Mono Basin Riparian Plantings and Survival

1993-2018

The following information was gathered from the Mono Lake Committee's files. Most plantings were a cooperative effort between MLC, DWP, USFS, consultants, and volunteers. The pine plantings (since 1995) were watered once every two weeks the first summer (and sometimes the second year). Cottonwood and willow cuttings were usually planted with a backhoe-mounted auger.

CW = Black Cottonwood cuttings
W = Willow cuttings
JP = Jeffrey Pine seedlings
LP = Lodgepole Pine seedlings

 

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

Mar-Apr 1993

64 sites on
Lee Vining Creek

621 890 386   Planting

Sept. 1993

27 of 64 sites on
Lee Vining Creek

84%
(522 est. total)
62%
(552 est. total)
0-100%
(64% average, 247 est. total)
  Survival count. Pine survival variable. CW and W survived better in holes dug by backhoe-mounted auger than in holes dug by hand crews.
             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

Mar 1995 

22 sites on
Lee Vining Creek

408 253 471  

1522 trees planted. Numbers to left are those located in Sept. 1995.

Sept. 1995

22 sites on
Lee Vining Creek

222 136 335  

Survival count. Raw Data

Sept. 1998

18 sites west of Lee Vining Creek main channel

145/168
(192 est. total)
88/119
(101 est. total)
148/251
(198 est. total)
 

Survival count of all locations west of main channel. Second number is the number surviving in just those 18 locations in Sept. 1995. Raw Data

             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

Apr 1996

Rush Creek Channel 10

160 130 225  

Planting. Also included soft armoring along Channel 10 with about 1000 willow stems. Procedure followed in obtaining cuttings.

Aug 1996

same as above

113 58    

Survival count. Pines not counted. 95% of the soft armoring survived high flows.

Aug 1998

same as above

    6  

Survival count. Only pines counted. Dense undergrowth caused an undercount--more than 6 are surviving. Dense grass growth due to rewatering of channel crowded out most seedlings.

Dec 2010

same as above
    16   Survival count. Only pines counted. Surviving pines now easy to see above brush and trees.
             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

Sep 1996

Rush Creek main channel at Channel 10

    91  

Planting of containerized JP seedlings that were grown during the summer by TreePeople in Los Angeles.

Jul 1997

Rush Creek main channel at Channel 10

    64  

Survival count.

Jul 1998

Rush Creek main channel at Channel 10

    44  

Survival count: 48%.

Nov 2010

Rush Creek main channel at Channel 10

    37   Survival count: 41%
             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

May 1997

Rush Creek near Old Hwy 395

    195 31

Planting.

Aug 1997

Rush Creek near Old Hwy 395

    41-80% 95-100%

Survival count.

Jul 1998

Rush Creek near Old Hwy 395

    96 24

Survival count.

May 2006

Rush Creek near Old Hwy 395

    31%
(60)
58% (18) Survival count.
             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

May 1997

Walker Creek above Hwy 395

    100 40

Planting.

Jul 1997

Walker Creek above Hwy 395

    88 40

Survival count.

Jul 1998

Walker Creek above Hwy 395

    28 21

Survival count. Heavy competition from grass and some evidence of predation.

Dec 2010
Walker Creek above Hwy 395
    10 14 Survival count.
             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

Jul 1997

Rush Creek above Hwy 395

      28

Planting of containerized LP seedlings grown in Monterey. Many were potted incorrectly.

Aug 1997

Rush Creek above Hwy 395

      24

Survival count.

Jul 1998

Rush Creek above Hwy 395

      2

Survival count.

             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

Sep 1997

Lee Vining Creek near A-4 channel

      17

Planting.

Jul 1998

Lee Vining Creek near A-4 channel

      0

Survival count.

             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

Sep 1997

Rush Creek above Parker Creek

    53 2

Planting.

Jul 1998

Rush Creek above Parker Creek

    1 0

Survival count.

             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

May 1999

Lee Vining Creek below County Rd

    104 69

Planting. JP seedlings in poor condition.

Sep 1999

Lee Vining Creek below County Rd

    14 30

Survival count.

Oct 2000

Lee Vining Creek below County Rd

    14 29

Survival count. Report

Oct 2001 Lee Vining Creek below County Rd     14 29 Survival count: 13%.
             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

May 2000

Lee Vining Creek below County Rd

    62  

Planting in same locations as the non-surviving May 1999 seedlings.

Oct 2000

Lee Vining Creek below County Rd

    48  

Survival count. Report

Oct 2001 Lee Vining Creek below County Rd     45   Survival count: 73%.
             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

2002 Rush Creek below Narrows, right side     54   McBain & Trush test plot using dri-water vs. irrigation.
2002, end of summer Rush Creek below Narrows, right side     11    
2005 Rush Creek below Narrows, right side     1   No irrigation after 2002.
             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

Apr 2005 Rush Creek below Test Station Rd 44       Planted cuttings at water's edge; left long stems above ground
Aug 2005 Rush Creek below Test Station Rd 23       Only found 6 dead ones; 15 missing ones probably washed away. 2 alive had broken stems. 80% of the ones found were alive.
             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

