ALPINE WATERSHED GROUP

A total of 268 volunteers participated in 17 different monitoring and restoration activities during 2024, contributing approximately 567 volunteer hours. In 2024 AWG staff led one environmental education field trip and six in-classroom lessons, reaching 40 local school children. We started work on a large planning effort to guide the way for future restoration projects, the West Fork Carson Prioritization Project.Monitoring Programs: AWG River Monitor volunteers and staff continued to conduct water quality monitoring at eight sites in the Upper Carson River watershed, measuring stream and air temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, and conductivity. We continued the harmful algal bloom monitoring program initiated in 2019, collecting samples for five consecutive months at Red Lake. We also continued post-project photo monitoring for the Hope Valley Restoration and Aquatic Habitat Enhancement Project, which was constructed in October 2020. We continued to conduct post-Tamarack Fire monitoring in the Musser and Jarvis watershed and seedling survivability surveys in the Tamarack Fire burn scar, with the intent of determining restoration planting success. We continued aspen regeneration monitoring associated with a fuels reduction project in the West Fork Carson River watershed.Restoration Projects: AWG hosted the annual Creek Day community workday on September 21, 2024; a total of 30 volunteers worked at five project sites hauling out trash and adding willow trimmings to beaver dam analog structures. We also led an invasive plant removal workday at Grover Hot Springs State Park. We partnered to lead two community tree planting workdays in burned areas, planting approximately 820 trees. Education and Community Outreach: AWGs community outreach and education program included distribution of a monthly newsletter, website maintenance, social media posts, tabling at 11 community events, and presence at regional conferences. Our youth environmental education program expanded to include Bear Valley School. We continued to provide administrative support for the Forest Health Community Working Group, working to make progress over the long-term on improving forest health and resilience; this included helping to host one community meeting and one field workshop. We hosted two California Climate Action Corps Fellows, which broadened our outreach to a statewide level.