNRI research supports communities across the San Joaquin Valley, Sierra Nevada, and beyond, driving a more resilient future.
We know you have many options this Giving Tuesday, and we hope you will consider supporting the important work happening here at SNRI.

Make a gift today: https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1650/20/form.aspx?sid=1650&gid=1&pgid=474&dids=18&bledit=1

Learn more about our activities at snri.ucmerced.edu
Follow us on social media.

10/29/2025

🐝 UC Merced “Bee”comes a Certified Bee Campus! 🐝

UC Merced has officially joined the Bee Campus USA program, an initiative of the national The Xerces Society that creates a national network of universities and cities working together to make our communities healthier for pollinators and people alike.

Led by Dr. Marilia Palumbo Gaiarsa and supported by a Seed Grant from the Equitable Climate Solutions Center under Dr. Becca Ryals, this project is helping create welcoming spaces for native bees and other pollinators right here on campus.

Working with campus partners, the team is identifying areas to:
🌼Plant native species.
🌱 Source from local nurseries.
🐭 Develop an Integrated Pest Management plan that promotes sustainable land care and pollinator health.

Through efforts that expand native flowering plants, enhance nesting habitats, and promote low-impact land management, UC Merced continues to strengthen its commitment to sustainability, biodiversity, and community engagement.

🌹Learn more about this initiative on the UC Merced Newsroom:

By Patty Guerra, UC MercedOctober 29, 2025The campus was certified this fall.UC Merced has long been a place where students can thrive. Now the university has been recognized for its commitment to increase the abundance of native and other pollinators. The campus has become an affiliate of the Bee C...

10/15/2025

Sierra Nevada Research Institute invites you to join us at UC Merced for the upcoming

Distinguished Climate Speaker Series featuring Dr. Michael E. Mann, renowned climate scientist, author, and Presidential Distinguished Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. In his keynote, “From Prediction to Reality: How Climate Science Warned Us, and What Comes Next,” Dr. Mann will share insights from his pioneering research on climate change, exploring the challenges facing our communities and the pathways toward a more sustainable future.

Following Dr. Mann’s keynote, Dr. John Abatzoglou, climatologist, professor, and lead of UC Merced’s Climatology Lab, will present “Fending off California’s Feverous and Fiery Future,” discussing the drivers of extreme wildfires that have impacted California in the past decade, how they are projected to change, how climate change will impact society and the environment in the Central Valley, and ways we can avoid the more dire impacts of these changes.
A limited number of copies of Dr. Mann’s latest book, co-authored with Peter J. Hotez — Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces that Threaten Our World — will be available for purchase.

Date: Monday, November 17, 2025
Time: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Location: Dr. Vikram and Priya Lakireddy Grand Ballroom, UC Merced

Event Details
* Free and open to the public
* Advance registration is required through Eventbrite: https://tinyurl.com/yc74v23y
* ID verification will be required at check-in. Please bring a valid photo ID that matches the name on your ticket.
* Paid parking is required. For more information, please visit our event page: https://snri.ucmerced.edu/events/dcssmm
We look forward to welcoming you to UC Merced for this event and encourage you to reserve your spot early, as seating is limited. All are welcome!

SNRI presents renowned climate scientist & author, Dr. Michael Mann, in this free event. Open to the public, advance registration required.

10/13/2025

🌲 Should our forest carbon be stored or burned? 🔥

UC Merced research suggests both is the best approach.

A team of Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI) researchers and collaborators found that mechanical thinning combined with prescribed fire can optimize both carbon storage and wildfire resilience.

Their findings suggest that removing and sequestering thinned biomass helps forests act as carbon sinks, while prescribed burns reduce understory growth and risk of high-severity wildfires.

To learn more, view the article linked below featured in the University of California, Merced Newsroom:

https://news.ucmerced.edu/news/2025/forest-carbon-store-it-or-burn-it-actually-both-best

Weichao Guo, Safeeq Khan, Guotao Cui, Philip Myint, Panmei Jiang, Han Guo, Stephen C. Hart, Roger Bales

September 25, 2025The study looked at carbon storage and wildfire risk in the 2,000-square-mile American River basin. Photo by Brie Anne Coleman, PCWAStoring carbon in forests is an essential, nature-based buffer against climate change. Yet forests packed with too many trees increase the threat of s...