April-May 2006 Lee Vining Creek below forest     31   Planting. Soil was rocky and difficult to dig; many holes weren't deep enough and seedlings were planted improperly. Close to 100 were initially planted but most were pulled out. Hasty replanting of new seedlings occurred in the same locations.
July 2006 Lee Vining Creek below forest     13   Survival count: 42%.
Late 2006 Lee Vining Creek below forest     1   Survival count: 3%
             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

May 2006 Rush Creek above 1997 plantings     47 south side; 150 north side   Planting in high priority areas identified by McBain & Trush. The north side has good, deep soil and formerly was occupied by very large, old Jeffrey Pines. Seed source Stanislaus NF.
July 31, 2006 Rush Creek above 1997 plantings     26 south; 120 north   Survival count. At least 8 on the south side perished due to lengthy inundation from high flows. Lodgepole pines would be suitable for these areas.
August 20, 2006 Rush Creek above 1997 plantings     34% (16) south; 71% (107) north   Survival count and watering. The north side stayed relatively moist from the peak flow and thunderstorms through July, with only one watering.
  October 13, 2006 Rush Creek above 1997 plantings     32% (15) south; 56% (84) north     Survival count. Most of the mortality (18 out of 24 trees) occurred prior to the September 12th watering.
June 2, 2007 Rush Creek plantings above 1997     28% (13) south, 23% (35) north   Survival count. Low survival on north side perhaps due to dry and cold weather since October.
Aug 12, 2008 Rush Creek plantings above 1997     26% (12) south, 12% (18) north   Survival count. Very dry weather. North side survival continues its rapid decline after doing very well the first summer. South side has stabilized.
Aug 13, 2010 Rush Creek plantings above 1997     17% (8) south,
3% (4) north
  Survival count.
             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

April 2008 Lee Vining Creek alluvial fan below VC     47   Planting of alluvial fan below gully draining Visitor Center parking lot. Deep sandy soil. Planted by Lee Vining Elementary School.
Sept. 9, 2008 Lee Vining Creek alluvial fan below VC     21   Survival count: 45% survival. Remaining trees look good.
             
May 15, 2009 Lee Vining Creek alluvial fan below VC     55   Planting in same locations as last year where there was almost 0% survival.
October 8, 2009 Lee Vining Creek alluvial fan below VC     18   Survival count: 33% survival.
June 23, 2010 Lee Vining Creek alluvial fan below VC     13   Survival count: 24% survival.
             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

May 2008 Rush Creek right side within 1/3 mile below Hwy 395     81   Planting in 4 different groups. Lowest site in former cottonwood forest had excellent soil that was moist through May.
Aug 12, 2008 Rush Creek right side within 1/3 mile below Hwy 395     23   Survival count: 28% survival. Driest Spring-Summer on record for California.
June 29, 2010 Rush Creek right side within 1/3 mile below Hwy 395     0   Survival count: 0% survival. No watering in 2009. Lots of cheatgrass in planting sites, possibly spread from the severe infestations along the highway.
             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

April 16, 2009 Rush Creek right side at road to Panum Crater     60   Planting in sandy areas. Running out of good sites to plant.
October 8, 2009 Rush Creek right side at road to Panum Crater     48   Survival count: 80% survival.
June 29, 2010 Rush Creek right side at road to Panum Crater     35   Survival count: 58% survival. Chicken wire cages added to 20 trees in best condition.
September 16, 2012 Rush Creek right side at road to Panum Crater     9  

Survival count: 15% survival

There are 9 still small, but alive trees and all of them have chicken wire protecting them from browsing (which seems completely necessary). In our estimation, the chicken wire should still be fine for a year or two, considering their current rate of growth so far. The 2010 chicken wire is still is fine shape.

July 28, 2018 Rush Creek right side at road to Panum Crater     5  

Survival count: 8% survival

Removed chicken wire from 3 of remaining 5 trees.

             

DATE

LOCATION

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

June 4, 2009 Cheatgrass site: Rush Creek left side at road to Panum Crater     100   Planting in abandoned channel and floodplain near valley wall. Area dominated by cheatgrass. Excellent soil. Experimental cheatgrass eradication project using Jeffrey pine plantings.
Early September, 2009 Cheatgrass site: Rush Creek left side at road to Panum Crater     1   Survival count: almost 0% survival.
June 2010 Cheatgrass site: Rush Creek left side at road to Panum Crater     0   Survival count: 0% survival.
             

LOCATION TOTALS

CW W JP LP

COMMENTS

All creeks Planted 1233 1273 2309 187 5002 total
Surviving
(at last count)
850
(69%)
711
(56%)
649
(28%)
63
(34%)
2273 total (46%). There is a large variability in pine survival, usually depending on the condition of the seedlings and frequency of watering during the first year.
Lee Vining Creek Planted 1029 1143 1156 86 3414 total
Surviving 714
(69%)
653
(57%)
530
(46%)
29
(34%)
1926 total (56%)
Rush Creek

 

Planted 204 130 1056 61 1451 total
Surviving 136
(67%)
58
(45%)
122
(12%)
20
(43%)
336 total (23%)
Walker Creek Planted 0 0 100 40 140 total
Surviving 0 0 10
(10%)
14
(35%)
24 total (17%)

 

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