Estimating the Water Supply Benefits from Forest Restoration in the Northern Sierra Nevada

Approximately two-thirds of California’s water—including drinking water for 23 million people—originates in the Sierra Nevada as snow and rain. A number of interrelated factors, including historic land management practices, climate change, drought, and a growing population, are threatening the capacity of the Sierra Nevada to meet current and future demands for water. To address this issue, The Nature Conservancy explored whether increased investment in Sierra Nevada restoration may be a valuable strategy for increasing and enhancing California’s water supply. This report examines the extent to which investing in forest and meadow restoration could increase water supply and improve the timing of water availability. We focused our analysis specifically on restoration at the watershed-scale on national forests in the northern Sierra Nevada.