Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) in the Sierra Nevada exists as only a minor element in our forests (<1%), however they fill a large role in terms of landscape resilience and biodiversity. As aspen are an early successional species they are very dependent on disturbance to trigger a response of the aspen suckers and foster subsequent cohorts. With the lack of disturbance across our Sierra Nevada Forests, conifers are now encroaching upon aspen stands, decreasing their dominance. The Forest Service has been planning restoration of these aspen stands by reducing the number of competing trees and encouraging new cohorts of aspen. Before restoration efforts were completed around Martin Meadows the aspen were affected by both the 2019 Caples Fire and then the 2021 Caldor Fire. Now it is time to revisit the existing monitoring network and evaluate the succession of aspen.
You are invited to join the Amador-Calaveras Consensus Group (ACCG) Monitoring Workgroup and the Forest Service along with partners to help with post treatment aspen monitoring in and adjacent to the 2019 Caples Fire with a focus on the aspen around Martin Meadows along Hwy. 88.
No experience is necessary. Forest Service personnel will be on hand to provide training to volunteers. Background information will be provided on aspen ecology. The work will mainly consist of counting trees and evalauting vegetation changes in the aspen stands. The work will involve some hiking.
