TRWC and TTAD ECO-Partnership East Martis Creek

May 10, 2021

CLEANING UP THE LEFTOVERS - WADDLE RANCH EAST MARTIS CREEK

When you spend time hiking and biking in the Truckee Tahoe area, you will certainly cross plenty of dirt roads. Many help us access backcountry areas for recreation, fire safety management, or planned logging. Others are just left over from past uses. And they are causing problems.

This summer the Truckee River Watershed Council (TRWC)—a Truckee-based non-profit known for successfully restoring meadows, creeks and forest— is partnering with the Truckee Tahoe Airport District to restore Martis Creek an area above Lake Ella in Waddle Ranch damaged by an abandoned logging road. Additional partners include Sierra Pacific Industries and the Truckee Donner Land Trust. 

This abandoned road was poorly built, trapping spring snowmelt in the road instead of letting the water follow a natural ephemeral stream dispersed through the forest. The road is heavily eroded and no longer drivable. The restoration will remove the road and an adjacent drainage ditch, redirect water back into forest and slow the flows, and allow the water to infiltrate.

 The restoration project will:

- Improve 700 linear feet of natural drainage
- Reduce erosion and sediment to Lake Ella
- Enhance wildlife habitat
- Support native vegetation
- Reverse the degradation process 

The project is scheduled to run June until July. During construction, heavy machinery will be working in the area. Please use caution and respect all signage.

Thank you to the funders making this work possible – the Truckee Tahoe Airport District, The Martis Fund, and donors of the Truckee River Watershed Council. Over the last twenty-five years, TRWC completed many large-scale meadow and forest health restoration projects to improve water supply, water quality, and habitat for fish and wildlife. To learn more about TRWC, their projects and other work, go to ➤ https://www.truckeeriverwc.org. 

Sign up for their newsletter to stay informed about ongoing projects, visit Facebook @TruckeeRiverWatershedCouncil, or visit Instagram @trwcnews.