Volunteers spend Tahoe Forest Stewardship day restoring Johnson Meadow

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Johnson Meadow was once used as a post-Gold Rush dairy farm, became a place for summer cattle grazing, and is now being restored as part of the Upper Truckee River watershed. The Tahoe Resource Conservation District (TRCD) purchased the Johnson Meadow in 2018, a critical step in restoring the river's watershed that contains significant wildlife habitat, including river, riparian, meadow, and upland habitat areas.

This past weekend, 37 volunteers went out to the meadow for Tahoe Forest Stewardship Day to remove 120 T-posts and 1,200 feet of fencing; install 430 willow stakes and 40 willow fascines, improving 100 yards of stream bank; remove 50 conifers from one acre; and remove 2,098 invasive weeds from 16 acres.

The cleanup was sponsored by the League to Save Lake Tahoe and TRCD. Donations from Whole Foods for snack bars and Ernie's Coffee Shop for lunch aided the volunteers in their efforts which are critical to restoring the wetland habitat and prevent sediment from entering Lake Tahoe from the Upper Truckee River.

“It was great to see the wetland habitat in Johnson Meadow rebounding after our volunteers worked so hard here last fall,” noted Marilee Movius, Community Engagement Manager at the League to Save Lake Tahoe. “We still have a long way to go to restore the Basin’s wetlands so they can act as natural pollution filters for Lake Tahoe at their full, natural strength. We thank our partners at the Tahoe Resource Conservation District for the opportunity, and the volunteers for all their hard work.”

Marshes, meadows and wetlands across the Tahoe Basin are the victims of unchecked past land use at Tahoe. Historic ranching and development degraded and disabled the vital ecological functions and natural habitat provided by these ecosystems. One of the League to Save Lake Tahoe’s central campaigns is to advance restoration at Tahoe. In 1998, the League organized the first Tahoe Forest Stewardship Day event. For almost 23 years, these events - held twice annually since 2017 - have rallied local agencies, nonprofit organizations and community members to revive natural habitats across the Tahoe Basin.

Importantly, it’s a unique way to build an ethic of environmental stewardship in the community, to improve the land and to Keep Tahoe Blue. During COVID times, taking part in an outdoor, physically distanced, shared activity is also a welcome release for volunteers looking to make a positive difference.

“I can’t tell you how satisfying it is,” said Katie Riley, a volunteer with the League to Save Lake Tahoe. “I’m outdoors, doing something meaningful for the Tahoe environment, with other people, and social distancing at the same time. That’s a great feeling.”

The nearly 206 acres comprising the Johnson Meadow property now provide continuous public ownership of the lower nine miles of the Upper Truckee River before the river enters the lake. This stretch is centered downstream of property owned by the City of South Lake Tahoe and California Department of Parks and Recreation (Washoe Meadows State Park) and upstream of the Upper Truckee Marsh, owned by the California Tahoe Conservancy. Johnson Meadow is situated in the floodplain of the Upper Truckee River and was the largest privately-owned meadow in the Tahoe Basin.