Field or Meadow?
Meadow Managers
Long before Euro-Americans arrived in
Yosemite Valley, the Ahwalneechee
kept the meadows open by periodically
burning them, eradicating the
undergrowth and most young seedlings. This
encouraged the growth of desirable
plants, such as deer grass, which was
used in basketmaking.
Unlike the single-species sameness of a
lawn or a planted field, a meadow like this
before you is a place of amazing diversity,
home to many species of plants and animals.
In the Sierra Nevada, meadows are rare
at lower elevations, like Yosemite Valley
(elevation 4000 feet). Only a few places
in the entire park have the right mix of
soil, fire frequency, and water to sustain
a meadow. Many of Yosemite's meadows
have been gradually disappearing, losing
ground to the encircling forest.
In the past, many roads crossed Yosemite Valley's meadows.
Soils were hardened and water flow was restricted.
Today's park managers use fire in
the meadows to simulate a natural
fire regime.
Volunteers work with park resource
managers to remove thistle, a non-native
species that threatens native vegetation.
