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Southwest Climate Science Center

Purpose:The purpose of this Walker Basin Meadows Condition Report is twofold. First, it provides condition data and explains why the Walker Working Group chose the first set of meadows as the top priority for restoration. Second, the working group will use information presented here to plan subsequent restoration efforts once the first group of meadows is restored.Introduction:Meadows of the Walker River basin are an extremely valuable component of the landscape. Meadows provide diverse habitat, including habitat critical to endangered species. They reduce peak flows during storms and soak up spring runoff, recharging groundwater supplies. Meadows filter sediment, provide forage, and are important cultural and recreational...
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FY2015This effort complements a project, supported by the Joint Fire Science Program, to explore relations among cheatgrass-driven fire, climate, and sensitive-status birds across the Great Basin. With support from the NW and SW Climate Science Centers and the GB CESU, we aim to engage managers at local, state, and regional levels, and to involve both field-level and director-level personnel, during all stages of the proposed project. Our methods of engagement are intended to save managers time and decrease some of the uncertainty in planning and decision-making rather than to create additional pressures on managers time. We will conduct field visits, workshops, and interactive briefings to build trust and increase...
Sierra meadows are natural marvels. For millennia they have been cultural havens, hotspots ofbiodiversity and, recently, valued components of California’s natural water infrastructure. Sierrameadows absorb snowmelt in early spring and gradually release the stored water throughout thedry summer months. Healthy meadows keep cool water flowing; they also keep streams clear andclean by filtering out sediment and absorbing floodwaters. In 1889 John Muir’s laments forovergrazing in Tuolumne Meadows and in the headwaters of the Merced River prompted hisproposal to create the nation’s third National Park. In 2016, the Governor’s Water Action Plan againelevated meadows. “Meadows provide a natural storage opportunity, critically...
Project Goal The goal of this project is two-fold: 1) to increase the understanding of how meadow restoration impacts hydrology and 2) to inform management and investment decisions around using restoration as a tool to build resilience under climate change. Objectives in support of this goal include: - Complete data collection and analysis and publish peer-reviewed research article on the results of groundwater and surface water measurements before and after restoration in Indian Valley Meadow (Eldorado National Forest) - Double the published scientific literature on the water supply benefits of meadow restoration and produce the first empirical study - Estimate groundwater and base flow (late season groundwater...
The Center for Watershed Sciences and the Information Center for the Environment, in cooperation with affiliated organizations throughout the Sierra Nevada, are in the process of building and maintaining this data clearinghouse to support the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation meadow initiative.Meadow ecosystems of the Sierra Nevada (California, USA) have been maintained by the interplay of biotic and abiotic forces, where hydrological functions bridge aquatic and terrestrial realms. Meadows are not only key habitat for fishes, amphibians, birds, and mammals alike, but also provide enumerable ecosystem services to humans, not limited to regulating services (e.g., water filtration), provisioning services (e.g.,...
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