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| Alpine Watershed Group protects, conserves, and restores the watersheds of Alpine County by promoting sustainable community and science-based collaborative solutions.
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Alpine-Amador-Calaveras-Tuolumne (AACT) Natural & Working Lands Hub Links:
Central Sierra Land Stewards’ Resource Guide website
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| Death Ride Volunteers Needed
Alpine County’s signature bike ride is swiftly approaching. If you aren’t planning to ride, AWG could use your help for our part in this huge community volunteer undertaking: taking care of trash and recycling at Turtle Rock Park on Friday, July 10 and Saturday, July 11. Please take a short break from reading this newsletter to email Kimra to volunteer! Thank you.
For more information on the race and to register, see the event website.
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ATTENTION BOATERS AND RECREATORS!Golden mussels are an invasive freshwater species native to Asia not yet detected in the Eastern Sierra, and keeping them out is critical. They spread primarily by hitchhiking on boats, trailers, and gear that move between lakes and rivers. Once they are here, they are impossible to remove. Please explore the Eastern Sierra watercraft inspection and decontamination (WID) website here for more information. You can learn more about golden mussels and how to identify various aquatic species by visiting Clean Up The Lake’s new Aquatic Invasive Species Video Identification Toolkit here.
Read this article to learn about how Tahoe boat inspectors found four golden mussels tucked tightly beneath the bolt of a screw on a boat.
Please take proper precautions this summer by cleaning, draining, and drying your watercraft(s) in addition to any other items or gear that will be placed into a waterbody before moving from one body of water to another.
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| Share Your Watershed Love
Do you love talking about watersheds (or just talking!) and meeting new people? Sitting at an organization’s table at community events isn’t everyone’s cup of tea … but it might just be yours. Alpine Watershed Group really needs help to maintain our presence at The Market at Markleeville this summer (June 27, July 25, August 29, and September 19). We will provide you with coaching and our watershed-size gratitude. You can take another short break from reading this newsletter to email Kimra now to offer your help.
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Heritage Park: The Sticks Have Leaves!In AWG’s February newsletter we shared that last fall Alpine County’s contractor for the Markleeville Creek Floodplain Restoration Project installed 87 pole cuttings composed of willow and cottonwood on the east side of the creek near Highway 89 and farther downstream near the Millberry Creek confluence. In that newsletter we asked people to please mind their step around these sticks so that they would not be damaged and would have a chance to grow into larger specimens to provide riparian habitat and increase bank stability. We are happy to share that in April we found that the sticks had sprouted leaves, and they are still growing strong! This is a great sign of restoration progress on the east side of the project area.
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During the late morning and early afternoon of June 14, AWG Headwaters Coordinator Bella Kurtz observed dozens of western tiger swallowtail butterflies cruising around the project site. Adjacent to the leafed-out pole cuttings, the butterflies were “puddling” (or “mud-puddling”) along the creek’s floodplain—“puddling” is when butterflies gather on wet soil to absorb essential minerals and salts (male butterflies often collect sodium which is transferred to females during mating to help ensure healthy eggs). Since female swallowtails need specific native trees to lay their eggs, such as willows, alders, cottonwoods, or quaking aspens, their presence indicates that the project site has maintained a healthy native tree population along the riparian corridor. Bella was delighted to find two snakes sunbathing on a boulder that overlooked this puddling of butterflies, and a lucky bird captured one of the butterflies for lunch. Observing this kaleidoscope of wildlife was a delight and very encouraging amidst the partially completed project.
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When will the project be finished? The east side of the project is complete except for revegetation; access to Markleeville Public Utility District’s gravel road has been restricted to prevent vehicle damage to the restoration in progress. Construction is set to resume in mid to late July, with project completion expected this October. On the west side of the project area, the county’s contractor will remove the remaining floodwall, build a parking area, and install an ADA-accessible trail with a creek overlook. Please peruse the project info sheet for more details on the project, including funding sources. To access the creek, please park in the County Administration parking lot (99 Water Street) and walk down to the park. Please remember to tread lightly as the area is actively being restored.
Check out the Bountiful Blooms & Views section for an overview of native, nonnative, and nonnative invasive species observed at the project site.
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Markleeville Creek Floodplain Restoration Project iNaturalist Collection ProjectAWG has created a Collection Project on iNaturalist for the Markleeville Creek Floodplain Restoration Project. You can help us track species that are present and/or frequent this area by using the iNaturalist mobile app to make observations—any observation that is made within the project boundary will automatically be included in this Collection Project. You can join the project if you would like to stay connected and receive updates on what others have observed in the project area, or you can just make an observation on the iNaturalist app like you usually would.
