Jessica Hadley

From "How Much is a Yosemite Meadow Worth?" by Richard Hadley published in Yosemite Vol. 50 No. 1 Winter 1988 for the Yosemite Association.

Atop a black oak a Red-tailed Hawk sits the morning sun just up over the shoulder of Half Dome. Meadow Larks who have recently migrated over the Sierra Nevada crest from the eastern deserts feed nervously on grass seeds in the meadow below the oak. A few deer climb to their feet from the frosty fall grasses to gorge on acorns. Out of the pine forest bursts a Cooper's Hawk— swooping low at the Meadow Larks until they flush, then with a rush of speed and a puff of falling feathers it snatches a sluggish Lark and vanishes into the forest with breakfast, leaving behind an intertwined web of questions.

Where had the Cooper's Hawk come from? How many more live in the valley's forest? How often do they hunt these meadows? How many other animals depend on these meadows? Have we humans affected these animals and their ways of life?

In the next few weeks I watched the Cooper's Hawk return twice to hunt in Stoneman Meadow in the eastern end of Yosemite Valley. I saw the Red-tailed Hawk gracefully kill a mouse there. During a warm afternoon I watched a Black Bear sow with two cubs use the meadow to stretch their legs and romp amongst several gaping, camera-clicking park visitors.

Such wildlife activity is a welcome sight in Yosemite Valley, which, by park managers is better known for its wild human activity. But this wildlife should be viewed in light of the fact that Stoneman Meadow is the most abused and least pristine of Yosemite's meadows. Though still productive in an ecological sense, much of its integrity as a functioning meadow habitat has been lost.

By day the animals retreat from its openness as humans by the hundreds, perhaps thousands, utilize it for picture taking, for walks, for picnics, as a thorough fare from the valley's larges campground to concession facilities, and, most recently, as a mountain-bikers fun track. Historically Stoneman Meadow was the site of Stoneman House (an early hotel since burned) a plowed pasture, a camping and parking area, a grandstand for viewing the Glacier Point firefall, and in July of 1970 the only setting in a National Park for a riot.

By July of 1987 aerial photographs revealed Stoneman Meadow to be bisected by twenty seven substantial trails totaling 1 .5 miles of tread. A closeup look revealed extensive de-vegetation and soils compacted to the density of cement. These compacted soils had lost their ability to hold water and nutrients, and possibly restricted the natural pulse of water through the meadow. The meadow 's productivity had been reduced and the composition of plant species altered. The encroachment of adjacent forests had been accelerated due to the drying of the meadow and the exclusion of natural fires. In short, the meadow was getting smaller and native meadow species were diminishing.

Since 1866 the meadows of Yosemite Valley have been reduced from 750 acres to less than 400. Behind these numbers is the reality that valuable wildlife habitat and scenic vistas have been and may continue to be lost. While some of this loss is due to natural processes, much can be attributed to human manipulation of Yosemite Valley 's environment.

In an attempt to allay the tragedy of the meadows, a meadow restoration project was initiated in October of 1987. Funded by a grant from Chevron USA, through the Yosemite Fund, and implemented by the San Francisco Conservation Corps under direction of National Park Service staff, the meadow restoration project was a pilot. It was designed to evaluate and produce methods for montane meadow restoration through trail construction and definition, visitor education and assisted revegetation.

Step one was to divert excessive pedestrian use out of the meadow by constructing a temporary two foot tall redwood post/rope fence around the meadow's periphery and along one major trail which bisects the meadow's eastern margin. This later route has been selected as a compromise to allow concentrated access across the meadow so as not to infringe entirely upon the park visitors' opportunities to enjoy Stoneman Meadow.

This bisecting trail will be closely monitored through measurements of its dimensions and photo-documentation to determine the environmental effects of concentrated use on a meadow trail. Should the present trail result in unacceptable damage to the meadow, other surfacing options may be implemented on an experimental basis . Other surfaces considered for this route are rock causeway, asphalt and an elevated boardwalk.

