A First For Red Clover Valley

Red Clover Valley in the Northern Sierra is one of those colorfully named places that time forgot and man exploited.

Until 1880, it was lushly populated with a glorious riparian ecology, containing California Golden Beaver (Castor canadensis subauratus), native trout, hardwood trees, willows and sedges. Its isolation had kept it pristine and idyllic for millennia.

However, it was also a natural pen which ranchers used to graze sheep and cattle. That grazing inevitably eliminated the valley’s riparian vegetation, resulting in Red Clover Creek eroding, widening and deepening itself, the California Water Resources Agency reported in 1991.

In 2012, a proposal to restore the valley reported that Red Clover Creek’s “once-productive wet meadows (had, by then) converted to a dry sagebrush-dominated basin with minimal vegetation and little cover for fish.”

Yesterday, Dave Butler was distracted by flashes of golden color as he drove the Beckwourth/Genessee Rd. near Red Clover Valley. Quaking Aspen were turning from deep green to lime and yellow. Beauty was returning to the Red Clover Valley as autumn was approaching. 

Just Starting (0-10%) – Red Clover Valley (5,400′)