Among the pines above the Mogollon Rim, wet meadows are small but crucial landscape elements. They benefit plant diversity, wildlife and watershed health. Over the past century, people drained some meadows for farming, livestock grazing and roads. Runoff was concentrated into narrow channels, which over time led to erosion and lower water tables.
In 2012, the Coconino National Forest began the Watershed Restoration Action Plan. As part of this initiative, Flagstaff-based Natural Channel Design Inc. partnered with the Arizona Elk Society to restore several wet meadows, including Long Valley near the Blue Ridge Reservoir, with future work planned around the upper reaches of East Clear Creek.
During volunteer weekends, large teams work to redirect water with a technique known as “plug and spread.” Earthen, rock and log structures are placed strategically to slow flow, redistributing water across the meadow’s surface. Where past land use has compacted topsoil, contour ploughing breaks up the hardened layer and allows water to soak in.
In some locations, seeds of moisture-loving species like horsetails survive and come back on their own as the water table rises. Elsewhere, meadows are seeded to help them transition back to a community of native sedges and grasses.
Their dense root mats hold the fine meadow soils in place, resulting in a habitat that sequesters carbon and sheds water more slowly. It stays greener for longer too, benefiting elk, other wildlife and water resources.
This Earth Note was written by Diane Hope and produced by KNAU and the Sustainable Communities Program at Northern Arizona University.