Maintained periphery trails were further delineated by placement of boulders along the trail margins and construction of rock faced culverts in wet areas. Interpretive signs were installed on fence posts at critical points to protect revegetated trails and alert visitors to the most direct routes to major destinations. Immediately following installation of these diversion measures, use of closed trails greatly declined. Less than ten individuals were observed traversing the meadow on closed trails during a three-week period, while maintained trails were utilized extensively during this same period.

Step two was assisted revegetation of excess trails. The trails of Stoneman Meadow would revegetate themselves if given rest, however studies indicate that this is a slow process requiring perhaps 25 to 50 years for complete restoration. Soils in the major treads were so compacted, that their capacity for holding organic matter, nutrients and moisture had been severely reduced, producing a hostile environment for encroaching plants and naturally dispersed seeds.

To improve soil conditions for plants, soils within the barren treads were scarified or turned over. Where meadow sod had been compacted but not destroyed, no treatment was applied. Given rest, these areas should respond with the onset of snowmelt and spring rains. Several inches of new growth, a result of autumn rains, has already been observed.

To speed the revegetation process, aerated trail treads were planted with plugs collected from adjacent undisturbed meadow areas. Holes created from digging the plugs were back-filled with excess decompacted soils from the excavated trails. Grass litter was raked over the back-filled holes which should revegetate within a few years.

Collected plugs were placed in the treads at a level even with the surrounding meadow, watered, and their rootballs firmly planted in place. Finally the entire tread was rewatered and covered with raked grass mulch . Seeds incorporated in the mulch should contribute to the recolonization process. As with the surrounding compacted sod, plugs have produced new vegetative growth as a result of recent rains.

In the effort to protect native plant species of our National Parks, often the only cost-effective and feasible method is to avoid introduction. For Stoneman Meadow the case was lost one hundred years ago behind the plowing of natives and the planting of non-natives. Except in the case of a few alien species, naturalized non-natives are here until the glaciers round Washington Column and Half Dome again.

Native plants were not entirely ignored in planting prescriptions. Where, by happenstance, a trail bisected a relatively pure stand of native plants, natives were targeted. At the mouth of the largest trails thorny western raspberry (Rubus leucodermis) was transplanted as an additional deterrent to human use. In addition to its hiker-repellent thorns, western raspberry, a native to Yosemite Valley found in abundance near the meadow, offers an attractive hedgerow important to passerine birds and other wildlife.

The cumulative impact of the restoration work completed this October has been a long-awaited reprieve from years of meadow abuse. Moreover the meadow restoration project is a productive, positive step in management of Yosemite Valley's resources. It represents a step toward what might be called "resources-first management ." In a park with 3 million visitors annually, this is, indeed, radical and progressive.

But this is only the beginning of the Stoneman Meadow project. We have given the meadow the chance to restore itself. The ultimate success of the restoration will depend upon the effectiveness of the signs, the temporary fence, the maintained trails and the park staff in keeping visitors off this winter and particularly next spring.

An additional, unexpected benefit of the Stoneman Meadow project was the experience which the members of the San Francisco Conservation Corps took away from their work in Yosemite. Some had come from troubled backgrounds. For all, the trip to Yosemite was an opportunity to escape the inner city and gain a perspective and a new direction. For several, it may have permanently changed their lives.

For the National Park Service staff, the project provided a unique opportunity to bring many divisions together while enthusiastically working toward a noble goal. While it would be impossible to thank everyone involved, special credit should be given to the interpretation division, trails ands roads maintenance, the sign and carpentry shops, and the forestry crew.

At most, we have preserved a part of the meadow's ecological and aesthetic integrity. At very least, we have invested $75,000 to evaluate the management actions taken this fall and to develop recommendations For a more comprehensive meadow management plan in the future. This may seem an expensive experiment, but how much is a Yosemite Valley meadow worth?