Upper Feather River Watershed

The High Costs and Low Benefits of Attempting to Increase Water Yield by Forest Removal in the Sierra Nevada

Although there has been renewed interest in attempting to boost runoff from Sierra Nevada
watersheds by removing copious amounts of forest cover, recent assessments promoting the
approach have not given ample attention to well-known factors that sharply limit its utility for
augmenting water supplies. These assessments have also largely ignored the considerable and
enduring environmental costs of pursuing such an approach

This report provides a more thorough assessment of the environmental costs and limited
utility for water supply from attempts to increase water yield via forest removal in the Sierra
Nevada. Although data are limited from the Sierra Nevada, there is considerable body of
information from applicable studies throughout the western U.S. that provides a context for
assessing the limited benefits and significant costs of pursuing a forest removal or thinning
management approach.

2016-01-21

2016-01-21

Rhodes, J.J., and C.A. Frissell. 2015. The High Costs and Low Benefits
of Attempting to Increase Water Yield by Forest Removal in the Sierra
Nevada. 108 pp. Report prepared for Environment Now, 12400 Wilshire
Blvd, Suite 650, Los Angeles, CA 90025.

Forest Management

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