Nonprofit · EIN 68-0429132
SIERRA STREAMS INSTITUTE
Also known as FRIENDS OF DEER CREEK
Tax-exempt · NEVADA CITY, CA 95959
Financials
| Year ended | Form | Revenue | Expenses | Net income | Total assets | Liabilities | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, 2025 | 990 | $2,168,132 | $2,265,479 | -$97,347 | $1,336,386 | $764,623 | $571,763 |
| December 31, 2024 | 990 | $2,096,122 | $1,822,548 | $273,574 | $889,051 | $228,834 | $660,217 |
| December 31, 2023 | 990 | $1,549,901 | $1,549,103 | $798 | $527,018 | $135,599 | $391,419 |
Financial details: 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025
Revenue
- Contributions, gifts and grants
- $2,011,674
- of which government grants
- $1,817,995
- Membership dues
- $2,000
- Program service revenue
- $138,004
- Investment income
- $16,112
- Net gain from sales of assets
- $6,814
- Net income from sales of inventory
- -$112
- Other revenue
- $2,342
Expenses
- Grants and similar amounts paid
- $0
- Compensation of officers, directors and key employees
- $91,529
- Other salaries and wages
- $702,578
- Salaries, compensation and benefits (total)
- $996,420
- Professional fundraising fees
- $0
- Legal fees
- $325
- Accounting fees
- $18,551
- Occupancy
- $92,869
- Travel
- $39,886
- Depreciation
- $19,592
- Program services (functional)
- $1,541,137
- Management and general (functional)
- $650,051
- Fundraising (functional)
- $74,291
Balance sheet and other
- Total assets, start of year
- $889,051
- Total assets, end of year
- $1,336,386
- Total liabilities, end of year
- $764,623
- Net assets, end of year
- $571,763
- Land, buildings and equipment
- $27,029
- Publicly traded securities
- $63,934
- Net assets without donor restrictions
- $520,236
- Net assets with donor restrictions
- $51,527
- Gross receipts
- $2,170,645
- Employees
- 22
- Year formed
- 1999
- State of legal domicile
- CA
From the e-filed returns the IRS publishes as XML (latest three processing years; amended returns replace the original). PDF copies at the IRS.
Officers, directors and key employees
As listed on the 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025, highest compensation first.
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeffrey Lauder | Executive Dir. Trustee or director, Officer | 40 | $91,530 |
| John Duff | Director Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
| Marsha Burch | Secretary Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| Jonathan Farrell | Director Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Leslie Estes | Treasurer Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
| Inge Ivens | Director Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Poyom Riles | President Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
| Lynn Barakos | Director Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
| Alex Palm | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| Dave Herbst | Vice President Trustee or director | 6 | $0 |
990 for the year ended December 31, 2024: 11 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Lauder | Executive Dir. Trustee or director, Officer | 40 | $92,392 |
| Marsha Burch | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| Lang Waters | President Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Louise Johnson | Secretary Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Leslie Estes | Director Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
| Inge Ivens | Treasurer Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Poyom Riles | Director Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
| Lynn Barakos | Director Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
| Alex Palm | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| Dave Herbst | Director Trustee or director | 6 | $0 |
| Peter Hollingshead | Director Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
990 for the year ended December 31, 2023: 11 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Lauder | Executive Dir. Trustee or director, Officer | 40 | $86,300 |
| Marsha Burch | Director Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
| Lang Waters | President Trustee or director, Officer | 5 | $0 |
| Louise Johnson | Secretary Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Leslie Estes | Director Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
| Inge Ivens | Treasurer Trustee or director | 3 | $0 |
| Poyom Riles | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| Lynn Barakos | Director Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
| Alex Palm | Director Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
| Dave Herbst | Director Trustee or director | 4 | $0 |
| Peter Hollingshead | Director Trustee or director | 2 | $0 |
Address and contacts
- Address (IRS master file)
- 117 NEW MOHAWK RD STE H, NEVADA CITY, CA 95959-3227
- In care of
- % JOHN VAN DER VEEN SEC
- Principal officer (990 for 2025)
- Lang Waters
- Signed the 990
- Jeff Lauder, Executive Dir.
- Phone
- (530) 477-7132
- Website
- sierrastreamsinsitute.org
- Return prepared by
- Jensen Smith Certified Public Accountants Inc
California records
California keeps its own records of charities and corporations. Search them by EIN 68-0429132 or by the name SIERRA STREAMS INSTITUTE.
- Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers
- Registration status and filed reports (CT-TR-1, RRF-1)
- Secretary of State, bizfile Online
- Corporation status, entity number, agent for service
- Franchise Tax Board
- Entity status letter (state tax exemption, good standing)
Mission
To promote community stewardship and advance scientific knowledge of watersheds through reserarch, monitoring and education for the benefit of the Sierra Nevada region and beyond.
