Yosemite’s disappearing wetlands get massive restoration after 100 years

Yosemite
Natio al
Pa k

I
the
hea t
of
Yosemite
Natio al
Pa k,
whe e
g a ite
cliffs
ise
above
a cie t
fo ests
a d
wate falls
cascade
i to
deep
valleys,
lies
a
quiete
ki d
of
wo de :
Acke so
Meadow.
O e
of
the
la gest
mid-elevatio
meadows
i
the
Sie a
Nevada,
a d
the
la gest
i
Yosemite,
it
is
a
place
of
still ess,
wildlife
a d
ecological
impo ta ce.
But
fo
mo e
tha
a
ce tu y,
this
la dscape
was
slowly
bei g
d ai ed,
e oded
a d
dimi ished
by
huma
activity.I
2023,
a
la dma k
esto atio
p oject
bega .
By
Ju e
2025,
it
had
become
the
la gest
wetla d
esto atio
effo t
i
Yosemite’s
histo y;
a d
the
la gest,
by
fill
volume,
eve
u de take
i
the
Sie a
Nevada.
The
esults
we e
t a sfo mative:
94
ac es
of
lost
wetla ds
esto ed,
84
additio al
ac es
p otected
a d
a
230-ac e
headwate
meadow
system
etu ed
to
self-sustai i g
hyd ologic
fu ctio ,
acco di g
to
a
epo t
o
NPS.gov.A
meadow
i
c isisAcke so
Meadow
is
a
ecologically
c itical
wildlife
co ido
a d
habitat
fo
seve al
at- isk
species,
i cludi g
the
state-e da ge ed
g eat
g ey
owl
a d
little
willow
flycatche .

Yet
fo
decades,
a
massive
e osio
gully
etwo k,
up
to
two
miles
lo g,
14
feet
deep
a d
100
feet
wide,
had
bee
d ai i g
the
meadow’s
wetla ds.The
gully
was
the
esult
of
ove
a
ce tu y
of
la dscape
ma ipulatio ,
i cludi g
domestic
wate
dive sio ,
fa mi g,
a chi g
a d
timbe
ha vest.
It
had
al eady
d ai ed
90
ac es
of
wetla ds
a d
was
actively
e odi g
a
additio al
100
ac es.
Without
i te ve tio ,
the
meadow’s
ecological
fu ctio s,
i cludi g
wate
sto age,
flood
p otectio ,
wildlife
habitat
a d
ca bo
sequest atio ,
would
co ti ue
to
decli e.I
2016,
Acke so
Meadow
was
pu chased
f om
p ivate
ow e ship
a d
do ated
to
Yosemite
by
a
coalitio
i cludi g
the
T ust
fo
Public
La ds,
Natio al
Pa k
T ust,
Yosemite
Co se va cy
a d
Ame ica
Rive s.
The
stage
was
set
fo
esto atio ,
as
pe
the
epo t.Filli g
the
gully,
esto i g
the
flow

