Trout Unlimited initiated the Sierra National Forest Bass Lake 8 Meadows Restoration Project in 2018, partnering with the North Fork Mono Tribe (NFMT). The NFMT has been managing their homeland for thousands of years, including ecological restoration in the Sierra National Forest since 1991. The project aims to restore eight degraded meadows in the Bass Lake Ranger District, with a focus on high-priority sites for the NFMT. The restoration involves removing encroached conifers, conducting fuels management around the meadows, and restoring instream conditions using woody structures. These efforts will expand the wet meadow perimeter and protect the sites from future wildfires. By summer 2023, Trout Unlimited and the NFMT successfully restored four meadows (Beehive, Benedict, Meserve, and Poison). Restoration of the remaining four meadows (China, Chipmunk, Peckinpah, and Texas Flat) is underway.
Project Partner: Trout Unlimited (TU)
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North Eden Creek Flow and Fish Passage Restoration
Trout Unlimited is leading a project to restore stream flow and fish passage in Utah by reconnecting ten miles of North Eden Creek to Bear Lake, replacing an impassable road culvert, and drilling a new agricultural well to replace an irrigation diversion. The restoration will support spawning and rearing of migratory cutthroat trout, enhancing the Blue Ribbon Fishery and recreational use of Bear Lake. This innovative project, with broad community support, will provide significant ecological and economic benefits through improved water stewardship and habitat restoration.
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Green River Demand Management and Resilience Project
With this project, Trout Unlimited (TU) aims to enhance water supply for Colorado River reservoirs and promote climate resilience through nature-based solutions in the Green River, Wyoming. This project focuses on two key actions: implementing multi-year demand management agreements with local ranchers to conserve water and constructing Beaver Dam Analogs (BDAs) and other structures to restore hydrologic function, improve water infiltration, and enhance habitat. By reducing irrigation withdrawals and increasing stream flows, the project will support federal reservoirs and stabilize water supply for downstream communities, while also increasing resilience in Colorado River tributaries.
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Kern Plateau Meadows Restoration Project
The Kern Plateau Meadows Restoration Project aims to restore degraded meadow systems located in the headwaters of the Kern River and the Owens River in southern California. On the ground partners, Trout Unlimited, will utilize low-tech process-based restoration (LTPBR) techniques to restore the meadows that have been degraded by erosion and overgrazing. These techniques rely on hand-built structures made from local natural material to support the natural processes that a healthy meadow system provides. The long-term goal of the project is to restore natural processes that shape the land – such as erosion, sedimentation, and the movement of soil and rocks – as well as those that move and distribute water in the environment, including rainfall, river flow, groundwater movement, and the interactions between water, soil, and plants. Additionally, the project will enhance biotic processes, which involve the activities of living organisms, including plant growth, animal interactions, and nutrient cycling.
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Great Salt Lake Resilience & Agricultural Modernization Project
Trout Unlimited (TU) will lease at least 1500 acre-feet of senior agricultural water rights over a three-year period to improve habitat conditions in the Weber River and sustain the Great Salt Lake ecosystem. The leased water will restore flows in the river and increase water inflow to the lake, while also supporting critical infrastructure upgrades at the Riverdale Bench irrigation diversion. These upgrades will enhance Bonneville cutthroat trout passage and bolster the sustainability of the local agricultural economy.
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Black River Aquatic Restoration & Thompson Meadow Restoration
Located northeast of Phoenix and 25 miles west of Alpine, the West Fork Black River drains White Mountain, runs right through Thompson-Burro Meadow, and is a major tributary of the Black River. The Black River watershed is part of the largest, contiguous Ponderosa Pine Forest in the United States. It is a crucial headwater source of water supply to the Salt River, a significant water source for Phoenix Valley.
The Thompson-Burro Meadow Restoration is currently being planned and designed through a collaborative grant funded by Bureau of Reclamation. The project is part of a larger, multifaceted forest management plan for the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest that was addressed by a recent U.S. Forest Service NEPA process.
The Black River Aquatic Restoration Project presents a suite of integrated ecological restoration activities designed to reduce fire related risks and restore ecological resilience that will benefit fish and wildlife and improve water security. The project is innovative, comprehensive in scope, and collectively applies forest health and meadow restoration activities, such as thinning, riparian exclusion fencing, tree planting, barrier removal, and construction of process-based restoration structures to improve wetland and hydrologic function. The project’s climate resilience solutions are proactive and forward-looking: restoring natural systems and processes in this location will demonstrate ways to solve risk and water resilience issues in Arizona.
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Blacksmith Fork Fish Passage and Flow Restoration
This project aims to reconnect fish passage on approximately 25 miles of the Blacksmith Fork River, from its confluence with the Lower Logan River upstream to the Blue Ribbon Fishery in the canyon. The project addresses long-standing challenges at two irrigation diversions, improving both fish passage and water flow. Key actions include rebuilding diversion structures, restoring 1,500 feet of river channel and riparian habitat, and leasing water to enhance flow downstream. The project will eliminate dangerous conditions at the Nibley diversion and provide long-term ecological and recreational benefits. A diverse partnership, led by Trout Unlimited and including canal companies, local agencies, and landowners, is driving this innovative restoration effort.