Saving the Sierra is a sweet hour spent in the mountains of eastern California and among the people who inhabit them. Catherine Stifter and jesika maria ross' beautifully conversational narration allows the listener to feel at home in this region. The piece builds on this with more conversations with locals of various stripes, each of whom speak to their particular concerns for the future, most of which have to do with encroaching urbanization. I'd imagine this piece could be a good handbook for rural communities around the country who face similar futures. It's such a nice example of how radio can be used to express a community's divergent voices, and ideally build the community it comes from. This is beautifully crafted radio, with plenty of authentic sound of the mountains, and moved along by original piano music.