Castle & Round Valley Meadow Restoration
SYRCL recently received funding from a Wildlife Conservation Board Block Grant being administered by Point Blue and the Sierra Meadows Partnership (SMP) to begin planning for restoration of 218 acres of meadow and 30 acres of forest at the headwaters of Upper and Lower Castle Creeks in Round Valley and Castle Valley Meadows.
These critical habitat sites and their associated sub-watersheds are nestled near Castle Peak in the Tahoe National Forest.
These meadows are in Nevada County and are accessible via I-80, exit 176 to Castle Peak/Boreal Ridge Road northeast of Soda Springs.
Why these meadows?
Both meadows are at the headwaters of Castle Creek and flow into the South Yuba River, thus SYRCL has a vested interest in supporting their recovery. Additionally, Upper Castle Creek flows through SYRCL’s largest meadow restoration project to date – Van Norden Meadow. Castle Valley and Round Valley also have the potential to provide high-quality meadow habitat, scoring high in climate refugia and hydrologic importance when analyzed by the SMP meadow prioritization tool. SYRCL seeks to support these meadows in reaching their fullest potential.
The Castle Peak area, where both meadows sit, has high recreational value year-round. In the winter it is frequented by cross county skiers, snowshoers, and snowmobilers. In the summer, these meadows get equally as much attention from day hikers and backpackers as the PTC traverses along the eastern and western edges of Castle Valley and Round Valley.
The Current State
In September of 2023, a team of SYRCL scientists conducted initial site assessments where they identified channel incision and conifer encroachment in both Round Valley and Castle Valley, and significant road impacts in Castle Valley caused by a network of dirt roads that run adjacent to and across this meadow.
These symptoms and causes of meadow degradation can be seen in the included photographs.
The completion of this Planning Project will result in a shovel ready restoration project.
The objectives of the planned Project will be to restore hydrologic processes in Castle and Round Valley to achieve the following outcomes and benefits:
- Sustained floodplain connection
- Delayed spring recession period and increased groundwater levels to support aquatic wildlife species and wetland plant species, providing refugia habitat during prolonged drought
- Increased willow habitat for migratory bird diversity
- Improved water quality
- Reduced high intensity fire risk
- Increased resilience to changing precipitation patterns
- Increased carbon sequestration capacity.
