CSERC Volunteer Restoration Projects
2014 Report 2014 Volunteer Report
We take pride in being stewards of the Northern Yosemite region. Every year CSERC is increasingly relied upon by agencies as the most dependable organization to respond when there is a need for volunteer environmental restoration work on public lands in our area. As our reputation for doing high quality work in a timely manner grows, so does our base of volunteers and the number of projects we are able to accomplish.
This year, we completed 17 volunteer restoration projects with more than 180 participants and 1,318 hours of labor donated. Projects improved watershed health in popular recreation locations for hikers, bikers, campers, backpackers, fishermen, and more. Volunteers removed 700 pounds of trash, pulled thousands of invasive plants, maintained 3.5 miles of trail, naturalized and restored 4.25 miles of erosive and illegal off-road vehicle routes, fenced and/or restored 4 acres of meadows, installed 103 bollards (posts) to block vehicle traffic into sensitive habitats, and cleaned up or maintained 10 camping/day use locations.. CSERC projects benefited 15 creeks and rivers, and at least 11 meadows.
On top of the many days of actual restoration work organized by CSERC, there are many, many hours spent by staff identifying and organizing projects, recruiting volunteers, coordinating the events, and more. The effort is well invested as the value of these projects resonates and expands out into the community. Participants take pride in being stewards of their public lands and share with their friends and family what they did and learned. Visitors to restored areas appreciate a more healthy forest to recreate in.
Please take a few minutes to look through CSERC’s 2014 volunteer project report to see the many accomplishments achieved.
Pinecrest trash clean up - February 25, 2014
Project work details • 8 Volunteers • 6 hours work, 48 total hours of volunteer labor • Taking advantage of low water levels at this popular destination, volunteers picked up ten 40-gallon bags full of trash, one dozen tires, 200 pounds of scrap metal, and 3 car batteries.
Benefit of project and additional notes: • Pinecrest Lake is the most popular recreation destination in the Stanislaus National Forest and is also one of the primary sources of drinking water for Tuolumne County. Keeping our water supply clean benefits both aquatic life and the people who come in contact with it.
Upper Femmons Meadow weed pull– March 2014
Project work details • 3 Volunteers • 3 hours work, 9 total hours of volunteer labor • Pulled invasive bull thistle in an area surrounding Upper Femmons Meadow that had burned the previous year in the Rim Fire
Benefit of project and additional notes: • Invasive non-native plants can spread rapidly and displace native vegetation and affect the viability of habitat. As the meadow area was recently affected by fire it is especially prone to invasion by colonizing weeds.
Strawberry and Eagle restoration project – May 14, 2014
Project work details • 12 Volunteers • 8 hours work, 96 total hours of volunteer labor • Closed and restored .75 miles of erosive illegal vehicle routes in a popular hiking area near the town of Strawberry • At a campsite near Eagle Meadow, trucks had mudded up a one-acre meadow. Volunteers filled in the deep vehicle ruts and replanted them with perennial grasses. • Volunteers also installed 15 bollards to block driving in the meadow
Benefit of project and additional notes: • Off-road vehicle routes that are illegally created can create multiple resource issues such as erosion washing sediment into creeks and disturbance to wildlife. • Meadows are an important component to watershed health, and when deep ruts and erosion occur in meadows it can dry them out and impair their ability to function as a wetland habitat. Burt Reed Meadow/Fiddler’s Green Electric Fencing – May 27, 2014
Project work details • 6 Volunteers • 8 hours labor, 48 total hours of volunteer labor • Fenced an aspen stand and a restored headcut in Burt Reed Meadow • Fenced an aspen stand at lower Fiddler’s Green Meadow • Total area fenced: approximately 2 acres
Benefit of project and additional notes: • Aspen stands have been in dramatic decline throughout the western United States, and are important habitat for wildlife. One major risk to their successful regeneration is livestock foraging. Setting up electric fencing seasonally around key aspen stands helps to protect young aspen from livestock damage. • The recently restored headcut in Burt Reed Meadow helped return the meadow’s water table to a higher level, vital to healthy function. Protecting the restored area from livestock grazing and hooves that chisel and erode soil by fencing the area will help re---establish healthy soil stabilizing vegetation.
Crab Meadow Fen Fencing – May 31, 2014
Project work details • 11 Volunteers • 7 hours work, 77 total hours of volunteer labor • Re-set up the take-down barbed wire fence that CSERC volunteers built in 2013 around a critical fen/wet meadow habitat that has been badly damaged by livestock and will now be permanently protected • Area fence maintained= about 2 acres
Benefit of project and additional notes: • Wetlands: Fens are a rare type of wetland uncommonly found within meadow systems. They take thousands of years to develop and host a diversity of unusual plant and animal diversity. The fen at this site had been badly damaged from cattle over---grazing the vegetation and hoofs chiseling and pocking the peat soil. Preventing cattle from being able to access this fen in the future will allow the fen to gradually recover over many years. • Recreation: Meadows have a high recreational value to visitors in this region. Helping to protect important meadow habitat, especially near popular trailheads enhances people’s outdoor experience (Crab Meadow is less than a mile from two of the most popular trailheads for the Emigrant Wilderness).
