Dry Meadow is a 55 acre complex of meadows, at an elevation of 6,400 feet, on the Sequoia National Forest. It was restored in August of 2020. The goal of the project was to restore physical and biological ecological function of the meadow by filling a severely incised channel that was causing severe drying of the site. Construction was halted for a number of days when forests across California shut-down due to widespread wildfires. An exemption to the shut-down allowed work to continue. The project took 6 weeks to construct, working 6 days a week. We utilized 2 large excavators, 1 tracked front-loader, 1 bulldozer, a wheeled loader, a water truck and a 10 wheel dump truck. A month after construction, a revegetation team spread seed and mulch across the site and planted hundreds of willow stakes.
Cody Meadow Restoration Project
Cody Meadow is a 16 acre project that was constructed in 2019 on the El Dorado National Forest. Planning for this project began in 2015. Cody Meadow employed a complete fill restoration technique and is recovering well, despite its high elevation and short growing season. Construction took 3 weeks and included decommissioning multiple roads and turning some roaded sections into trails. This site is outfitted with data loggers that continuously monitor ground water elevations to help determine the impact of restoration on ecological recovery.
Yellow Creek Watershed Restoration
Planning for the Upper Humbug Valley Yellow Creek Restoration Project began in 2018. It is a 450 acre project that will include forest and fuels components, along with hydrologic restoration. Proposed actions include a suite of restoration techniques: Low-tech alternatives such as Post Assisted Log structures and Beaver Dam Analogs, areas of complete fill, areas of partial fill, sod riffles, thinning for forest health and prescribed burning. This project prioritizes close collaboration with the downstream landowner, the Maidu Summit Consortium.
Foster Meadow Restoration Project
Foster Meadow is a 32 acre site with multiple pocket meadows on the El Dorado National Forest in Alpine County, CA. Planning for this project began in 2014 and the project was constructed in October of 2020. This project incorporated sections of complete fill and areas of partial fill. This site is part of a Sierra-wide monitoring effort to better determine the impacts of restoration at the site and throughout the region.