TSF recently attended two regional events centered around sharing best management practices and innovative techniques for forest restoration:
Sierra to California All-Lands Enhancement (SCALE):
Last month, TSF’s Program Manager attended The Sierra Institute’s Sierra to California All-Lands Enhancement (SCALE) Annual Workshop. The workshop is a mechanism for collaboration among groups working on landscape-scale forest restoration and community improvement across California.
While at the workshop TSF learned about the status of forest restoration projects in California and had an opportunity to update other participants on our Sierra Nevada Conservancy funded project to integrate fuels reduction into hydraulic mine remediation on the Tahoe National Forest.
Biomass and Biochar Field Day:
On May 9th, TSF’s Environmental Scientist traveled to Stanislaus National Forest to meet with forest managers and research scientists to learn about converting dead timber to biochar. The many applications and benefits of biochar for improving forest health and function were discussed, including the capacity of biochar to boost soil health and water holding capacity.
Surface water flows off hydraulic mines can contain elevated levels of mercury and suspended sediment. Mine reclamation techniques to improve soil, including applying masticated wood/woodchips and biochar, followed by revegetation may reduce surface runoff and improve soil organic matter.
The Sierra Fund is embarking on a project to evaluate the water quality benefit of soil treatments including biochar on mine impacted lands. The goal is to demonstrate that hydraulic mine remediation efforts can be coordinated with forest and fuels treatment, leading to multiple regional benefits including the protection of watersheds from sediment and mercury loading.
