The Sierra Fund had a snowy week in October at our meadow restoration site at the Clover Valley Ranch, in Plumas County. Staff rounded out a busy season of fieldwork in the iconic valley this fall by revegetating along Dixie Creek, one of two creeks that flows through the meadow complex.
Prior to the 19th century Gold Rush, the area was inhabited by the Mountain Maidu who had established hunting grounds on the hillsides surrounding the wet mountain meadow for thousands of years. The Original People of the area have extensive knowledge of the local landscape including historic vegetation assemblages, traditional plant uses, management practices, and vegetative trends and changes across time. This information is integral to the protection and preservation of the unique culture and history of the region.
The Mountain Maidu have partnered with The Sierra Fund to offer insight into the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) they have developed in Clover Valley and surrounding areas over the millennia to ensure that the revegetation contributes to the preservation of the cultural heritage of the region. Informed by the TEK of the Mountain Maidu, the 2019 revegetation effort involved staking 2,000 willow cuttings, in addition to the 7,000 willow planted the fall prior. Additionally, Black Cottonwood, Interior Woods Rose, and Mugwort were planted, and native grasses, onions, shrubs, and herbaceous species were seeded.