High in the Sierra Nevada, one meadow is helping shape the future of water.

For the past eight years, NID has been restoring English Meadow, a 200-acre montane meadow in the headwaters of the Middle Yuba River. Once a thriving wet meadow, decades of mining, erosion, and changing land use altered how water moved across the landscape, leaving the meadow drier and less resilient.

Today, NID is helping reverse that process.

Working with state and federal agencies, local Tribes, scientists, and restoration experts, the District is reconnecting the river to its historic floodplain, raising the water table, and restoring the meadow's natural ability to store and slowly release water.

The project was made possible in part through $1.5 million in grant funding from the Wildlife Conservation Board and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, which support watershed restoration and forest resilience across California.

Think of it as nature's water bank

Healthy mountain meadows act like giant sponges. They absorb snowmelt during the winter and spring, then gradually release that water throughout the summer. They also improve water quality, reduce erosion, create wildlife habitat, and help keep sediment out of downstream reservoirs.

The restoration goes beyond the meadow itself. NID has also thinned 175 acres of surrounding forest to improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk. Trees removed during the project were reused to build natural structures that slow streamflows, stabilize streambanks, and help reconnect the river with the meadow.

The result is a healthier watershed and a more resilient water supply.

As California experiences warmer winters, less snowpack, and more frequent wildfires, protecting headwaters has never been more important. Projects like English Meadow help safeguard the clean Sierra snowmelt that supplies homes, farms, businesses, recreation, and hydropower throughout the region.

For more than 105 years, NID has understood that reliable water starts long before it reaches a reservoir or treatment plant.

Sometimes, it starts with restoring a meadow.