Plumas Corporation
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Watershed Restoration
Provide technical and financial resources for private landowners and public lands management agencies engaged in watershed management. Principally, these activities include stream, meadow, and forest restoration in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade mountains of California. The activities are primarily focused on restoring watershed function of degraded landscapes to create more resilient landscapes and fire-adapted safe communities, and improve stream flow, water quality, aquatic and terrestrial wildlife habitats, agricultural production and carbon sequestration.
Where we work
Awards
Watershed Excellence Award 2014
Sacramento river Watershed Program
External reviews

Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Acres of wetlands flooded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Social and economic status, Farmers, Researchers
Related Program
Watershed Restoration
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Acres of natural habitat restored
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Researchers, Farmers
Related Program
Watershed Restoration
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of individuals applying skills learned through the organization's training
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Watershed Restoration
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Acres of forestland thinned or excess fuel removed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Researchers, Farmers
Related Program
Watershed Restoration
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
There is no coherent plan guiding public/private investment in natural resource infrastructure management issues of the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade mountain region of California. Public investment funds are typically allocated based on the current political crisis; improving water conditions during drought or forest health/fuel reduction after catastrophic fires such as 2018 & 2020. Due to many factors, regional communities have lost much of the resource management infrastructure necessary to develop and effectively implement the types projects sought in these "crisis" funding cycles. No business can sustainably invest in equipment, facilities, and human talent on 3-year grant contracts driven by reactive crisis management. Recent active private investment in natural resource restoration, while admirable, is often seeking projects with the highest direct return on ecosystem services; again without investing in the project development queue.
There has been a short-sighted lack of interest in investing in long-term capacity for project development to ensure a sustainable stream of projects and adequate capacity of trained community workforce to implement these projects. To achieve these objectives requires several decades of consistent investment to rebuild community infrastructure and knowledge. The only sustainable solution to the water, carbon, wildlife and fire issues in the region is to invest in the regions communities, who have the highest vested interest in a sustainable natural and human environment.
Plumas Corporation's goals are to assist community stakeholders in developing the expertise to identify, develop and implement their projects in their backyards. Currently a handful of NGO's are conducting this work for said stakeholders by traveling around the region. There are too few NGO's and too many projects for this to be the ultimate solution. Let us help others to do, not do for others. Specifically, Plumas Corporation is seeking every opportunity to nurture and incubate local capability and capacity in communities throughout the region. While seeking those opportunities, Plumas is directly implementing forest and watershed restoration projects as 'example' projects to further stoke local interest in these restoration activities.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Plumas Corporation maintains a full suite of projects to the extent of our own capacity almost entirely through word-of-mouth referrals. We maintain close communication with our partner NGO's in the region to strategize how best to allocate our collective resources to meet immediate project demands while operating strategically. Once engaged with stakeholders and decision makers on individual projects, Plumas Corp senior management and individual project managers are regularly reaching out to local groups and individuals to participate in more hands-on activities, such as monitoring and re-vegetation work, to build more community familiarity with these projects and outcomes.
Plumas Corporation is also incubating/supporting several National Forest or watershed-based groups to tackle both watershed and forest health/fuel reduction projects. Plumas Corporation's unique niche is as an implementation focused organization. While we undertake technology transfer, we are concurrently assisting public & private landowners in developing, funding and directly implementing watershed restoration projects, especially montane meadows. Montane meadows are nature's reservoirs, slowing and retaining winter and spring runoff for release to streams later in the region's dry season, May to October. While performing this crucial role, the presence of that water provides a lush vegetative community that sequesters carbon, provides critical wildlife habitat and improves land productivity. Coupling meadow restoration with forest health/fuel reduction projects establishes a seamless fire resilient landscape, where fire can resume its natural role, while local and regional communities can reap the ecosystem service benefits of part of sustainable landscapes.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Plumas Corporation has two senior management positions; an Executive Director (ED) and a Operations Director (OD). Also, both the ED and OD each carry a suite of projects to manage. In addition, the organization supports six project managers for stream and meadow restoration projects. Each project manager handles a suite of 4-6 projects in varying levels of development and implementation. The forest health and fuel reduction projects are guided by five project managers. An ancillary local project within Plumas County, a County Chipping Program is managed by a seasonal manager. A new position is being filled to coordinate Giant Sequoia grove forest health projects across multiple jurisdictions in the southern Sierra Nevada. All of the above are supported by a full-time Administrative Assistant/Office Manager.
Plumas Corporation has been developing this structure and expertise since 1987, beginning with one project manager and one program coordinator. The organization gradually built its internal capacity as projects were identified, developed and funding resources became available. Currently, the watershed staff are managing 23 active projects from Lassen County in the north to Kern County in the south. Forest health staff are managing 9 projects, predominately in Plumas and Mono counties.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In that time, the organization has implemented over 102 watershed projects restoring over 5,200 acres of meadow floodplain, throughout the Sierra Nevada range. The forest health and fuel reduction program has implemented over 130 projects totaling over 13,000 acres of wildland urban interface (WUI) zones and public and private forestlands, mostly in Plumas County.
Additionally, Plumas Corporation has mentored three meadow restoration practitioners, one at the Tahoe National Forest and one with the Pit River Resource Conservation District (RCD). Both are now also working throughout the Sierra in support of the larger region. Plumas Corporation successfully incubated an NGO, Whitebark Institute, in the eastern Sierra Nevada that will be implementing fuel reduction and forest health projects in the Inyo National Forest in Mono County, Ca.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Plumas Corporation
Board of directorsas of 05/10/2023
Mr. John Kolb
retired engineer
Term: 2022 - 2024
Terry Benoit
retired federal hydrologist
Michael Jackson
retired attorney
John Sheehan
retired executive
Donna Lindquist
environmental consultant
Linda Blum
community activist
Lynn Campbell
retired state employee
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/28/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.