New wetland for Mammoth Meadow
The Town of Mammoth Lakes and the Inyo National Forest are in the final stages of completing a wetland mitigation project in Mammoth Meadow. The project will re-route water away from a deeply gullied road to reduce its severe erosion, and allow water to spread in the meadow, creating a new wetland area. The work is occurring in an area approximately ¼ mile from the southeast corner of the Snowcreek Golf Course. The project is being completed as an initial phase of restoration work in Mammoth Meadow that may occur over the next few years. The final goal is a healthier meadow, with a larger area of wetland and reduced erosion.
Visitors to the meadow have likely noticed equipment working in the meadow over the past two weeks. The equipment has been constructing berms to impound water and create wetlands. The berms are now impounding water, and a pond is growing in a formerly dry portion of the meadow. Heavy equipment may be working in the meadow through Oct. 29. The berms now appear as bare soil, but have been seeded with native grasses and should visually blend into the meadow over the next few years. Recent work has also included re-routing an existing ditch to an historical channel to carry water toward the constructed wetland and away from areas where it is currently causing severe erosion.
For more information about the project, please call or email Mammoth and Mono Lake District Ranger Jon Regelbrugge (760.924.5553; jregelbrugge@fs.fed.us) or John Milne at the Town of Mammoth Lakes (760.934.8989 ext. 276; jmilne@ci.mammoth-lakes.ca.us)
