Eastern Sierra Land & Community Survey

The ESLCS captures local perspectives on land use and management across Mono, Inyo, and Alpine Counties, with special attention paid to culturally significant landscapes like pinyon-juniper forests that are threatened by drought and wildfire. This effort represents one of the most extensive community engagement initiatives in the area's history, ensuring local perspectives will directly inform environmental policies and how the region balances conservation, recreation, housing, and economic development.

From Summer 2024 to Winter 2025, we conducted hundreds of interviews, dozens of focus groups, and surveyed 5,000 households across Mono, Inyo, and Alpine Counties. This comprehensive approach ensured we heard from people across different communities, backgrounds, and experiences. Our goal was to capture the full range of perspectives on how people relate to and use the Eastern Sierra's landscapes.

This survey was led by a dedicated research team spanning multiple universities. Dr. Paul Burrow serves as the postdoctoral researcher overseeing the project, with Emma Sage as project manager coordinating the extensive fieldwork and community outreach. PhD student Alex Basaraba led the policy interviews and is developing the policy report from the findings.

The research was supported by a team of research assistants from Stanford University, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Minerva University, bringing diverse academic perspectives to the work.

Crucially, this research was conducted in close partnership with Tribal partners, including the Washoe, Bishop Paiute, and Big Pine Paiute communities, ensuring that Indigenous knowledge and perspectives were centered throughout the study.

We're developing a Community Needs and Values Assessment with the Sierra Business Council that elevates community perspectives on land stewardship and resilient landscapes. The draft will go through public review in 2026, with additional research results published in the coming years. The goal is ensuring local voices directly inform land use decisions and environmental policies affecting the Eastern Sierra.

Thank you to all who participated in interviews, focus groups, and surveys! At this time, we are no longer collecting data for the ESLCS. However, please feel free to email us at easternsierrasurvey@stanford.edu if you have questions, or if you would like to stay informed of the results of this work.

Comments will be most welcome on our draft assessment. Additional research results will be published in the years ahead and we will share this with our email list to keep you apprised of anything that is released publicly.