1. pets
2. birds

Restoring Van Norden Meadow
By Anne Chadwick, President
Truckee Donner Land Trust
Photography by Anne Chadwick
Presentation to DSAA Forum - 18 April 2015
Truckee Donner
Land Trust
Explores many scenarios
Considering:
• Regulation
• Financial
• Legal
• Ecology
Based on:
• Research
• Collaboration
• Expertise
Land Trust Acquired
Royal Gorge in 2012
Land Trust’s
Royal Gorge
Acquisition
~3000 acres
1,000 donors
*thank you!*
Public and
Private funding
Protected
Forever
Liabilities
• Illegal dam
• No water rights
• Potential penalties
• $1000 per day! x2!!
Severe Drought and
Mandatory Water Cutbacks
Considering Options
Rebuild dam
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No Water Rights
$$$
No Support from Water Agencies
Two-dam solution
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No Water Rights
Not practicable
Costly
Permitting
49 Acre-foot Reservoir
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No Water Rights
DSOD Compliant, but…
Unacceptable to Forest Service
Forest Service
Position
“Let me state
unequivocally, if we
purchase this parcel, we
will NOT acquire it with the
current dam configuration,
nor with a secondary
dam/weir.”
– Joanne Roubique
District Ranger
Letter Dated
April 30, 2014
Idea: Carve Out and Retain Dam
• No water rights
• Irresponsible use of donor money
Meadow Restoration:
The Conservation Prize
Unhealthy Meadow
Source: American Rivers
Healthy Meadow
Source: American Rivers
Collaborators
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Point Blue Conservation
Science (formerly Point
Reyes Bird Observatory)
The UC Center for
Watershed Sciences
Balance Hydrologics
The Nature Conservancy
The Truckee River
Watershed Council
South Yuba River Citizens
League (SYRCL)
Gateway Mountain
Center
The Trust for Public Land
American Rivers
The U.S. Forest Service
Legacy Uses
150 Years:
Transcontinental railroad
Lincoln Highway
Power lines
Roads
Pipelines
Grazing
The results:
Loss of wetlands
Reduction of habitat
Encroachment of invasive grasses
Alteration of the water table
Good News: Degradation is Reversible
Willow Flycatcher – Photo by Nick Saunders
High Meadows = Crucial Habitat
Perazzo Meadows
Good example of restoration
Perazzo Meadows – July 2014
Lush and wet in 3rd year of severe drought
Meadows Tour – July 2014
Incised Channel in VNM
water enters channel and rushes out of meadow
What do the
experts say?
Catherine Davis
Schnurrenberger, a
botanist working with the
Gateway Mountain Center,
said that a healthy
meadow would encourage
the growth of sedges,
which will out-compete
invasive reed canary grass
that now appears in the
terrain.
Josh Viers of the UC
Center for Watershed
Sciences pointed out that a
higher water table will
discourage encroachment
of lodgepole pines, which
currently intrude on the
valley.
Ryan Burnett of Point Blue
Conservation Science
envisions a wet meadow
that will improve habitat
for waterfowl and play a
keystone role for migratory
birds in late summer. His
organization emphasizes
the strategy of ‘Climate
Smart Conservation,’ and it
considers subalpine
meadows crucial to the
Sierra.
“Meadows sit at the headwaters of much of California’s water supply. They
provide ecological services such as water storage and flood attenuation, and
are biological diversity hot spots. Many are degraded, and this makes them
more vulnerable to climate change (extreme floods; warmer, drier
conditions). We are working with a range of partners to restore and protect
meadows and help lessen the blow of climate change.”
Rod Kelsey of The Nature
Conservancy anticipates that
mountain meadows will have
increasing importance as the
climate changes.
Lisa Wallace of the Truckee
River Watershed Council has
helped guide the successful
restoration of Perazzo
Meadows and she sees
tremendous potential for
similar results in Van Norden.
“One of our highest priorities is
ecological resilience. Meadow
restoration will reconnect the
natural floodplain and restore
hydrologic function within the
meadow. This will restore wetland
areas that have dried out due to
stream incision, water the rest of
the meadow, reduce erosion, and
increase riparian and aquatic
habitat. There will be significant
gains in habitat for birds and
wildlife.”
US Forest Service
Among the Forest Service’s key goals is retention and restoration of ecological
resilience of National Forest System lands. Ecologically healthy and resilient
landscapes, rich in biodiversity, have greater capacity to adapt and thrive in
the face of natural disturbances and large scale threats to sustainability.
We believe the highest and best use for the area, to best serve the public and
natural resource values, is restoration of the meadow to a more natural state.
Photo: Elizabeth Carmel
Approximately two thirds of California’s bird and amphibian species depend
on meadows. Montane meadows are considered by many to be the single
most important habitat in the Sierra Nevada for birds.
US Forest Service
Lowering the spillway would not lead to endangerment of the White Pelican.
However, if the meadow is restored, habitat for a variety of bird and animal
species will be enhanced, including:
• Willow Flycatcher (Forest Service sensitive species and California
endangered species)
• Yellow Warbler (Management indicator species)
• Wilson’s Warbler,
• MacGillvray’s Warbler
• Lincoln’s Sparrow
• Mountain White-Crowned Sparrow
• Meadow Voles
• Sensitive Bat Species
• Western Toads
• Pacific Chorus Frogs (Management indicator species)
California Department
of Fish and Wildlife
“Although [notching the dam] represents a
decrease in standing water at the lake,
CDFW feels that the proposed restoration of
this high mountain meadow will provide
more benefits to wildlife and the ecosystem
than any other options. Additionally,
lowering the water pressure on the dam
serves as a safety measure that provides
flood protection for homeowners and user
downstream in case of a failure.
CDFW does not believe that a reduction in
the lake size will be detrimental to white
pelicans and is supportive of restoration
that will make the meadow more usable to
a variety of native bird species, including
willow flycatcher.
Returning a large portion of the meadow to
its natural habitat and hydrologic condition,
while improving public safety, is a great
plan for this property and CDFW supports
this management action.”