Mountain meadow wetlands provide disproportionally important ecological services as compared to the area they cover in the Sierra Nevada by providing wetland-associated biodiversity, attenuating floods, and by contributing to downstream water quality and flow. However, degradation and loss of hydrologic function are widespread in Sierran meadows due to past and continuing anthropogenic effects including grazing management, diversions, roads and culverts, as well as non-native species.

Meadow restorations have become increasingly common; however, monitoring for success and sharing results still lags. State and federal agencies have begun to survey the condition of mountain meadows in the Sierra, but historically these efforts have not been integrated or analyzed in such a way as to identify restoration or protection priorities.

In recent years, there has been a concentrated effort on the part of many organizations and individuals to form collaborative partnerships in the interests of meadow science and restoration which is represented by several of the reports below.

The reports below include efforts to:

1. Determine the condition of meadow systems throughout the Sierra Nevada;
2. Analyze potential causal relationships between land and water use and meadow condition;
3. Develop aquatic monitoring protocols appropriate to Sierran meadows, based on fish, aquatic invertebrates, amphibians, vegetation, and hydrology;
4. Examine the effects of meadow restorations on fisheries resources
5. Develop tools to aid in planning and executing successful meadow restorations.

Collaborators/Funders include: The National Fish and Wildlife foundation, the Natural Heritage Institute, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the California Department of Fish and Game, the US Forest Service, California Trout, Trout Unlimited, University of Nevada, Reno, the Resource Legacy Fund, and many more.