With help from a $680,974 grant from California Climate Investments through the Wetlands & Watershed Restoration Program, the Sierra Fund and project partners are carrying out multi‑benefit restoration efforts at the 2,655‑acre Clover Valley Ranch. Initiated in 2017, this project will sequester nearly 188,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent while halting stream incision; increasing biodiversity; and improving hydrologic function, flood reduction, sediment filtration and water quality. However, the goal of this project extends beyond of ecosystem function and carbon sequestration benefits; these activities will also support community and cultural resilience through the promotion of cultural skills and activities.
The Clover Valley Ranch, a mountain meadow located high in the Sierra Nevada, sits at the headwaters of the Feather River watershed in Plumas County. Prior to the 19th century Gold Rush, this area was inhabited by the Mountain Maidu Tribe, who used thousands of years of traditional ecological knowledge to manage the ecosystem in a self‑sustaining feedback loop. Sadly, more‑recently‑settled Californians’ overgrazing and poor land management practices resulted in severe degradation of the watershed.
As part of this project, willow species used for basketry by the Maidu are being planted, seed is being sourced to grow plants identified as playing a role in subsistence and health, and beaver dam analogs are being built to incentivize the return and assistance of this keystone cultural species. The work is being implemented alongside First Nation youths and elders along with a host of partners, fostering reciprocal exchange of information and socio‑ecological well‑being. The project is also part of the ongoing collaborative initiative to develop best practices for Sierra Nevada meadow restoration between California’s First Nation people, western scientific experts, and state and federal agencies in order to build the capacity for land stewardship at the local level and climate resilience for California at large.
“This project has been an important opportunity to share knowledge and skills that can be applied to restore ecological and cultural resilience at other sites like Tásmam Koyóm, a meadow that was returned to Maidu Summit Consortium in a landmark land transfer that took place in 2019,” said Alisha Wilson, Interim Coordinator of the Maidu Summit Consortium.
Integration of local knowledge in the development and delivery of this project illustrate how data‑driven restoration can foster local adaptation and simultaneously support the development of innovative tools and approaches that benefit the entire state in achieving climate resilience objectives.