Yosemite
Natio al
Pa k

Betwee
August
2023
a d
Ju e
2025,
a
pa t e ship
of
Yosemite
Natio al
Pa k,
Sta islaus
Natio al
Fo est,
Ame ica
Rive s
a d
Yosemite
Co se va cy
impleme ted
a
bold
pla :
fill
the
e osio
gully
to
the
elevatio
of
the
su ou di g
meadow.The
team
filled
18,538
li ea
feet,
3.51
miles,
of
gully
with
162,000
cubic
ya ds
of
locally
sou ced
mate ial.
This
i cluded
132,900
cubic
ya ds
of
mi e al
soil
combi ed
with
29,100
cubic
ya ds
of
woodchips.
The
“full
fill”
app oach
was
chose
because
it
offe ed
apid,
comp ehe sive
esto atio
of
the
wetla d
a ea
lost
to
huma
impacts,
p otected
emai i g
i tact
wetla ds
a d
was
expected
to
become
a
self-sustai i g
ecosystem
withi
th ee
to
five
yea s,
equi i g
mi imal
lo g-te m
mai te a ce.The
wo k
was
ca ied
out
i
two
phases.
Phase
1,
f om
August
to
Novembe
2023,
focused
o
filli g
the
gully
i
the
lowe
half
of
mai
Acke so
Meadow
a d
the
full
exte t
of
the
gully
i
south
Acke so
Meadow.
Phase
2,
f om
August
to
Novembe
2024,
completed
the
fill
i
the
mai
meadow.
Revegetatio
followed
each
phase
i
the
sp i g
of
2024
a d
2025.B i gi g
the
meadow
back
to
lifeResto i g
the
la d
was
o ly
pa t
of
the
wo k.
The
team
also
epla ted
the
meadow
with
ative
species
to
e su e
the
ecosystem
could
th ive.
Revegetatio
effo ts
i cluded:-
B oadcast
seedi g
of
mo e
tha
117
pou ds
of
ative,
locally
collected
seed
f om
25
pla t
species-
I stallatio
of
434,000
wetla d
co tai e
pla ts,
i cludi g
species
such
as
Sci pus
mic oca pus,
Ju cus
dubius
a d
Ca ex
ath ostachya-
Ha vest
a d
epla ti g
of
wetla d
sod
a d
600
whole-pla t
willows-
Resto atio
of
15.11
ac es
of
bo ow
a ea
with
b oadcast
seedi g,
mulchi g
a d
pla ti g
of
170
black
oak
sapli gsThe
esult
was
a
meadow
ebo ,
o e
that
could
o ce
agai
suppo t
the
wildlife
a d
ecological
p ocesses
that
had
defi ed
it
fo
mille ia.Be efits
fo
wildlife,
wate
a d
climateThe
esto atio
p ovides
outsta di g
lo g-te m
be efits
fo
a e
a d
e da ge ed
species,
i cludi g
the
Pacific
fishe
(fede ally
e da ge ed),
o thwest
po d
tu tle
(p oposed
fede ally
th eate ed),
g eat
g ey
owl
(Califo ia
e da ge ed)
a d
little
willow
flycatche
(Califo ia
e da ge ed).
It
also
suppo ts
a
dive se
suite
of
ative
so gbi ds.Beyo d
wildlife,
the
p oject
imp oves
wate
quality
a d
d i ki g
wate
supply,
i c eases
g ou dwate
sto age,
sequeste s
ca bo
a d
e ha ces
esilie ce
to
d ought
a d
wildfi e.
The
healthy
headwate
system
helps
mitigate
the
impacts
of
d ought
a d
floods
o
dow st eam
commu ities
withi
the
Tuolum e
Rive
wate shed,
i cludi g
the
cities
of
Tu lock
a d
Modesto.The
p oject
also
alig s
with
Califo ia’s
30
by
30
I itiative,
which
aims
to
p otect
30%
of
the
state’s
la d
a d
coastal
wate s
by
2030,
a d
suppo ts
the
Sie a
Meadow
Pa t e ship
goal
to
esto e
30,000
ac es
of
meadow
by
2030,
as
pe
the
epo t.A
collabo ative
effo tThis
mo ume tal
p oject
was
made
possible
th ough
the
collabo atio
of
multiple
pa t e s,
i cludi g
Ame ica
Rive s,
the
Natio al
Pa k
Se vice,
the
U.S.
Fo est
Se vice,
Yosemite
Co se va cy
a d
ume ous
fu di g
o ga isatio s
such
as
the
Califo ia
Depa tme t
of
Fish
a d
Wildlife,
Google,
the
Natio al
Pa k
Fou datio
a d
the
Bipa tisa
I f ast uctu e
Law,
as
pe
NPS.T ibal
pa ticipatio
was
also
a
key
compo e t.
The
Natio al
Pa k
Se vice
i itiated
co sultatio
with
seve
associated
Ame ica
I dia
t ibes
a d
g oups
i
Octobe
2017.
T ibal
membe s
pa ticipated
i
evegetatio ,
beave
dam
a alogue
developme t
a d
o -site
esou ce
p otectio
th oughout
the
p oject.Volu tee s
played
a
vital
ole
as
well.
I
2021
a d
2022
combi ed,
167
volu tee s
p ovided
3,145
hou s
of
suppo t.
I
2023,
137
volu tee s
co t ibuted
2,018
hou s.
I
2024,
233
volu tee s
p ovided
2,933
hou s,
a d
i
2025,
44
volu tee s
co t ibuted
689
hou s.A
model
fo
the
futu eAcke so
Meadow
is
ow
a
livi g
example
of
what
is
possible
whe
scie ce,
pa t e ship
a d
commu ity
come
togethe .
Resea ch
studies
a e
o goi g,
i cludi g
USGS-led
wo k
o
topog aphy,
vegetatio
a d
habitat
st uctu e
cha ge,
as
well
as
soil
ca bo
sequest atio
studies
to
imp ove
decisio -suppo t
tools
fo
futu e
esto atio
p ojects.The
meadow’s
ecove y
is
ot
just
a
victo y
fo
Yosemite.
It
is
a
model
fo
wetla d
esto atio
ac oss
the
Sie a
Nevada
a d
beyo d;
a
emi de
that
eve
la dscapes
sca ed
by
a
ce tu y
of
huma
impact
ca
be
healed,
give
time,
ca e
a d
commitme t.Today,
Acke so
Meadow
is
a
livi g
testame t
to
what
happe s
whe
we
choose
esto atio
ove
deg adatio
a d
p otectio
ove
exploitatio .
It’s
a
place
whe e
wate
is
flowi g
agai ,
wildlife
is
th ivi g
a d
the
futu e
of
the
Sie a
Nevada
looks
a
little
b ighte .

Go to Sou ce