Our Zoom meeting on September 7th was attended by 17 members of the public and agencies. The presentation by Dr. Jeff Dozier of the University of California Santa Barbara was on snow in the Sierra Nevada: Historic Context and Trends. There was also a brief discussion on the Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) report for the Tamarack Fire.
Some sixty million people in the Western U.S. and nearly two billion people worldwide depend on mountain snow for their water resources. Of the likely effects of a changing climate on California and Western Nevada, consequences in the Sierra Nevada are the most important. The presentation focused on empirical evidence (ie not theoretical) about interannual variability and trends. Currently some 67% of our precipitation and water come from snow, which is the most important seasonal reservoir that we have. Below is a graph from Dozier’s presentation showing the trend in the maximum amount of snow averaged over 25 snow pillows in the Sierra Nevada. Even if the total amount of precipitation does not change, the lower amounts that fall as snow mean a diminished reservoir, and consequent shorter season for surface water flows.
Tamarack Fire: The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest (HT) met with the Markleeville Water Company on September 8th to discuss restoration for the Musser and Jarvis watershed which supplies Markleeville with 70% of its water. The HT intends to do restoration in the Musser and Jarvis watershed including re-forestation, seeding and dropping trees to support the seeding and tree planting. HT’s implementation is 1-2 years out and will require analysis and conformance with NEPA. The HT will also be working with the National Forest Foundation, Sierra Nevada Conservancy and internal funding to pay for this work. The HT will also expedite any necessary permitting for any restoration work that the Markleeville Water Company wishes to do in the short term.
The BLM is still assessing the damage by the fire and developing an Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation Plan. Potential future actions include salvage logging, reforestation of areas that are ecologically sensitive or that would enhance recreation, visual and other values.
Participant Updates: Anna Belle Monti offered to share her expertise regarding hazard trees and reforestation. Private land owners can contact her with questions. Mo Loden has accepted a position as an Environmental Scientist for the Lahontan Regionals Water Quality Control Board. AWG is hosting two events before her departure. Markleeville Creek Day is September 18th at 9:00. Volunteers will meet at the library. AWG’s stakeholder meeting is September 21st. Brian Hansen reported the Tamarack Fire is still active in spots. The HT will be closed until the fire is put out. Matt Driscoll reported the State budget for SNC could be $50 million for wildfire resilience grants and $10-$11 million for climate resilience grants. SNC will know details by September 10th and the information will be posted online. Trevor Seck reported the NFF has received funding from the California Division of Fish and Wildlife for 850 acres for fuels treatment and aspen restoration on the Carson Ranger District. Implementation is planned for October. David Griffith reported that he got the GIS files from the BAER report from USFS. The Tamarack Fire took care of the Tier 1 projects identified in the Wildfire Risk Mitigation Plan, but the Tier 2 and 3 projects still need to be done. Hopefully In the next month there will be meetings with CALFIRE regarding the next priority for fuels reduction. Alpine County hopes to open the Turtle Rock Park Community Center October 1st.
Future Meetings: The October meeting will be a joint public meeting sponsored by the Alpine Watershed Group, Alpine Trails Assoc., Friends of Hope Valley and the Alpine Biomass Collaborative. The subject of the meeting will be restoration of public and private lands after the Tamarack Fire, and will feature presentations by the different agencies and an opportunity to ask questions and communicate our expectations of what restoration needs to be done. There was little to no restoration done after the Washington fire and that must not happen this time. Assuming that the County is able to reopen the Turtle Rock Park Community Center the meeting will be there at 6:00 pm on Oct. 5th. Masks or face shields will be required and we will need to maintain social distancing. If for some reason the Community Center is still not open it will be on Zoom.
At either the November or December meetings we will have Michelle Cappoletta, Ecologist, Forest Service presenting on post-fire management of vegetation and fuels.
Our Zoom meeting on September 7th was attended by 17 members of the public and agencies. The presentation by Dr. Jeff Dozier of the University of California Santa Barbara was on snow in the Sierra Nevada: Historic Context and Trends. There was also a brief discussion on the Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) report for the Tamarack Fire.
Some sixty million people in the Western U.S. and nearly two billion people worldwide depend on mountain snow for their water resources. Of the likely effects of a changing climate on California and Western Nevada, consequences in the Sierra Nevada are the most important. The presentation focused on empirical evidence (ie not theoretical) about interannual variability and trends. Currently some 67% of our precipitation and water come from snow, which is the most important seasonal reservoir that we have. Below is a graph from Dozier’s presentation showing the trend in the maximum amount of snow averaged over 25 snow pillows in the Sierra Nevada. Even if the total amount of precipitation does not change, the lower amounts that fall as snow mean a diminished reservoir, and consequent shorter season for surface water flows.
Tamarack Fire: The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest (HT) met with the Markleeville Water Company on September 8th to discuss restoration for the Musser and Jarvis watershed which supplies Markleeville with 70% of its water. The HT intends to do restoration in the Musser and Jarvis watershed including re-forestation, seeding and dropping trees to support the seeding and tree planting. HT’s implementation is 1-2 years out and will require analysis and conformance with NEPA. The HT will also be working with the National Forest Foundation, Sierra Nevada Conservancy and internal funding to pay for this work. The HT will also expedite any necessary permitting for any restoration work that the Markleeville Water Company wishes to do in the short term.
The BLM is still assessing the damage by the fire and developing an Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation Plan. Potential future actions include salvage logging, reforestation of areas that are ecologically sensitive or that would enhance recreation, visual and other values.
Participant Updates: Anna Belle Monti offered to share her expertise regarding hazard trees and reforestation. Private land owners can contact her with questions. Mo Loden has accepted a position as an Environmental Scientist for the Lahontan Regionals Water Quality Control Board. AWG is hosting two events before her departure. Markleeville Creek Day is September 18th at 9:00. Volunteers will meet at the library. AWG’s stakeholder meeting is September 21st. Brian Hansen reported the Tamarack Fire is still active in spots. The HT will be closed until the fire is put out. Matt Driscoll reported the State budget for SNC could be $50 million for wildfire resilience grants and $10-$11 million for climate resilience grants. SNC will know details by September 10th and the information will be posted online. Trevor Seck reported the NFF has received funding from the California Division of Fish and Wildlife for 850 acres for fuels treatment and aspen restoration on the Carson Ranger District. Implementation is planned for October. David Griffith reported that he got the GIS files from the BAER report from USFS. The Tamarack Fire took care of the Tier 1 projects identified in the Wildfire Risk Mitigation Plan, but the Tier 2 and 3 projects still need to be done. Hopefully In the next month there will be meetings with CALFIRE regarding the next priority for fuels reduction. Alpine County hopes to open the Turtle Rock Park Community Center October 1st.
Future Meetings: The October meeting will be a joint public meeting sponsored by the Alpine Watershed Group, Alpine Trails Assoc., Friends of Hope Valley and the Alpine Biomass Collaborative. The subject of the meeting will be restoration of public and private lands after the Tamarack Fire, and will feature presentations by the different agencies and an opportunity to ask questions and communicate our expectations of what restoration needs to be done. There was little to no restoration done after the Washington fire and that must not happen this time. Assuming that the County is able to reopen the Turtle Rock Park Community Center the meeting will be there at 6:00 pm on Oct. 5th. Masks or face shields will be required and we will need to maintain social distancing. If for some reason the Community Center is still not open it will be on Zoom.
At either the November or December meetings we will have Michelle Cappoletta, Ecologist, Forest Service presenting on post-fire management of vegetation and fuels.
Alpine Biomass Collaborative 