MEEKS BAY, Calif. – Máyala Wáta, also called Meeks Meadow, is proceeding with lodgepole pine removal through a grant from the California Tahoe Conservancy. The conifer thinning will take place over 200 acres of the area, which will help restore the area’s water levels and culturally significant plants to the Washoe tribe.

Meeks Meadow is the center of the Washoe homelands and was identified as a priority habitat for protection in the area. In 1997, the U.S. Forest Service and Washoe tribe signed a memorandum of understanding that expressed a common line of action—protecting and restoring the area.

Since then, different restoration efforts have been made in the area, but this promises to be one of the largest thanks to the $600,000 grant received from the California Tahoe Conservancy. Combined with $1 million in federal funds, the project will include cutting down conifers to protect water levels and soil quality for culturally significant plants, as well as thinning the surrounding forest for fuel reduction. Overall, the project spans 283 acres of the land.

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During a field trip to Meeks Meadow from the 2024 North American Lake Management Society conference, John Warpeha and Joshua Alessi, two environmental specialists from the Washoe tribe, spoke about the importance of the restoration efforts.

“Meeks Meadow is one of the areas most inundated with lodgepole,” said Alessi. Lodgepole pine is native to the area, but the Washoe people historically stewarded the area and managed where and how frequently the trees grew. In its current state, the lodgepole pine population actually dries the soil in the meadow.

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One of the ways that environmental specialists have been tracking the water levels in the area is through piezometers—which look like small pipes in the ground. This equipment tracks fluid pressure in the ground, which helps understand how much groundwater is in an area. As the trees are removed, these piezometers will help them track how much water levels will increase.

Removal of the lodgepoles began last month. As the process continues, it will be 90% mechanical removal and 10% hand-thinning in order to protect sensitive areas. The biomass from these will be used as firewood for the Washoe tribe. Due to weather and ground conditions however, more thinning has been delayed to 2025.

Prescribed burns will also be taking place to prime the soil for different culturally significant plants: brackenfern, yarrow, mountain strawberry, woods rose, and willow shrubs. These plants aren’t just important for Washoe culture like foraging and basket-weaving—they also help the environment.

“Plants have benefits to water quality and can control flooding,” said Alessi. “They help slow the release of water through the meadow and act as carbon sequestration, meaning that carbon isn’t being released into the air in greenhouse gas.”

Warpeha spoke briefly on the animals in the area and how they would also benefit from these efforts. The Lahontan cutthroat trout, once thought to be extinct, used to pass through Meeks Creek. As part of Phase 2, the Washoe tribe is interested in returning the Lahontan cutthroat trout to the area but will have to contend with how the bridge affects water flow and how other fauna, like beavers, might interact with the trout and creek.

Alessi, who began his position eight months ago, joined just in time for these massive efforts to start. “This project is 20 years in the making, so I joined at a really exciting time,” he said.

Eli Ramos is a reporter for Tahoe Daily Tribune. They are part of the 2024–26 cohort of California Local News Fellows through UC Berkeley.