Clear Lake Restoration and Clean Up – June 11, 2014
Project work details • 11 Volunteers • 7 hours work, 77 total hours of volunteer labor • Picked up trash and cleaned up heavily impacted camping areas along the edge of Clear Lake • Maintained .5 mile of trail (clearing and defining the trail) • Also blocked (with branches and rocks) about .5 miles of illegal off- road vehicle routes that were affecting the watershed and wild areas of this remote site
Benefit of project and additional notes: • Clear Lake is home to rare plants and sensitive wetland habitat that is vulnerable to habitat stress and alterations. Keeping the area in as pristine a condition as possible while defining areas that are appropriate for recreation will help to maintain the health of the area so future generations can continue to enjoy the unique qualities of the area. • One of the few high mountain lakes in our region that people can drive close to, Clear Lake is a popular destination for campers, day use, wildlife viewing, fishers, hikers, and more. Clavey River Pools restoration and clean up – June 18, 2014
Project work details • 17 volunteers • 8.5 hours work, 144.5 total hours of volunteer labor • Helped to clean up and reduce sprawling dispersed camping impacts at a very popular vehicle camping area adjacent to the Wild and Scenic eligible Clavey River. • Did erosion control trail maintenance (installing straw wattles and building water bars) on river access trail (about .25 mile). • Reduced 5 large "party" campfire rings to a small acceptable size in most popular camping areas, and • Removed over 10 excessive and polluting campfire rings. • Picked up trash in and around the river. • Blocked about 500 feet of off-road vehicle trail.
Benefit of project and additional notes: • Project site was at the “Tub City” access point, one of the most highly visited sections of the Clavey River. Excellent granite swim holes draw people locally and from around the region to this scenic site. • The popularity of the site has put a stress on the river and surrounding forest health, as people build large campfires which accumulate ash that washes into the river, drive into the surrounding forest far beyond the road perimeters, leave trash and human waste that wildlife gets into and washes into the river, and much more. Promoting responsible stewardship amongst visitors is key to helping the health of this Wild and Scenic eligible river.
Chain Lakes trail restoration – June 28, 2014
Project work details • 12 volunteers • 9 hours work, 108 total hours of volunteer labor • Maintained (building water bars, brushing, creating walkways over wet meadow areas, picking up trash, and clearing debris) about 2.5 miles of trail to the popular Chain Lakes in the Emigrant Wilderness.
Benefit of project and additional notes: • The Chain Lakes are is one of the easier to access backcountry areas of the Emigrant Wilderness and are a popular destination for both locals and visitors to the region. They provide a scenic complex of granite basin lakes that are excellent destinations for camping and hiking. The concentration of use of this area can put a stress on a delicate high mountain environment with shallow soils and key wetland habitats; volunteer stewardship is valuable in keeping the area clean, the trail maintained, and the dispersed camping areas to a minimal impact matching Wilderness values.
North Fork Tuolumne Day Use Maintenance – July 9, 2014
Project work details • 13 volunteers • 6 hours work, 78 total hours of volunteer labor • Helped to maintain popular riverside day use area by the North Fork Tuolumne River. • Cleaned and painted 4 picnic tables • Pulled invasive plants • Installed barriers to block vehicles from driving out of parking area • Blocked over .5 mile of illegal vehicle route that accessed road free part of river corridor, • Picked up trash.
Benefit of project and additional notes: • This popular area is a beautiful spot on the North Fork Tuolumne River that is great for picnicking, short hikes, and enjoying nature. It is also prone to heavy use impacts because of its close proximity to town and large numbers of visitors. Stewardship of this area helps to keep the area clean and encourage responsible recreation.
Thompson Meadow Restoration – July 9, 2014
Project work details • 12 volunteers • 7 hours work, 84 total hours of volunteer labor • Installed erosion control materials (straw wattles, built water bars) • Blocked vehicle access to Cottonwood Creek, directly upstream of Thompson Meadow where dispersed camping had been driving through forest and creek off-road. • Worked to block and naturalize about .5 mile of illegally created off-road vehicle routes that cross in and out of the Cottonwood Creek watershed.
Benefit of project and additional notes: • Dispersed camping at this project site is directly adjacent to both Thompson Meadow and Cottonwood Creek. It is a very popular location for motorized dirt bike and quad use, and multiple erosive user-created vehicle routes sprout up regularly. Regular stewardship by volunteers in the past few years has helped to encourage keeping the camping footprint to a minimum (instead of sprawling into the surrounding woods), and kept vehicles more consistently on the designated and legal road system.
Trout Creek Headwaters Meadow Restoration – July 22, 2014
Project work details • 12 volunteers • 7 hours work, 84 total hours of volunteer labor • Blocked vehicles from accessing small stringer meadows with their vehicles • Blocked about .5 miles illegal off-road vehicle routes by dragging brush. • Helped to define boundaries of popular dispersed camping areas. • Picked up hundreds of bullet shell casings and removed shooting target trash.