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| Bountiful Blooms and Views
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
By Headwaters Coordinator Bella Kurtz
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This month I am going to talk about a few of the native, common nonnative, and invasive nonnative species that are present in Alpine County that I recently observed at the Markleeville Creek Floodplain Restoration Project (MCFRP) site. I have noticed that due to the common occurrence of many nonnative species, some people have the impression that they are a native species that is desired, but often they are introduced species that arrived in the United States during European settlement and subsequent Columbian Exchange.
In California, native species are defined as organisms that occur naturally in a specific ecosystem within the state, having evolved there over thousands of years without direct or indirect human intervention. A nonnative (or alien/exotic) species is any organism (plant, animal, microbe) introduced into an environment outside its historic natural range, typically as a direct or indirect result of human activity. A nonnative invasive species is an organism that does not naturally occur in a specific ecosystem and whose introduction causes, or is likely to cause, harm to the environment, economy, or human health.
Let’s start with some of the good native species. Diamond clarkia (Clarkia rhomboidei), grand collomia (Collomia grandiflora), and streambank birds-foot trefoil (Hosackia oblongifolia) are all examples of beautiful and unique native species of California. I found these three species at three different locations around the MCFRP site—the first two were found on the west side of the project area, and the third was found along the creek on the east side near the downstream end of the project reach.
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diamond clarkia (Clarkia rhomboidei)
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grand collomia (Collomia grandiflora)
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streambank birds-foot trefoil (Hosackia oblongifolia)
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Moving on to some of the bad nonnative species. One example of a very widespread nonnative species in downtown Markleeville is the broad-leaved sweet pea, or perennial sweet pea (Lathyrus latifolius), which was introduced to North America from Europe as a garden plant. This member of the pea family has a long history in horticulture as an ornamental plant. In California this species can create monocultures by covering roadside areas, hillsides, and areas of disturbed soil. It aggressively outcompetes native California flora and is toxic to livestock, horses, and poultry. Examples of these large monoculture hillsides packed with nonnative perennial sweet pea can unfortunately be seen towards the downstream end of the MCFRP reach on the west side of the creek. You may spot these flowers in pink or white. Yes, the flower looks pretty but imagine how much biodiversity could exist on these hillsides if they were not being smothered by this aggressive nonnative species.
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perennial sweet pea (Lathyrus latifolius)
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perennial sweet pea (Lathyrus latifolius)
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bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare)
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| Ending with the ugly nonnative invasive species, let’s briefly discuss bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare). Bull thistle is one of the few species spotted at the MCFRP site that is listed on the California Code of Regulations, or CCR, Section 4500 Noxious Weeds list. When a plant is on this list, it means that the state officially designates it as an aggressive, intrusive, and destructive pest. Designation on this list also prohibits the species from being propagated, produced, held, or offered for sale as nursery stock in California. This species was observed in a small undisturbed area of the project site, but bull thistle has the ability to spread aggressively since a single mature plant can produce up to 100,000 seeds. We will remove these plants and continue to monitor the project area for bull thistle as well as other invasive nonnative species.
There were a lot of nonnative invasives at the site before the project went to construction last year. In the past, volunteers and county staff have tackled these species by pulling them out or with weed whackers. The populations of nonnatives and invasive nonnatives were surveyed before the project began. Permitting agencies are very keen on invasives management—which is especially challenging given what was there before the project plus the fact that disturbance tends to give nonnative species a competitive advantage. In the long-term this site is ours to steward as a watershed community. AWG plans to host community workdays to address invasive nonnative plant populations once the project is completed and is no longer a construction site.
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| Upcoming AWG Events
Saturday, July 25 – Forest Health Treatment Selection & Planning Field Day
Wednesday, August 26, 5:00 p.m. at Markleeville Library – AWG Board Meeting
Saturday, September 19 – Creek Day
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| We are grateful for the financial support of all who love Alpine County. We are able to lead volunteer workdays and support community science data collection because of your generosity.
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AWG has earned a 2025 Gold Seal of Transparency with Candid! Check out our Nonprofit Profile here.
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Ways to Connect or HelpWe always love to hear from our watershed community! Below are email links to reach AWG's staff, or reach us at AWG's office at (530) 694-2327. Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Contact Us!
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| A quick note for Gmail users:
To get our monthly bulletin email sent to your "Inbox" instead of "Promotions,"
click and drag the email over to your "Primary" tab.
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