Program accomplishments
- Restoration: Watersheds throughout the Sierra Nevada have suffered impacts to their health, water quality and ecological function as a result of gold mining, residential development, road building, agriculture, diversions, and other activities. Our restoration programs are aimed at correcting these problems, with efforts that include the following: salmon habitat restoration, invasive non-native species removal, restoration of native vegetation, geomorphological restoration, forest health and prescribed fire, and integration of traditional native practices. Our work is focused in the Sierra Nevada, with the goal of increasing community member and multi-stakeholder participation in the restoration process. We have undertaken extensive restoration efforts in our home watershed of Deer Creek in the past, and now work with partners in the Bear River watershed on projects ranging from post-dam removal salmon passage and habitat restoration through endangered or protected plant species protection at current conservation easements throughout the Sierra. In general, our approaches involve what is known as "process based restoration", focusing on restoring the processes that let nature manage itself (such as flooding and fire) as opposed to trying to "restore" arbitrary conditions such as certain plants or aesthetics.Expenses $1,221,018
- Monitoring and Research: Sierra Streams Institute works with community members to monitor the health of multiple watersheds throughout the Northern Sierra Nevada mountains. These watersheds include Deer Creek, our home watershed, as well as the Bear River, Truckee River, American River, and portions of the Yuba River. This year we expanded into monitoring stream health across even more watersheds, including the Pit, McCloud, Feather, Mokelumne, and Stanislaus rivers. Collecting these data regularly over time allows us to see changes, evaluate restoration efforts, and locate sources of potential problems. Our quarterly baseline monitoring collects data on water temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH, and turbidity; these vital signs tell us how the creek is doing and what kinds of life can inhabit its waters. We also check nutrient and bacteria levels, which are important for algae growth and safe swimming. Finally, we use benthic macroinvertebrates (BMI), stream-dwelling insect larvae, as bioindicators of stream health throughout all of the watersheds we monitor, connecting BMI communities to water quality and climate change impacts. Sierra Streams Institute's research programs include studies on fire ecology, climate change impacts, and water quality and biological responses in streams. Our laboratory services include nutrient analysis, bacteria analysis and benthic macroinvertebrate sampling and identification. We are the only non-profit water quality laboratory in the region with the capacity to do the suite of analyses we provide, serving as a community partner and resource. Our research activities have also included prior studies on mine waste impacts on human health, educational outcomes of non-traditional science training, and forest health.Expenses $216,442
- Science Education: The Sierra Streams Education Program offers a variety of science instruction options for the youth of Nevada County and beyond. Rooted in the Yuba and Bear watersheds of Nevada County, our program offers an unparalleled educational experience where students of all ages learn core watershed science principles while exploring the rugged beauty of our landscape and waterways. Our programming is also focused on generating easy-to-use resources for community educators, including curriculum, tools and lesson plans, and databases of public environmental education learning sites.Expenses $103,677
What it must file and when
IRS records say it files Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N. Its accounting year ends in December, so each return is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after that.
| Tax year | Year ended | Due | IRS public records |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | December 31, 2025 | May 15, 2026 | 990 on file |
| 2024 | December 31, 2024 | May 15, 2025 | 990 on file |
| 2023 | December 31, 2023 | May 15, 2024 | 990 on file |
IRS record
- EIN
- 68-0429132
- Tax-exempt status
- 501(c)(3): Charitable, religious, educational or scientific organization
- Foundation status
- Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))
- Donations deductible (Pub 78)
- Public charity, 50% deduction limit
- Exempt since
- 1999
- Accounting year ends
- December
- Files
- Form 990 or 990-EZ
- Category (NTEE)
- Environment (C123)
- Assets (IRS master file)
- $1,336,386
- Income (IRS master file)
- $2,170,645
Filing history
| Form | Year ended | Revenue | Expenses | Assets | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 990 | December 2025 | $2,168,132 | $2,265,479 | $1,336,386 | XML |
| 990 | December 2024 | $2,096,122 | $1,822,548 | $889,051 | XML |
| 990 | December 2023 | $1,549,901 | $1,549,103 | $527,018 | XML |
| 990 | December 2022 | $1,238,340 | $1,264,655 | $489,082 | IRS |
| 990 | December 2021 | – | – | – | IRS |
| 990 | December 2020 | – | – | – | IRS |
| 990 | December 2018 | – | – | – | IRS |
990-N: the IRS bulk file holds only the latest e-Postcard per organization; earlier years come from archived copies of that file since 2020 and can have gaps (the IRS e-Postcard search lists every one). 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-T: every e-filed return in the IRS e-file index since 2019; XML for the latest three processing years, amounts from the IRS Statistics of Income extracts before that. PDF copies and determination letters at the IRS (search EIN 68-0429132).
Questions about SIERRA STREAMS INSTITUTE
- What is the EIN of SIERRA STREAMS INSTITUTE?
- The employer identification number (EIN) of SIERRA STREAMS INSTITUTE is 68-0429132.
- Is SIERRA STREAMS INSTITUTE tax-exempt?
- Yes. The IRS lists it as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) since 1999.
- Are donations to SIERRA STREAMS INSTITUTE tax-deductible?
- Yes. It is listed in IRS Publication 78 (Public charity, 50% deduction limit).
- Which annual return does SIERRA STREAMS INSTITUTE file?
- Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N.
- When is the next return of SIERRA STREAMS INSTITUTE due?
- The return for tax year 2026 (the year ending December 31, 2026) is due May 17, 2027. Form 8868 extends it by six months; the 990-N cannot be extended.
- When did SIERRA STREAMS INSTITUTE last file with the IRS?
- The latest return in the IRS public files is the 990 for the year ended December 2025.
- Who is the principal officer of SIERRA STREAMS INSTITUTE?
- The 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 names Lang Waters.
- Who are the officers and directors of SIERRA STREAMS INSTITUTE?
- The 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 lists 10 people; 1 received compensation from the organization, the highest $91,530 (Jeffrey Lauder, Executive Dir.).
- How much revenue does SIERRA STREAMS INSTITUTE have?
- On its 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 it reported revenue of $2,168,132, expenses of $2,265,479 and total assets of $1,336,386 at year end.
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