Six area meadows tapped to be restored by Forest Service

Six meadows in the southern portion of the Lake Tahoe Basin will be restored using a combination of tree removal, prescribed fire, stream channel repair, planting vegetation and rerouting trails starting in Spring 2017.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) made the announcement today of what is being called the Restoration of Fire Adapted Ecosystems Project.

The health of 37 meadows around the Lake Tahoe Basin were evaluated by LTBMU betwee the years 2000 and 2011. Baldwin, Benwood, Freel, Hellhole, Meiss and Star meadows were selected for restoration because they are facing encroachment by trees, primarily Lodgepole pine, have been negatively affected by past management practices that have altered plant and meadow hydrology, and may provide habitat for rare and sensitive species. Project work is intended to restore these impaired meadows, strengthen their resiliency to climate change impacts, and prepare them for future natural disturbances.

"The U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region has identified ecological restoration as a core objective to respond to climate change and specifically identifies restoring at least 50 percent of accessible, degraded meadows,” said Forest Service Central Sierra Province Associate Ecologist, Shana Gross. “This project provides a great opportunity to restore meadows in the Lake Tahoe Basin and to monitor the success in order to direct future work in the greater Sierra Nevada.”

"The meadows here in the Lake Tahoe Basin are facing challenges from past land uses and from climate change.” said LTBMU Forest Supervisor, Jeff Marsolais. “Restoration of these meadows will help provide a significant ecological benefit to the Lake Tahoe watershed.” Healthy meadows are essential to the Lake Tahoe watershed. They filter sediment from water flowing into Lake Tahoe and provide important habitat for many plant and animal species. Meadows are often close to recreational facilities, such as trails and campgrounds and are valued for their scenic qualities.

All project work will be conducted using hand tools. Crews will remove trees and complete thinning treatments by hand, conduct prescribed fire operations, restore stream channels and plant willows.

Two segments of the Pacific Crest Trail through Meiss Meadow will be rerouted out of the meadow and the Meiss Cabin Corral will be rebuilt utilizing Lodgepole pine removed from the meadow.

In partnership with the LTBMU, the Back Country Horsemen (BCHC) of California Mother Lode Unit will develop a proposal to rebuild the Meiss Meadow Corral and will provide volunteers and horses to move the logs and construct the corral. “The BCHC Mother Lode Unit will enlist horsemen and horsewomen who have experience using draft animals to move the logs. Ms. Michelle Russell of Iron Horse Ranch will supply her driving expertise and the draft horses to pull the loads under the direction of Mr. Scott Borello of Borello Forestry,” said BCHC Mother Lode Unit Trails Committee Co-chairman, Jerry Heitzler. “Together, and with the appropriate horse logging tools, we look forward to restoring the corral for the horse enthusiast community who ride in Meiss Country and may stop for a rest at the historic Meiss Cabin.”

Project work to restore the six meadows will likely begin in spring or summer of 2017. View the full project report.