"Everyone benefits from meadow restoration: flora and fauna, fisheries, and people. That is a fairly unique situation in the environmental restoration realm. Everyone should be able to get behind this work and move us from the current conversation centered on who wins and who loses from environmental stewardship to a recognition that we all can benefit."
- Mark Drew, Sierra Headwaters Director
Sierra Nevada headwaters provide roughly 60% of California's water supply, are home to the majority of California's inland native trout species, and are critical to supporting local and downstream economic livelihoods. However, Sierra Nevada headwater areas are also one of the most degraded regions throughout this vast landscape, threatening California's way of life. California's future and wellbeing depends on healthy headwaters, particularly given the uncertainty associated with a changing climate.
As Mark says, "Meadows are critical not only to the ecosystem, but they are also a key component of California's water infrastructure. Restoring meadows to their ecological health will in turn benefit California's water supply and quality for all."
In a degraded meadow, the hydrologic dynamics have been altered in a way that often lowers the water table and disconnects the stream from the meadow's flood plain. Over time, the meadow dries out leading to changes in vegetation, soil composition, and organic matter, as well as negative impacts to the aquatic environment critical to fish. The case for meadow restoration is fairly straightforward: by restoring the meadow you improve its ability to store, filter, and release water more gradually, and the improved hydrologic functioning of the meadow results in higher quality soil that is more efficient at storing carbon.
One of the primary goals of this work is to demonstrate that restored meadows are able to store more carbon than degraded meadows, and then convert this sequestered carbon into credits that can be traded on California's cap-and-trade market.
MEADOWS
RETURN TO RESILIENCE