Sierra Nevada Meadow Restoration

Numerous climate models suggest that climate change will bring a warmer and potentially drier climate to the State of California and will result in an earlier melt of the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada. California's population depends upon this water for urban or agricultural use. California is proposing to build a large number of new dams to store water from the melting snowpack that would otherwise run off the mountains in spring and disappear into the Pacific Ocean. A potential alternative to some new dam construction may be to restore the wetland or wet meadows that once dominated valley bottom areas throughout the Sierras.

In the 1800s, extensive over-stocking and overgrazing of cattle led to the erosion of stream channels in many valleys. As eroded streams cut deeper, they drained the surrounding water table, taking millions of acre feet of groundwater downstream more quickly. The U.S. Forest Service and other partners have already implemented multiple restoration projects that show that meadow habitats, wetland conditions, and extensive water storage can be quickly restored through relatively low cost habitat restoration.

The Foundation's the long-term goal is to expand restoration projects to restore 50,000 - 500,000 acre feet of water storage capacity in the Sierras. This is equivalent to the storage provided by one of the dams proposed and can be accomplished at a lower per acre foot cost. Doing so will create significant wildlife benefits for endangered and rare amphibians, California-endangered trout populations, the willow flycatcher, and other birds and wildlife. Our short-term strategy and grant-making are likely to focus on three things: a rapid build-up of the hydrologic and economic analysis needed to build consensus that water outcomes are real and cost effective, creating additional model programs that restore multiple degraded meadows within single basins or subwatersheds, and expanding capacity of local groups to implement restoration by supporting restoration efforts in the highest priority basins throughout the Sierras. More information about this can be found in the business plan for this initiative, and on which any grant pre-proposals or proposals should be based.

Please contact Timothy Male (Timothy.Male@nfwf.org; 202-857-0166) for additional information.

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Business Plan - Sierra Nevada Meadow Restoration (Adobe PDF File)
Consultant’s Report Plumas Watershed Forum Program Review (Adobe PDF File)
Executive Summary - Sierra Nevada Meadow Restoration (Adobe PDF File)
Image of Healthy Meadow (JPEG Image)
Image of Degraded Meadow (JPEG Image)