On golden pond: miners and beavers have created a lovely, quiet California wetland—through no fault of their own

Natural History, Dec, 2002 by Robert H. Mohlenbrock

In 1884 prospectors entered a tranquil valley in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains of California. A forest of lodgepole pines, set off by a cluster of picturesque lakes known as the Sardine Lakes, covered the moist, twenty-acre basin. From various vantage points in the valley the men could see the serrated crests of the Sierra Buttes rising in the distance. But the peaceful setting was about to be disturbed: the prospectors found gold in the quartz strata of the surrounding hills, and soon the Young America Mine was in full production.

To get at the gold, the miners cut down much of the lodgepole-pine forest. Without the trees to absorb the moisture, most of the basin began to develop into a wetland. And once the mine was worked out and the prospectors moved on, beavers added to the wetland by felling more trees. Then, in the early twentieth century, cleanup crews hauled away the tailings from the gold mine, leaving a depression that created a lake. The result was far more inviting than this history would suggest. The lake, known as Sand Pond, is a popular swimming area in the Tahoe National Forest. A marsh has developed just east of the pond, and only a few lodgepole pines remain as a relic of the earlier forest.

I found the drive to Sand Pond breathtaking. From Interstate 80 near Lake Tahoe, I proceeded north on California Highway 89 to Sierraville. From there, for the next five miles, I enjoyed the view of a broad valley where cattle roam and graze. Near the small community of Sattley, I turned west on California Highway 49 and followed the circuitous ascent to Yuba Pass, climbing from 4,940 feet in the valley to 6,700 feet at the pass. A U.S. Forest Service campground is beautifully situated at the top of the pass. Descending westward, I entered the charming village of Bassetts, where I caught my first glimpse of the scintillating Sierra Buttes. From Bassetts, I took the Gold Lake Highway north for nearly two miles, then followed the forest service road to Sand Pond and the Sardine Lakes.

The forest service has constructed a mile-long looped nature trail that begins about 200 feet east of the Sand Pond parking lot. The trail traverses the marsh from one end to the other along an extensive boardwalk, after which it passes through a coniferous upland forest on its south side. After twisting around large boulders, dropping down out of the upland woods, and crossing a stream, the trail ends back at the Sand Pond parking lot.

Just north of Sand Pond, but in Plumas National Forest, are two other areas worth visiting. One is a short trail to Frazier Falls, a 176-foot cascade. The other is the Red Fir Nature Trail, off a dirt county road. The trail loops through an ancient forest of red firs, some of them more than 150 feet tall.

HABITATS

Marsh Except for a few lodgepole pines, the marsh is a dense covering of grasses, sedges, and rushes among small pools of standing water. Sedges of the genus Carex are the most diverse group of plants. Bluejoint grass is common, its silver-green spikelets borne on slender, four-foot-tall stems. Soft rush, with its hollow stems, grows in tufts as large as two feet in diameter; other, lower-growing rushes appear singly or in small colonies. Near the edge of the marsh, and also scattered within it, is rose spiraea, a lovely pink-flowering shrub. Wildflowers include yellow monkey flower, willow herb, and Bigelow's sneezeweed.

The shallow pools contain-leafy pondweed, whose two-inch-long leaves float on the water. Bladderworts, whose intricately branched, bladder-bearing stems are completely submerged, send up small aerial stems with inch-long yellow flowers. Bordering the open water and sometimes growing in it is threeway sedge. If you look straight down on this foot-tall sedge, only three of the plant's twelve or fifteen leaves will be apparent, so perfectly are the others aligned beneath them.

Moist woods Just before reaching the boardwalk you pass through a small forest of lodgepole pine, quaking aspen, and white fir. The understory is a diverse mix of ferns and wildflowers. The most conspicuous plant is corn lily, a perennial that can grow four feet tall and whose fifteen-inch-long, ten-inch-wide leaves appear corrugated because of their thick veins. Other wildflowers to look for are western mountain aster, meadow rue, pink wintergreen, and Chinese houses (a plant in the snapdragon family).

Streamside A stream that borders one edge of the marsh and eventually empties into Sand Pond is lined with a dense thicket of shrubs. The major species are mountain alder, rose spiraea, red osier (the same species found in the eastern United States), and at least three species of willows (Scouler's, arroyo, and Salix lasiandra). Several sedges and rushes from the marsh grow entangled beneath the shrubs.

Upland forest The higher and drier terrain east and south of the marsh supports Jeffrey pine, white fir, incense cedar, and Douglas fir. In the shrub layer are green-leaf manzanita, bog bilberry, western azalea, and leather oak. Wildflowers include largeleaf avens, a pink honeysuckle, California goldenrod, false Solomon's seal, and Washington lily.