Background and History
Background: Bushy Lake Restoration Project
In 2015, Dr. Michelle Stevens, Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, Sacramento State spearheaded the Bushy Lake pilot restoration project. This pilot project is an eco-cultural restoration project that has incorporated experimental design and adaptive restoration methods to inform restoration practice, wildlife monitoring and adaptive management. It is a collaborative effort involving Sacramento County Parks, local community engagement, environmental groups as well as Sacramento State faculty, students, and the University’s offices of Public Affairs and Advocacy and Sustainability.
The six-acre pilot project on the east side of the Bushy Lake area provides an in-situ reference site and template for restoring culturally significant and fire-resilient habitat. In the process of monitoring, we discovered that the site is a refuge for the Northwestern Pond Turtle (Actinemys marmorata marmorata). The pond turtle is the only native freshwater turtle left in California and is designated a species of special concern by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Ongoing drought, wildfires, elimination of wetland and aquatic habitats, and competition with non-native turtles continue to raise concerns about California’s sustainable native turtle populations.
The overarching goal of this planning project is to prepare a Bushy Lake Conceptual Restoration Plan (CRP) with the following goals:
Protect, enhance and restore a sustainable habitat refuge for pond turtles;
Enhance and restore habitat for fire resiliency; and
Enhance the education and interpretation of resources in the Parkway, specifically showcasing tribal cultural use of the Parkway.
History
In 2014, a fire at Cal Expo burned over 160 acres of the American River Parkway (ARP). This fire coincided with the Ecological Society of America (ESA) Conference being held that year in Sacramento. These events initiated a collaboration between California State University of Sacramento (CSUS); Yale University; University of California (UC), Davis; Sacramento County Department of Regional Parks (County Parks); and American River Parkway Foundation. The Earth Stewardship Initiative was developed from the ESA Conference with a goal of creating a fire-resilient landscape with long-term monitoring and adaptive management at Bushy Lake and throughout the lower ARP. The Bushy Lake Restoration Project was established in January of 2015 with the assistance of volunteers from the Parkway Foundation and County Parks.
Pictured at left: Mary Xiong, experiment with Carex barbarae and Elymus triticoides 2016
Michelle Stevens
Co-Project Investigator; CSUS Environmental Studies Dept. Professor
Dr. Michelle Stevens, Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, Sacramento State spearheaded the Bushy Lake pilot restoration project. This eco-cultural restoration project has engaged students, faculty and the community in experimental design and adaptive restoration methods to inform restoration practice, wildlife monitoring and adaptive management. It is a collaborative effort involving Sacramento County Parks, local community engagement, environmental groups as well as Sacramento State faculty, students, and the University’s offices of Public Affairs and Advocacy and Sustainability.
In 2020, we received a grant from the California Wildlife Conservation Board titled “Grant Agreement for Bushy Lake Conceptual Restoration Plan WC-1943CA”. On June 6, 2021, a wildfire burned 60% of the Bushy Lake area. Again, on July 6, wildfires were started on the east and west side of Bushy Lake. The entire Bushy Lake in-situ restoration project on the east side of Bushy Lake was burned to the lakeshore. Sacramento State awarded funds from the President’s Circle Fund to restore and monitor Bushy Lake. While the fire was disappointing after five years of work and research, it turns out to be a blessing in disguise. We can use the six-acre pilot project on the east side of the Bushy Lake area to study the impacts of fire on the lower American River, and determine the factors that contribute to resiliency and adaptations to disturbances on the lower American River Parkway.
Pictured at right: Dr. Michelle Stevens