Benefit of project and additional notes: • Trout Creek is a significant high country tributary to the Clavey River. The headwaters of this creek are a series of small stringer meadows, which are also heavily accessed by deer hunters and off-road vehicle users. By protecting the essential meadow habitat from future vehicle use, sediment runoff will be reduced and meadow health will increase as the routes restore over time.
Clark Fork Bull Thistle Weed Removal – July 29, 2014
Project work details • 5 volunteers • 6 hours work, 30 total hours of volunteer labor • Pulled and dug up thousands of invasive non-native bull thistle along the wild Clark Fork of the Stanislaus. (pictures help show “before” and “after”)
Benefit of project and additional notes: • Recent thinning logging along the river corridor created open habitat where non-native bull thistle had a population explosion and threatened to spread downstream as well as into the Wilderness boundary. • Invasive non-native plants can spread rapidly and displace native vegetation and affect the viability of habitat.
Clavey River "Tub City" Bollards – August 9, 2014
Project work details • 15 volunteers • 7.5 hours work, 112.5 total hours of volunteer labor • Dug holes for and installed over 60 wooden bollards to block off-road driving in a popular day use and camping area along the Wild and Scenic eligible Clavey River.
Benefit of project and additional notes: • Project site was at the “Tub City” access point (same area as project on 6/18/14), one of the most highly visited sections of the Clavey River. Excellent granitic swim holes in the river draw people locally and from around the region to this scenic site. • The popularity of the site has put a stress on the river and surrounding forest health, as people build oversized campfires which accumulate ash that washes into the river, drive into the surrounding forest far beyond the road perimeters, leave trash and human waste, and much more. Promoting responsible stewardship amongst visitors is key to helping the health of this Wild and Scenic eligible river.
5N01 Off-Road Watershed Restoration – 8/13/14
Project work details • 7 volunteers • 8 hours work, 56 total hours of volunteer labor • Volunteers filled in deep vehicle ruts from 4x4s that were mudding up a stream drainage directly above a meadow and blocked the area with branches and rocks. • Blocked and naturalized an additional .75 mile of illegally created off-road vehicle routes affecting the watershed along the popular forest road 5N01.
Benefit of project and additional notes: • Off-road vehicle routes that are illegally created can create multiple resource issues through causing erosion that washes sediment into creeks and wetland habitat, and disturbing wildlife. • Meadows are an important component to watershed health, and when deep ruts and erosion occur in meadows or their watershed it can dry them out or alter their hydrological health, and impair their ability to function as a wetland habitat.
Clavey River Trail Barriers – September 6, 2014
Project work details • 12 volunteers • 8 hours work, 96 total hours of volunteer labor • Installed erosion control materials (rice straw, straw wattles) where vehicles had been driving through the woods and tearing up the soil above the Clavey River • Blocked illegal off-road driving by naturalizing user created vehicle routes • Installed vehicle blocking wooden bollards to stop further off-road vehicle driving in the forest. • Installed educational signs to inform visitors on what the rules for vehicle use in the Forest are, and why it is important to protect river health.
Benefit of project and additional notes: • Along a very popular dispersed camping area by the Clavey River, this beautiful section of the river area is valued for its mature forest and wildlife habitat. Helping to educate the public about camping practices and vehicle use that protects the resources of the area while restoring and protecting areas that have already been damaged, will help to preserve the integrity of this section of the free-flowing Clavey.
Reed Creek Watershed Restoration – October 18, 2014
Project work details • 14 volunteers • 8 hours work, 112 total hours of volunteer labor • Naturalized and blocked (with brush and rocks) a steep and erosive off-road vehicle route (about .75 miles) that was affecting the water quality of Reed Creek. • Installed erosion control materials (straw wattles, built water bars) • Installed 8 wooden bollards at the head of the route closure to help prevent more vehicles from trying to access this damaging illegal route.
Benefit of project and additional notes: • There is already an alternate legal forest road that can be used to access this part of beautiful Reed Creek, which is an important tributary for the Clavey River. The route volunteers closed was very steep and went straight up the hillside causing major erosion that was washing sediment straight into the Creek. Now the water quality of the creek will be improved through the volunteers’ efforts while campers, fishers, hikers, and more can come and enjoy the scenic qualities of this special area.
Crab Meadow Fence Maintenance – October 23, 2014
Project work details • 3 volunteers • 4 hours work, 12 total hours of volunteer labor • Took fence down around Crab Meadow fen (seasonal fence that is taken down to protect from damage due to snow load). CSERC volunteers have adopted the responsibility for maintaining this fence in order to protect the vulnerable fen habitat from being further damaged by livestock access.
Benefit of project and additional notes: • As mentioned, fens are a rare type of wetland uncommonly found within meadow systems. They take thousands of years to develop and host a diversity of unusual plant and animal diversity. The fen at this site had been badly damaged from cattle over--- grazing the vegetation and hoofs chiseling and pocking the peat soil. Preventing cattle from being able to access this fen in the future will allow the fen to gradually recover over many years.