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SYRCL’s Restoration Program Expands in 2013: A Year in Review

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As winter draws near, our restoration season is coming to a close…with a big bang! Join us on Saturday, September 21st from 9 am – noon at the 16th Annual Yuba River Cleanup and Restoration Day at one of our five restoration sites. These restoration projects include the removal of invasive species, an important task to help restore habitat along our waterways for native plants and wildlife. The sites include:

  • Bridgeport: Blackberry removal at Lower Kentucky Ravine
  • Jones Bar: Blackberry removal at the mouth of Rush Creek
  • Edward’s Crossing: English Ivy removal
  • Bennett Street Meadow: Blackberry and English Ivy removal at Wolf Creek
  • Oregon Creek: Scotch Broom removal

Please register here and sign up for one of our restoration or more than 30 cleanup sites from Donner Summit to the lower Yuba River!

2013 Restoration Highlights

2013 has been a strong year for SYRCL’s growing restoration program. Here are a few highlights from this year’s efforts.

Volunteers in front of a pile of removed conifers
  • Aspen Regeneration: We had more volunteers and ground covered at this year’s Aspen Regeneration workdays than ever before! Thanks to 22 dedicated volunteers, we removed encroaching conifers from a 2 acre aspen stand. SYRCL partnered with Tahoe National Forest to help save the aspen stands at Loney Meadow by giving the trees more light. This project was funded by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and we are excited to continue the work in Loney Meadow next year as soon as the snow melts. SYRCL also just received funding from the National Forest Foundation to expand our aspen regeneration work to Rucker Lake, Butcher Ranch and Pierce Wetlands in 2014. Be on the lookout for your next chance to regenerate our watershed’s aspen early next year!
Volunteers from Hospitality House gather at Bridgeport
  • Restoration with Hospitality House: On August 29th, SYRCL partnered with the Hospitality House, the local nonprofit community shelter for the homeless in Nevada County, to bring out volunteers to remove invasive species from Kentucky Ravine at Bridgeport, South Yuba River State Park. We had 12 volunteers help us remove Himalayan Blackberry and Vinca Vine from 2 acres of migrating song bird habitat along the creek’s side. Himalayan Blackberry and English Ivy are two noxious weeds that choke out native vegetation. Dense thickets can block access of larger wildlife to water and other resources, as well as cause problems for people trying to enjoy parks and natural areas. This restoration effort was a superb way to get under represented community members out in the watershed to work towards a cleaner and healthier Yuba. Thank you to the folks from Hospitality House for your hard work and great attitudes! SYRCL is looking forward to partnering in more restoration projects with Hospitality House in the future.
Patagonia employees in front of a pile of removed blackbery
  • Patagonia Restoration Day: SYRCL partnered with Sierra Streams Institute (SSI) to host a day dedicated to restoration in the Yuba Watershed with 16 employees of the Patagonia Service Center in Reno, Nevada on May 16. Adele Rife, SYRCL’s Restoration Coordinator, worked with Ori Chafe, SSI’s Restoration Ecologist to organize the restoration day. The morning consisted of restoration work of removing pulled invasive Himalayan Blackberry from 1 acre at the site on Deer Creek at the confluence with Squirrel Creek. This restoration site is located on a rare floodplain meadow, which makes the land important to protect and restore. SYRCL and SSI would like to give an enormous thank you to Patagonia for their participation in Yuba River restoration efforts.
22 volunteers gather at Hoyt's Crossing after the Scotch Broom Challenge
  • Scotch Broom Challenge: SYRCL’s 22 volunteers removed 1 acre of Scotch Broom at Hoyt’s Crossing on the South Yuba River on April 27th. With such an excellent turn out of dedicated volunteers, we covered more ground than expected. SYRCL partnered with the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County and has adopted Hoyts Crossing on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land as a site for annual removal efforts and eventual eradication.  Removing scotch broom helps to reduce fire danger and allow native plants and wildlife to thrive. View a video of this year’s workday!

For the 2013 year thus far, a total of 72 volunteers participated in restoring 6 acres of land in the Yuba watershed! These restoration efforts couldn’t have been completed without the help of our dedicated partners and volunteers. A huge thank you to all of you who participated!

Get Involved!

Please join us for our final restoration events of the year at this year’s Yuba River Cleanup and Restoration Day. You can register here, or contact Adele Rife, SYRCL’s Restoration Coordinator, with any questions at adele@syrcl.org or at (530) 265-5961 ext. 218.

Here’s to more beautiful days of restoring the watershed together as a community of dedicated river lovers!

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