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Discovering 'The Nature of This Place'

February 25, 2011

By Nicole Nguyen

At a Feb. 11 talk, Professor Emeritus Gary Snyder,

a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, spoke so excitedlyabout the history and wildlife of the San Juan Ridge

that he did not notice that his time was up.

The San Juan Ridge, north of Nevada City in the

northern Sierra Nevada foothills, is Snyder’s home— and the subject of a new anthology, The Nature

of This Place, to which he contributed the foreword,along with several essays and poems. The talk

featured selected readings from the anthology bySnyder and nature journalist David Lukas.

His noontime talk, sponsored by the UC Davis

Bookstore, had filled the Memorial Union’s KingLounge, with many students in the audience —

students who saw the clock hit 1 and had to decidebetween going to class or staying to listen to the

retired English professor. “Oh, they don’t have to

go to classes,” said Snyder, smirking. The audiencecheered in response.

He continued on — but not before disclaiming that

a discussion of the natural world in its entirety is,simply, impossible.

Snyder recalled something he heard on the radio

earlier in the day: “All of the gigabytes of information embedded in computer chips and in

media, is nothing compared to all the informationout in nature right now.” 

Snyder, whose Pulitzer came in 1975 for the bookTurtle Island , said environmental issues had been a

key concern of his for nearly all his life. On the SanJuan Ridge, in Nevada County, he found himself 

surrounded by like-minded people.

In 1990, this small but spirited communityorganized a conservation movement, founding the

Yuba Watershed Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to cooperatively managing 2,000 acres of forestlandin and around the area between the middle and south forks of the Yuba River.

‘A unique place, a unique community’

The Nature of This Place: Investigations and Adventures in the Yuba Watershed celebrates the institute’s 20 years

of forest stewardship, with a selection of essays, poems, photographs, drawings and observations from thearchives of the institute’s annual newsletter, Tree Rings.

In an introduction before Snyder’s talk, co-editor Liese Greensfelder, a former UC Davis news writer who lives onthe San Juan Ridge, said: “Readers will find extraordinary thinking and writing about a unique place and a unique

community, which, one will not help but notice, is graced with great writers and thinkers.” 

In the 1970s and ’80s, the Yuba watershed attracted people from all walks of life: artists, writers, poets,naturalists, biologists, phi losophers, historians and farmers. The Nature of This Place reflects this multitude of 

perspectives, featuring pieces that range from the philosophic to the scientific.

 “It would be incorrect to say that everybody who came here, came because of Gary Snyder,” Greensfelder said in

an interview after the talk.

And then she added: “But it would be partially correct.” 

With help from experts at UC Davis

A number of UC Davis faculty joined the migration to the San Juan Ridge, people like Peter Moyle, Don Erman and

Nancy Erman, professors of wildlife, fish and conservation biology, along with David Robertson, professor emeritusof English, and Jack Hicks, senior lecturer in English.

 “Genuine experts became a part of the work we were doing, and some of those people were genuine experts from

UC Davis. I was always surprised to see how much they enjoyed coming up there,” Snyder said.

 “It wasn’t like oin to a nice academic conference, or ivin a lecture to an a reciative circle of eers.

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PERSONALIZED: Professor Emeritus Gary Snyder signs copies of TheNature of This Place for students Giana Ciapponi, top, and Samantha Dulle(Cheng Saechao/UC Davis)

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Sometimes it was by kerosene light, and a little chilly.” 

Bob Erickson, president of the Yuba Watershed Institute and one of its founders, said he expects more

collaboration with UC Davis in the future.

He gave an example: With a U.S. Forest Service grant, Fraser Shilling, co-director of the UC Davis Road EcologyCenter, will help the institute create a visual portrait of the area’s wildlife — using remote cameras — to see how

the animals use the habitat.

‘Nature is everywhere’

Before the talk wrapped up for good, Brennan Bird, a senior who is majoring in nature and culture, posed thisquestion: “For all of us here who don’t have the pleasure of living in the San Juan Ridge, how do we find

connections with the nature of this place?” — meaning the place where we happen to be at the moment.

 “Well,” Snyder said, “where are you from?” 

 “Palo Alto,” Bird replied.

Snyder then probed Bird to name a creek in Palo Alto, and, after that, all the different kinds of trees in the region— until the student could name no more.

 “Start with that. I want to reinforce the point that we’re always close to nature,” Snyder said.

He continued, “When I was here in Davis, I was always in touch with the Putah Creek Council. Just walking alongthe creek, I saw beaver, otter and a lot of other wildlife.

 “Wherever you are, take stock of what is happening around you. Nature is never very far.” 

The Nature of This Place sells for $20 at the UC Davis Bookstore.

Nicole Nguyen is an intern with University Communications.On the Web

Yuba Watershed Institute

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