Written by Bryn Miller, Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership (SNAP) member at Tuolumne River Trust, July 2024
The Wild and Scenic stretch of the Tuolumne River runs for 83 miles from its headwaters in Yosemite National Park, culminating in 18 miles of world-class whitewater before entering the Don Pedro Reservoir. This “Wild and Scenic” designation recognizes that the Tuolumne has remarkable ecological and recreational value; dams are prohibited on this section. The Tuolumne received this protection in 1984 thanks in part to the advocacy of my host organization, the Tuolumne River Trust.
Although these 83 miles are protected from dams, ecosystems and recreation on the Tuolumne continue to degrade. Among other impacts, the Hetch Hetchy dam upstream in Yosemite National Park catches sediment that would otherwise run downstream and build up healthy sandbars and banks. The 2013 Rim Fire caused significant erosion along the river canyon on slopes that lost vegetation in the fire. These two factors have eroded away many of the sandbars along the river that are critical habitat for wildlife. These sandbars are also important to local rafting companies and private boaters that use these spots for lunch and camping.
The Tuolumne River Trust has a long history of partnering with rafters to take care of the river. Our tree planting program works with private boaters and commercial trips to get TRT staff and volunteers out on the river to plant trees on these degraded sandbars. Trees trap sediment with their roots to build back up the bars and eventually provide shade.
This summer, I’ve been out on three trips to plant trees. In May, I rode along with a commercial trip through local company Sierra Mac at very high flows to plant trees on a one-day trip. We were limited by the commercial trip schedule, so we didn’t plant all the trees we brought that day. Sierra Mac’s guides offered to plant the remainder of the trees themselves over their weekend trips in an awesome display of partnership. In July, I went out on a private overnight trip led by retired rafting guides who volunteer for Friends of the River, an organization devoted to protecting California’s rivers. We spent two days on the Tuolumne and planted nearly 200 trees. Later that month, we took out several high schoolers from the Central Valley on a one-day trip to introduce them to the Upper Tuolumne and plant trees. This restoration project has been a highlight of my SNAP term. It’s been amazing to see the partnership between outdoor recreation and environmentalists in action as we try to restore the banks of the Tuolumne!
Learn more about the rafting trip with Friends of the River and Tuolumne River Trust here.
Funding for SNAP is supported by Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation’s Nature Fund and Martis Fund – a collaborative project of Martis Camp landowners, DMB/Highlands Group (the developers of Martis Camp), Mountain Area Preservation Foundation (MAP), and Sierra Watch. Sierra Nevada Alliance is a proud grantee of AmeriCorps and California Volunteers, Office of the Governor.
