By Bobby Macaulay.  As Chief of Staff for Madera County District 5, I often receive calls from residents that can no longer afford to live in the area. Rising costs of living and housing shortages are forcing people to move to more urban areas. No one should have to leave their home to find a more affordable life and better ...

Submitted by Lynn Northrup, Raymond Museum. These two items were recently donated from two different homesteads near Raymond. We would like to know their uses and what decade they would be from. Follow-up to History Mystery #114: The Fine Gold Saloon There were no comments pertaining to the questions asked about this Mystery. Comments from SNO Facebook page: Janel Nielsen: ...

By Tery Susman, UC Master Gardener of Mariposa County. Our human tendency is to fix what we perceive as a potential problem or as something “broken” or “untidy.” Our first thought is to reseed flowering plants and grasses on our fire scorched property to speed up vegetation establishment and soil stability, to fix what is “broken.” However, recent research has ...

By Michele Nowak-Sharkey, UC Master Gardener of Mariposa County. MARIPOSA — The impulse after a fire is to remove all evidence that the event occurred. This is understandable from an emotional perspective, however, if we shift to the nature lens we see a different approach. Although the landscape looks blackened with no visible signs of life, life nonetheless is rearranging, ...

By Tery Susman, UC Master Gardener of Mariposa County. MARIPOSA — Wildfires can create immediate and potentially long-term soil erosion. However, there are a number of ways to mitigate this post-fire concern. The following has been adapted from the California Native Plant Society Fire Recovery Guide.  1. Leave the mess; keep it under cover. Much needed soil protection is provided ...

By Michele Nowak-Sharkey, UC Master Gardener, Mariposa County This is the first part of “The Partnership between Humans and Nature during Fire Recovery.” MARIPOSA — Wildfire has entered our common vocabulary over the past 15+ years across California and Mariposa County. From the Telegraph Fire in ’08 to the Washburn, Agua, and Oak Fires, Mariposa County has experienced unpredictable blazes, ...

Submitted by Connie Popelish, North Fork History Group. In a 2013 interview, Bill Vanderburg told the North Fork History Group about a saloon on the east side of Road 200 that was built to straddle Fine Gold Creek. He said it was a bar and dance hall with Fine Gold Creek flowing underneath it. Then some years later, the building ...

Submitted by Debby Carter, SHSA Librarian. According to articles in the Sierra Star, the cabin that is now located at Fresno Flats Historic Park & Village (see map below) was originally located west of Highway 41 and south of Sugar Pine, and east of Silver Knob. In 1969, a year after the Sierra Historic Sites Association (SHSA) was formed, the ...

By Tery Susman. We are proud to introduce the new ‘crop’ of UC Master Gardeners of Mariposa County, Class of 2022! We graduated on May 13th after 17 weeks of extensive training both online and in-person. We had weekly zoom lectures on everything related to horticulture, from below the ground, up! We learned how roots, shoots, soil, water, insects, weeds, ...

A message from Sierra Art Trails.  Hello Artists, Art Lovers, and friends, There is still time to apply for Sierra Art Trails 2022! We are very excited to present our 19th annual exhibit featuring artists and artisans sharing their work across eastern Madera and Mariposa counties. The Call to Artists is live on Smarter Entry. The prospectus in on the ...