Meadow Restoration Progress at Forked Meadow

The work my parents have been doing at Forked Meadow to restore the meadows to their full glory has been going well.  Full meadow restoration will take decades but we’ve been making pretty good strides already.

These logs were installed last year to help retain soil and water and rebuild the center of the lower meadow.  A few of the logs actually floated in the middle of the winter from all of the snow and flooding it caused.

Some willow that was planted a year or two is growing well.  Maybe in a few years there will be enough to support some beavers.

A little pocket of water in the meadow.

Down the large meadow.

Some rock work down in one of the cuts through the meadow.

A new rock weir above a log that floated and rolled over the winter.

Some new rock work to prevent a newer cut from progressing further.

We’re going to have to watch this one more closely.

This cut hadn’t moved in a number of years but after last winter, it’s starting to move again.  We’ve worked at filling it in as best as we can.

This sand bar appeared after last winter.

The “grand canyon” cut has started to fill in with new sediment.

Up in one of the upper lush meadows.

Salvage Logging at Forked Meadow

After all of the dead trees over the last few years, it was time to take down the standing dead to reduce fire danger.  We had some logging done on the dead trees to clean the place up.  It took a month or two to get everything done.  This was a big operation for Forked Meadow.

One of the landings starting to fill up with logs.

Another landing with a log deck about 10 feet high ready to be hauled.

It’s been interesting watching the logging operation.  It’s also sad to see so many white firs and sugar pine trees die and be cut down.