Resources

Aquatic macroinvertebrate sampling for restoration projects protocol and methodology. Description of methodology and sampling protocols.

Greenhouse Gas Sampling Protocol for Mountain Meadows for use in ongoing studies that are part of the Sierra Meadows research

Between 2013 and 2015, American Rivers and Trout Unlimited were funded by NFWF to use the meadow scorecard in the Walker basin to guide investment and accelerate the pace of restoration. We identified five priority meadows and established the Walker Working Group to pursue restoration of these five sites. 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.

This report shares the results of a broadly collaborative effort to assess and prioritize meadows in the Pine Creek Basin for restoration. The purpose of this Pine Creek Meadow Assessment report is twofold. First, it provides condition data and explains why the Pine Creek CRMP chose the first set of meadows as the top priority for restoration. Second, it provides a basis and identifies next steps for partners to pursue in restoring meadows in the watershed.

A broad sample of 79 montane fens in the Sierra Nevada revealed that underlying geology and topography exert strong control over the distribution and vegetation of these ecosystems. Distinct granodiorite, metamorphic, volcanic, carbonate and serpentine bedrock geology resulted in very different water chemistry, which had significant effects on the particular plant species found at each site. Wide-ranging values of pH (4.28–8.00) and dissolved cation concentrations (1.6–62.0 mg L-1) spanned the categories of transitional poor– rich to extremely rich fens. The vegetation of a pair of fens on carbonate bedrock and two floating mat fens was markedly different from the vegetation recorded at any other study sites. Once these outlier fens were removed from the analyses, the environmental variables that correlated most closely with the vegetation data were pH, altitude, presence of volcanic bedrock and fen slope.

Various geospatial data layers (shapefiles) of the Willow Flycatcher in the Sierra Nevada

Meadows of the Golden Trout Wilderness (GTW) are an extremely valuable component of the landscape, providing numerous benefits to society. In 2012, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation funded a partnership between CalTrout, Trout Unlimited, and American Rivers to evaluate meadow resources in the GTW and prioritize meadows for restoration. We hope the information we provide here will help partners and the US Forest Service work together to increase the pace and scale of meadow restoration in the GTW.

This report brings together recent survey results from state and federal agencies and other groups, and provide an updated range map and population estimate for Willow Flycatcher in the Sierra Nevada.

Study Region: We analyzed the effects of groundwater pumping on a mountain wetland complex, Yosemite National Park, California, USA. Study Focus: Groundwater pumping from mountain meadows is common in many regions of the world. However, few quantitative analyses exist of the hydrologic or ecological effects of pumping. New Hydrological Insights for the Region: Daily hydraulic head and water table variations at sampling locations within 100. m of the pumping well were strongly correlated with the timing and duration of pumping. The effect of pumping varied by distance from the pumping well, depth of the water table when the pumping started, and that water year's snow water equivalent (SWE). Pumping in years with below average SWE and/or early melting snow pack, resulted in a water table decline to the base of the fen peat body by mid summer. Pumping in years with higher SWE and later melting snowpack, resulted in much less water level drawdown from the same pumping schedule.

Floods with differing sizes and durations are likely to impact riparian systems in different hydrologic and geochemical ways. Here the impact of flood size and duration was investigated. Flood-driven recharge along predominantly losing reaches of the Bill Williams River (western Arizona, USA) later reemerges as baseflow in downstream gaining reaches, and the river’s longest losing reach (Planet Valley) retains and releases the most flood recharge. River discharge volume and flow intermittency downstream of Planet Valley is highly dependent upon the length of time since the last major flood. After large floods (e.g. 2004–2005), baseflow was dominated by the flood’s chemical (SO4, Cl) and isotopic (δ18OH2O, δ2HH2O, δ34SSO4, δ18OSO4) composition for long periods (>4 years), suggesting that the largest events result in much more flood recharge and a longer persistence of floodwater in the subsurface than after smaller, more recent events.

Restoration of eroded wet meadows in the Sierra Nevada is a goal of the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region. The National Environmental Policy Act requires that the “best available science” be used to assess potential effects of proposed restoration projects on National Forests. This bibliography summarizes selected references that may be useful for analyzing the effects of proposed meadow restoration projects on downstream baseflows. It is intended to aid National Forest hydrologists on interdisciplinary teams charged with analyzing effects of alternative approaches to meadow restoration, and to provide background information for our ongoing meadow hydrology assessment in the Sierra Nevada.