USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Pre-decisional Decision Memo For Implementation of the Meeks Creek Meadow Ecosystem Restoration Project El Dorado County, California BACKGROUND: Meadows play important roles in hydrology, erosion control, nutrient cycling, provision of animal food and shelter, and human recreation. Meadows are also important in maintaining hydrological processes downstream, maintaining stream flows and reducing downstream sediment transport and nutrient loads (Carter 1986, Johnston 1991, Johnston 1993). Meadow drying is one of the most significant forms of change that has occurred in the Lake Tahoe basin and many other places in the Sierra Nevada, primarily as a result of past overgrazing (Wagoner 1986, Hughes 1934, Ratliff 1985, Menke et al. 1996). Montane meadows have been identified among the most vulnerable and impacted habitat types in the Sierra Nevada (Kattelmann and Embury 1996, USFS 2004), and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA 2002) has identified meadow ecosystems as an important focus area for restoration efforts in the Lake Tahoe basin. Droughts are a familiar stressor on vegetation; whereas, changing climate may further impact the condition of Sierran meadows and may be a significant contributor to the problem of meadow drying. Because of their high sensitivity to drying, montane meadows have been suggested as early indicators of environmental changes associated with climate change (Debinski et al. 2004). Meadow drying has been observed to cause the replacement of native wetland perennials with non-native annuals (Burcham 1970, Hagberg 1995) and upland species. In addition, changes in inter-annual variability combined with fire suppression are factors that contribute to invasion of Sierran meadows by the native lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and other upland conifer species. Meadow restoration via the removal of conifers is currently a major focus area in the Lake Tahoe basin. Prescribed fire and vegetative treatments of conifers are two management tools that can be used to maintain meadow health. The Meeks Creek Meadow is located within the Meeks Management Area on the western shore of Lake Tahoe in El Dorado County, California in Section 29, SE ¼ Section 30 and the NW ¼ Section 31, T14N, R17E of the Homewood, California quadrangle map (Figure 1). Due to a combination of fire suppression, changes in grazing practices, and changing climate, meadow edges along Meeks Meadow have become over-grown with dense conifers. These conifers are now moving further into meadow areas and creating large pockets of upland habitat within the meadow, thus reducing water availability for herbaceous vegetation and degrading habitat conditions for riparian dependent species. Additionally, the very dense conifer thickets within the meadow and along the meadows edge in conjunction to the proximity to the highway and popular recreation areas make this area, under the current conditions, vulnerable to natural or human caused catastrophic fires. Through conifer removal and the reintroduction of fire to these systems, this project will improve water availability, increase meadow wetness, increase herbaceous vegetation, increase the amount of meadow habitat for riparian dependent native species, and reduce the likelihood of catastrophic wildfire throughout this sensitive area. The intent of the project is to restore the ecological and hydrological function of Meeks meadow, which will in turn prepare these systems for natural disturbances in the future. A Decision Memo was signed for the Meeks Creek Meadow Restoration Project June 2010. During initial implementation activities it was apparent that some aspects of the proposed action could not be successfully and safely implemented. The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) concluded that the Interdisciplinary Team needed to reconvene to revise the proposed action, conduct additional surveys to comply with NEPA requirements, re-scope to agencies and members of the public, and complete a new Decision Memo. Through this process the proposed action was modified to insure that the goals of the project were met while confirming the planned activities could be implemented effectively. No modifications were made to the actions associated with the Camp Wasiu girl scout camp clean-up. PURPOSE AND NEED: The primary purpose of this project is to restore Meeks Meadow using pre-European conditions for reference while managing for resiliency to prepare for uncertain future conditions. Pre- European conditions are considered those prior to Comstock logging, livestock grazing, mining, 2 and fire suppression. Restoration to this condition does, however, recognize that other potential impacts including, but not limited to, climate change and current land use would prevent some historic characteristics from being fully restored. This restoration approach supports adaptations to changing future conditions, such as changing climate. The needs for the project are to: • Restore physical (hydrological) and biological (terrestrial and aquatic diversity and abundance), and ecological meadow processes (evapotranspiration) and functions (flow dispersal, ground water recharge, sediment detention) that are appropriate for the current climate regime and comparable to reference conditions. • Restore natural fire disturbance regime in Meeks meadow to enhance riparian habitat for native riparian dependent species, increase meadow acreage, improve plant diversity and vigor, provide habitat for native species, increase water availability for wetland species, and provide wetter conditions for a longer duration each year. • Provide diverse wildlife habitat for native riparian dependent species, which is currently limited within the Lake Tahoe basin due to past land management activities. • Move the project area toward a pre-fire suppression vegetative condition related to stand density, tree size class, and species composition to enable the reintroduction of fire into a fire adapted ecosystem. • Reduce the potential for a catastrophic wildland fire and provide for defensible space adjacent to communities. PROPOSED ACTION: Summary This project proposes to restore approximately 300 acres of meadow habitat in Meeks Meadow thru treatments of removing encroaching conifer and prescribed fire (Figure 2). The preferred approach is to treat the entire meadow in one entry using a combination of mechanical equipment and hand treatment followed by prescribed fire. If the entire meadow cannot be treated in one year, the treatment will be phased to ensure that conifer removal/thinning and burning occur in the same year in each area, where burn plans allow. Prescribed fire in the form of broadcast burning will be introduced into the treated areas to enhance and encourage native meadow and riparian vegetation. Due to the severity of conifer encroachment along the meadows edge and within the majority of the meadow, the preferred method of treatment would be to utilize mechanical equipment where conditions allow. In order to eliminate the need for burn piles as well as excessive slash depths, mechanical equipment would be used to remove material from the project area. The soil and water quality impacts of using low ground pressure mechanical equipment treatments in SEZs under appropriate soil moisture conditions have been shown to be minimal (Norman et.al 2008; Cody and Norman, 2011). 3 If operating mechanically is not suitable within portions of the project area during normal operating periods, over the snow mechanical operations and/or hand treatments would be used to accomplish tree removal. Hand treated material would be lopped and scattered, and then broadcast burning would be used to complete the treatments. No piling of cut material would occur. Piling of cut material could lead to spots of high intensity fire in areas of the meadow, and not meet the project objectives. Hand treatments may require multiple entries over time, with each entry lop and scattering the cut material, or removing by carrying as needed. Burning in the treatment unit would occur in the same season, as conditions allow. Mechanical suitability will be determined based on the LTBMU SEZ Sensitivity Rating System (see Soils and Hydrology Report), which considers a treatment unit’s proximity to stream channels or other water features and accessibility, and also depends on soil moisture conditions at the time of operations. The completed SEZ ratings for this project indicate that the project treatments are in locations determined to be operable based only on the physical site characteristics of the units. However, the soil moisture conditions prior to on the ground operations may dictate otherwise. Several areas of depressions in the meadow identified during the ratings suggested that some portions of the project area will remain too wet to treat mechanically, particularly in wet years (see Soils and Hydrology Report for more details). Treatment type (thinning verses complete removal of conifer (see Figure 2)) is determined by soil type and existing conifer stand conditions. Based on this information, all conifers less than 4 30 inch Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) will be removed within the meadow and along the meadows edge. Additionally, a buffer along the meadows edge will have all conifers removed to reduce future seed sources. Select trees 30 inch DBH or greater may be girdled to provide future snag habitat. Existing snags within the meadow, along the meadows edge, as well as within the thinned