Currents

An Energy Newsletter for Local Governments

North Fork Develops Framework for a Sustainable Ruralism

By Alison Pernell

In 1994, the mill site in North Fork, California — an unincorporated town of under 4,000 in the Sierra Nevada — closed, devastating the local economy and sending the unemployment rate to 16%. Since that time, North Fork has been working to remediate and redevelop the abandoned 135-acre brownfield site according to principles of sustainable development.

In whole systems design philosophy, “the problem is the solution.” In other words, the old mill site is recognized as a resource that can help enhance the long-term vitality of the North Fork community. Beginning in 1992, the community initiated a planning process that has included community input, visits from the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, and a conceptual site plan developed by RRM Design Group. In March 2003, the North Fork Community Development Council (NFCDC) held a Symposium entitled “Regenerations: Collaborative Formulas for a Sustainable Ruralism.” The event brought together representatives from U.S. Department of Energy, Housing and Urban Development, EcoTrust, the Global Academy, Rebuild America, Sierra Business Council and many others to discuss how an ecologically sustainable future is also economically sustainable. The Symposium aimed to apply these principles to the abandoned mill site and inform the redevelopment process.

The concept of a conservation economy is not new to North fork. In 1999, the NFCDC organized a partnership of multiple organizations to deconstruct numerous buildings on the old mill site. Materials for the Future Foundation, Madera County Workforce Development Office, Madera County Department of Social Services and the Carpenters Local Union 701 trained over 50 participants in basic construction skills while deconstructing buildings at the old mill site. Tens of thousands of board feet of lumber and steel were reclaimed, sorted, and stored for future use. The net result was local employment and skill building, and the successful reclamation of valuable resources that can be reused in future projects.

In its heyday, the mill site produced 100% of its electricity with an on-site biomass electrical generation plant. In keeping with this historical precedent, a primary goal for reuse of the mill site is 100% self-generation from renewable sources, including solar, biomass, or hydrogen sources. Located 25 minutes from Yosemite National Park, the site will also be developed for a mix of uses that tap the potential of capturing recreation-based tourism.

The result of the March 2003 Symposium will be a framework for sustainable rural development that can be used by other small towns facing similar growth-related and economic development issues.

For more information, visit the North Fork Community Development Council web site (http://www.northforkcdc.org/) or the Regenerations: Collaborative Formulas for a Sustainable Ruralism Symposium page (http://www.sustainableruralism.org/).

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