Salmon & Packer Creek Aspen Restoration Project

In 2023, SYRCL and the Tahoe National Forest (TNF) transitioned into focused planning efforts for the Salmon and Packer Creek Aspen Restoration Project. This Project is within the Lost Sierra and Gold Lakes Highway region near scenic Highway 49 in the Sierra Nevada. After conducting desktop analyses, monitoring transects, and focused site visits, the project team divided the project into five distinct treatment units and developed prescriptions within the units based on the terrain, presence of aspen, and stand composition. The objectives for aspen restoration within this project include; reducing canopy competition from conifers to increase solar radiation on the soil to promote aspen regeneration, installing beaver dam analogs to increase the meadow edge habitat for fringe aspen, and forest thinning and pile preparation to support future prescribed fire for general forest health and to stimulate aspen suckering.

The expected outcomes and benefits of the Salmon and Packer Creek Aspen Restoration Project are to promote aspen regeneration, improve forest health, increase riparian habitat and improve riparian health, and reduce fire risk. Restoration of aspen in Salmon and Packer Creek will increase the availability of this habitat type, increase water retention and improve water quality, reduce high severity fire risk in the area, and increase the aesthetics of a large aspen stand that is adjacent to four Forest Service Campgrounds.

Why these aspen stands?

In 2020, the Wildlife Conservation Board awarded SYRCL a planning grant to conduct a watershed-wide aspen assessment. This effort cataloged the location, health, and size of aspen stands. SYRCL’s aspen assessment paired on the ground stand evaluations with the development of a quantitative prioritization tool to select high priority aspen stands for restoration. The prioritization tool utilized three suitability models to perform a landscape level analysis: Access, Habitat Quality, and Stand Health. The Aspen Prioritization Tool identified Salmon and Packer Creek as the highest priority site and most suitable for aspen restoration.  Salmon and Packer Creek aspen have a high potential for connectivity within the riparian zone, are at a high risk of stand loss due to conifer encroachment, have potential to be climate resilient due to their high elevation, and are easily accessible from a paved road.

The Current State

The aspen stands at Salmon and Packer Creek were initially surveyed in 2021 by SYRCL staff and it was found that the aspen at Salmon Creek are at a high risk of stand loss with a large number of conifers overtopping the aspen and a low rate of aspen regeneration. The aspen stands at Packer Creek are at an even higher risk of loss with high rates of browsing from ungulates and little to no regeneration. The surrounding conifer forest is dense with significant fuel loading. Incised channels and ongoing erosion have reduced the amount of water retained within this riparian ecosystem. Site visits in 2023 established the project area boundary and began investigations of different aspen stands throughout the project area. Additional baseline monitoring in 2024 further split the project area into distinct units with specialized treatments developed for each unit based on the topography, species composition, state of aspen health, and surrounding infrastructure.

The objective of this project is to restore quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) stands, a critical habitat for flora and fauna, in Salmon and Packer Creek through conifer thinning, preparation of the landscape for pile and broadcast burning, and installation of beaver dam analogs to enhance meadow edge habitat for fringe aspen. The expected benefits are as follows:

• Increased aspen regeneration
• Increased understory vegetative cover
• Increased understory vegetation diversity
• Increased animal interactions
• Increased amphibian presence
• Increased forest health and resilience

North Yuba Landscape Resilience Project

Planning for this project has been ongoing with the Tahoe National Forest (TNF), whose input has influenced the design and plans for future maintenance and ongoing monitoring. The North Yuba Forest Partnership, a regional collaborative group that includes the TNF and SYRCL, supports this projects through its alignment with the goals outlined in the larger North Yuba Yuba Landscape Resilience Project.

This Project will be under the Record of Decision II in the North Yuba Landscape Resilience Project.

Project Partners: US Forest Service, Tahoe National Forest

Project Funders: Wildlife Conservation Board

For more information, please contact:

Anne Marie Holt

Forest Conservation Project Manager

(530) 265-5961 ext. 216

annemarie@yubariver.org