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 |
621 | 890 | 386 | Planting | |
Sept. 1993 |
27 of 64 sites on |
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 |
408 | 253 | 471 | 1522 trees planted. Numbers to left are those located in Sept. 1995. |
|
Sept. 1995 |
22 sites on |
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 |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Jul 1997 |
Rush Creek main channel at Channel 10 |
64 | Survival count. |
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Jul 1998 |
Rush Creek main channel at Channel 10 |
44 | Survival count: 48%. |
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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. |
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Aug 1997 |
Rush Creek near Old Hwy 395 |
41-80% | 95-100% |
Survival count. |
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Jul 1998 |
Rush Creek near Old Hwy 395 |
96 | 24 |
Survival count. |
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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. |
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Jul 1997 |
Walker Creek above Hwy 395 |
88 | 40 |
Survival count. |
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Jul 1998 |
Walker Creek above Hwy 395 |
28 | 21 |
Survival count. Heavy competition from grass and some evidence of predation. |
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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. |
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Aug 1997 |
Rush Creek above Hwy 395 |
24 |
Survival count. |
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Jul 1998 |
Rush Creek above Hwy 395 |
2 |
Survival count. |
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DATE |
LOCATION |
CW | W | JP | LP | COMMENTS |
Sep 1997 |
Lee Vining Creek near A-4 channel |
17 |
Planting. |
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Jul 1998 |
Lee Vining Creek near A-4 channel |
0 | Survival count. |
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DATE |
LOCATION |
CW | W | JP | LP | COMMENTS |
Sep 1997 |
Rush Creek above Parker Creek |
53 | 2 |
Planting. |
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Jul 1998 |
Rush Creek above Parker Creek |
1 | 0 |
Survival count. |
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DATE |
LOCATION |
CW | W | JP | LP | COMMENTS |
May 1999 |
Lee Vining Creek below County Rd |
104 | 69 |
Planting. JP seedlings in poor condition. |
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Sep 1999 |
Lee Vining Creek below County Rd |
14 | 30 |
Survival count. |
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Oct 2000 |
Lee Vining Creek below County Rd |
14 | 29 |
Survival count. Report |
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| 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. |
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Oct 2000 |
Lee Vining Creek below County Rd |
48 |
Survival count. Report |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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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%) | |