Restoring Ackerson Meadow is a story of big firsts. This was the first time I’d ever seen a wildlife conservation dog in action. Trained to sniff out the threatened northwestern pond turtle, Ari the Poodle and her canine colleagues have helped to find about 300 northwestern pond turtles at Ackerson. Who knew conservation could be both adorable and impactful? This project was also the first time this much earth had been moved in Yosemite National Park (150,000 cubic yards of soil or 15,000 dump truck loads), making it the largest full-fill meadow restoration in the history of the Sierra Nevada. And as of June 2024, the first phase of restoration is complete!
This project was driven by collaboration between American Rivers and Yosemite National Park, Stanislaus National Forest, Yosemite Conservancy, and others, a multifaceted partnership that led to the acquisition of the meadow from private landowners in 2016 and the restoration we are seeing play out today. Ackerson Meadow is a roughly 3-mile-long, 230-acre meadow system. Restoring it is no small feat! To make it more doable during the short snow-free months of the Sierra Nevada, the project is being implemented in two phases. The first phase, now complete, focused on restoring the downstream portion, roughly 80 acres, of Ackerson Meadow. This monumental effort involved excavating mineral soils from the areas burned in the 2013 Rim Fire and using them to fill an erosion gully nearly 15 feet deep.
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Finishing the first phase of restoration on this picturesque site was something to celebrate, and on June 12, a large group gathered on the western edge of Ackerson Meadow, which straddles the western boundary of Yosemite National Park. Shaded under canopies in 90+ degree summer heat, speakers from Yosemite National Park, Stanislaus National Forest, Yosemite Conservancy, National Park Foundation, CA Dept of Fish and Wildlife, CA Wildlife Conservation Board, American Rivers, CA Natural Resources Agency, and Trust for Public Land stepped up to the podium to deliver celebratory remarks, with a newly watered meadow and the green Sierra Nevada in the backdrop.
The impacts of restoration are already on display. After the ceremony’s speakers did a ceremonial planting of native wetland plants (also the first time I’ve seen a golden dibble), I led a tour around the site as interested folks peppered me with questions and observations. We could see water spreading across the meadow surface and sinking into the ground in real-time, glistening between the strands of tall grass. Results don’t always manifest this quickly. Natural processes can take years, decades, or even centuries to recalibrate. But the work isn’t over. We are moving on to Phase II, where with the support of the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife and their Nature Based Solutions grant program, we’ll restore the upstream 160 acres of Ackerson Meadow. This will complete the final step in a decade-long effort to protect and restore the site.
The story behind this gathering and this moment could be told from many perspectives in many eras. Ackerson Meadow was a gathering point for Native peoples from the east and west side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range for generations. After the Park was established in 1890, Californians and the world gained an indispensable national treasure, a promise for generations to come. But Ackerson sat outside the Park’s boundaries and was a privately owned cattle ranch for over a century before being acquired by a coalition of conservation groups, and transferred to Yosemite National Park. Now here we are, standing in the midst of transformation across 230 acres of wet critical habitat with a golden dibblein one hand and a happy turtle in the other. The Park’s Instagram page calls Yosemite “a shrine to human foresight,” and restoration like that at Ackerson Meadow feels very much the same.
Note: Phase 1 of the project This project was funded in part by the donors of American Rivers, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Wildlife Conservation Board, Google (in association with their Water Stewardship pledge and strategy), National Park Foundation (provided by The Coca-Cola Company, The Coca-Cola Foundation, and Stericycle), National Park Service (provided by Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-Ecosystem Restoration, Concessions Franchise Fee, and NPS Operations), US Forest Service, and the Yosemite Conservancy.
Ackerson Meadow Restoration Project
The Ackerson Meadow Restoration Project is a wet meadow and riparian habitat restoration project with extraordinary benefits to wildlife including multiple State and Federal listed species and species of special concern. Restoring Ackerson Meadow will also provide multiple benefits for climate resiliency, water quality and supply, flood attenuation, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity.
1 response to “Restoring Ackerson Meadow: A Story of Big Firsts”
Are there hiking trails in Ackerson Meadow ?? Gary Hartung, hikersierras123@protonmail.com