Lake Tahoe sits on top of the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range like a jewel in God's crown, and she wears it with pride. Even in Paradise, though, things aren't perfect. In the early days of white settlement, stately wooden steamers plied the pristine waters, ferrying passengers and goods to and fro, offering a picture of perfect 19th century gentility and quietude. Roads were few and it was many years after the first white people called Tahoe "home" that a road was to circle the entire lake.
This isn't the complete picture, however. As the women in their sun bonnets and aproned dresses, and the men in their double breasted suits stood on the deck of the steamer Tahoe, plying its mahogany and brass-railed way across the Lake, the majestic stands of Ponderosa and Sugar Pine were being clear-cut for mine shoring and railroad ties. This was just the beginning of an era of expansive growth and resource use that wasn't to slow much until the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency came into existence in the 1960s.
It is now 1993 and the legacy left by many years of development and unplanned recreation still marks the land. The US Forest Service, responsible for over 75% of the land in "The Basin", faces the challenge of restoring much of the disturbance caused by former uses. Much of that disturbance is in the form of roads...development roads, recreation roads, timber roads. And, like everyone else, we're looking for better methods of restoration. Six thousand-plus foot elevations, decomposed granite "soil" and summer drought make road restoration a significant challenge.
Even so, the early responses to our "better method" were skeptical. From a simple "Hmmm...", to "What!!?", to "You want to put GARBAGE on these roads!?", all the way to "You must be crazy! It'll never work." But there were some more encouraging responses, too, and fortunately, we were able to implement this "better way". Now that there are some results to share, there is an increasing sense of confidence in the viability of using what some folks call "garbage", on restoration projects. One is reminded of the William James quote: "First it's absurd, then maybe, at last, we have known it all along."
The idea is incredibly simple: instead of looking for the perfect seed mix, or the ideal N,P,K ratio in a fertilizer, the right fabric to apply or whatever, take a look at how Nature has dealt with the challenge of stabilizing the soil and try to mimic that. (The reality seems to be that Nature has a vested interest in stabilizing the soil.) The specific approach that we took can provide a model in many ways. We attempted to incorporate various ideas from different sources and areas of expertise and concern, we involved the community on various levels, we attempted to mimic nature wherever possible.
Seed: Sitanion hystrix (an indigenous native) and Escort Sterile wheat grass (a hybrid short-lived non-native), along with a small amount of Yarrow (Achellia spp.), were used in combination. The Sitanion because it is a common and relatively available native and the Escort to provide initial stabilization without long-term persistence.
Fertilizer: An Organically based slow release fertilizer was used. This type of fertilizer provides nutrients, microorganisms and some organic matter to the soil, all in a slow release form, so instead of leaching through the soil, it remains in place until the plants can use it. The presence of soil microorganisms in the fertilizer is a boon to organically poor disturbed sites. Soil Preparation: The foundation of this systems approach is the soil. If the soil can't breath, infilter run-off, or provide a medium that is loose enough for plant roots to penetrate, not much is likely to happen. We used a V- configuration subsoiler, which tills the soil without inverting the soil profile. This is an incredibly efficient device. It is hard to imagine not using it on any project where compaction is present.
Mulch: O.K. Here is where most of the controversy (and logistical challenge) comes into the picture. If we are trying to recreate a natural system, then we should try to go all the way. Not just by using local seed and soil inoculation but by using native mulch as well. "And so", I reasoned naively, "we'll just use pine needles, since that's what already exists in surrounding areas." Easy enough, right? Well, not exactly, since most people suggested what you may be thinking by now: "Don't pine needles acidify the soil?" In fact, some folks (including a botanist and a hydrologist) told me things wouldn't grow if covered with a pine needle mulch.
Skeptics aside, the real challenge presented itself when we tried to find pine needles to use. If you are lucky enough to live in a pine forested area, you may find that a bit hard to believe. Hundreds of thousands of bags of pine needles seem to be going to the dumps every day in the spring time. But we couldn't get them.
In other words, "How do we get pine needles?!" Well, the details are long and possibly boring, unless you happen to love pine needles. Here are the highlights: together with a local citizens group calling itself the Tahoe Compost Coalition, the local refuse company and the City of South Lake Tahoe, we organized four Saturdays in the spring of '92 where local folks could bring their "clean" pine needles to a site and leave them at no charge, instead of taking them to the landfill. We then rented a baler and baled the needles into pine straw. We also contacted two campgrounds and a golf course who were very happy to provide us with a supply of pine needles. We got bales and truckloads of pine needles to use on our projects, but when all was said and done, we needed more. Creating a supply of "pine straw" has been the most challenging aspect of these projects.
This year, things are looking better for our pine needle supply. We have joined with the Soil Conservation Service and a county erosion control department to coordinate pine needle collection. We had 8 drop-off days, a pilot curbside collection and various homeowner/condo associations collecting their needles for us. Another local recycling organization, Waste Not from Incline Village, Nevada, has acquired a baler for the sole purpose of baling pine needles. We have truly made this project a multi- agency, bi- state, public/private citizen cooperative effort. Still, our demand is far higher than our supply and we continue to strategize our access to pine needles and at the same time reduce the waste stream. Did someone say "win-win"? Well, yes, this is a real example of that philosophy. Despite the controversy that often surrounds various governmental agencies, this project has met with nothing but positive feedback. Here is a case of the Forest Service clearly being perceived as the "good guys."
The results have been more than a little encouraging. In some of the areas treated, the grass growth is almost too good. Though our goal is to restore the forest understory to a natural condition, and though grasses do grow in abundance in many understory settings, abundance is a relative term. We have lush stands of grasses growing where naturally they would grow in lesser concentrations. However, the ultimate goal is to create initial stabilization using the sterile wheat grass which, after 2-3 years will be completely gone. So, when we revisit this project in 3 years, the normal concentration of native grasses should be closer to an ecosystem balance.
Plant growth is the natural reintroduction of natives. A tour through either one of the pine needle treated projects shows a remarkable amount of various forbs, shrubs and trees sprouting from beneath the layer of pine mulch. As if by magic, as if they recognize that things are O.K., the plants spring to life. Whether the seed source is the soil seed bank, the pine mulch itself or wind-borne, (it's probably all three) seedlings are taking hold at a rate greater than I've seen on other restoration projects in the Tahoe Basin. I have seen 12 seedlings in a square foot of treated ground.
Where do we go from here? Well, since we are looking at a system there are several components that we are considering. The most promising one at this time seems to be the viability of native grasses and shrubs for use in these restoration projects. We seemed to have reached consensus on using native plants. Now we've got to find them, collect them, propagate them and make them available for commercial distribution. But this is about road restoration, so I'll keep the native seed subject for next time.
If you've got any comments or feedback, I'd love to hear from you. Communication is what makes all this work. Good luck and may the gentle summer rains irrigate all your projects.
You can contact Mike at: LTBMU, 870 Emerald Bay Road, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150. (916) 573-2600.
