2025: A Year of Challenge, Change, and Impact

As 2025 comes to a close, we’re reflecting on a year that stretched, strengthened, and ultimately propelled CLERC forward. We faced unexpected hurdles — the loss of valued team members and a federal funding pause that placed nearly half of our operating budget in question, yet this community stood with us. And because of that support, 2025 became one of the most impactful years in CLERC’s history. This year alone, we invested nearly $7 million directly into our community with on-the-ground work across Lake County, from major forest health projects to large-scale wildfire resilience efforts. We also secured funding for several significant upcoming projects, ensuring continued momentum into 2026 and beyond.

At the same time, 2025 was a year defined by vision and growth. We launched new programs, celebrated major project milestones, expanded partnerships, and opened the doors of the Carnegie Library for the first public preview of CLERC’s future Discovery Center — a space shaped in part by our January visioning workshop. To better share this work and deepen connections across the county, we also expanded our outreach and communications capacity, opening new pathways for community involvement and collaboration.

As we look ahead to 2026, we do so with gratitude, optimism, and a renewed sense of purpose. Together, we’ll accelerate progress on our Community Wildfire Defense Grant projects, begin our largest reforestation effort to date with 80,000 tree seedlings to be planted in spring, expand stewardship and training programs, and continue developing The Discovery Center at the Carnegie Library into a vibrant hub for environmental learning and community connection. To everyone who donated, volunteered, partnered with us, advocated for this work, or simply cheered us on — thank you. Your support carried us through this year’s hardest moments and made every success possible. Because of you, we are building a future where healthy landscapes and thriving communities grow stronger, side by side.

Will Evans
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Clear Lake Environmental Research Center (CLERC)

CLERC is working to preserve and reexamine one of the most remarkable scientific discoveries in Clear Lake’s history: Core 4, a 115-meter sediment core that revealed 130,000 years of climate, fire, and ecological change—one of the longest continuous climate records in North America. What began as a search for ancient earthquakes instead uncovered pollen, charcoal, and microscopic traces of past ecosystems so well preserved it seemed the lake had remembered everything.

Today, CLERC is caring for the original samples, field notes, and materials from the 1973 expedition to prepare them for modern scientific analysis. This work will help unlock new insights into long-term climate patterns, watershed changes, and the future resilience of our region.

We have written 2 Blog post about this research. The Links can be found Below

Read Part 1 – Unlocking the Past: How Sediment Cores from Clear Lake Tell the Story of Climate Change and More
Read Part 2 – Unearthing 130,000 Years Beneath Clear Lake

CLERC is entering an exciting new chapter as the historic 1918 Carnegie Library becomes the future home of the Discovery Center. With the lease officially approved by the Lakeport City Council, plans are moving forward to open the doors this spring and welcome the community into a space dedicated to environmental learning, hands-on exploration, and the natural story of Lake County. A collaborative visioning workshop held in January with The Sibbett Group and local partners has shaped the concept design that will guide this transformation.

This spring, visitors will get a first look at the Discovery Center through temporary exhibits inspired by that visioning process. These early displays preview the ecology-focused, interactive, community-rooted experience the fully realized Center will offer. More details on opening dates and hours will be announced soon.

CLERC is excited to welcome Ryan FarPorte as our new Laboratory Coordinator of The CLERC Water Lab. 

Ryan joined CLERC’s Lab in October 2025, bringing more than 20 years of experience in water sampling, testing, and environmental monitoring. Originally from Sacramento, he moved to Northern California in 2009 after earning his BS in Soil Science with a concentration in Environmental Management from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Throughout his career, Ryan has worked with the County of Santa Cruz, Mendocino County, and multiple private laboratories across the state, contributing to projects ranging from drinking water and wastewater testing to stormwater analysis, petroleum contamination assessment, GIS mapping, and mycoremediation. He is also a certified Permaculture instructor and teaches mycology classes at events across Northern California.

Outside the lab, Ryan is an avid mushroom forager, FAA-licensed drone pilot (Part 107), and enthusiastic tinkerer. He enjoys 3D printing, citizen science projects, aquaponics, and hands-on problem-solving in everything from plumbing and electrical systems to auto mechanics and computer repair.

We’re thrilled to have him on the team!

In honor of The Geysers’ 65th anniversary, Calpine contributed $65,000 to support CLERC’s work across Lake County. Donations of this scale are vital to advancing long-term wildfire prevention, habitat restoration, and collaborative environmental research throughout the region. This investment directly strengthens CLERC’s capacity to carry out science-based, community-focused projects that protect both natural resources and local communities.

Calpine’s contribution reflects a shared commitment to innovation, stewardship, and responsible land management, reinforcing the importance of sustained philanthropic support in building a more resilient and sustainable future for Northern California.