Wednesday June 18, 2025
South Yuba River Citizens League —
The South Yuba River Citizens League, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, is launching the Salmon & Packer Creek Aspen Restoration Project, a major forest restoration effort aimed at revitalizing quaking aspen habitat within the Tahoe National Forest. The State of California’s Wildlife Conservation Board granted SYRCL $1.7 million for this Restoration Project.
Spanning a total of 292 acres north of Highway 49 and west of Gold Lakes Highway, this project includes degraded quaking aspen stands along Packer and Samon Creek in the Lost Sierra along Packer Lake Road. The primary goal is to restore and enhance 116 acres of aspen habitat, a critical but declining habitat in the Sierra Nevada. Implementation of this project is funded by the State of California Wildlife Conservation Board and the U.S. Forest Service.
“Aspen stands are vital to forest biodiversity, providing important habitat for wildlife and increasing overall ecosystem resilience,” said Anne Marie Holt, SYRCL’s Forest Conservation Project Manager. “This project reflects a strategic, science-based approach to restoring these sensitive areas.”
Of the total acreage, 205 acres are scheduled for aspen restoration and forest health treatment. These efforts will include selective thinning to remove competing conifers, and habitat enhancement strategies designed to support healthy aspen regeneration. Treatments are tailored to the terrain and ecological conditions in each unit.