Presentation: Analyzing the Impacts of Free-Range Cattle on Mountain Meadows in the Scott River Watershed

Thursday, May 14, 7:00 pm
Presentation: Analyzing the Impacts of Free-Range Cattle on Mountain Meadows in
the Scott River Watershed
Presenter: Courtney Akers
Location: In-person presentation at the Siskiyou chapter meeting at Southern Oregon
University Science Building, Room 161. Join us in-person or Zoom in from home. To
register for Zoom, go to https://bit.ly/npsotalks.
Courtney Akers, the 2025 recipient of Siskiyou Chapter NPSO’s Frank A. Lang student
grant, is an environmental science and policy major completing her senior year at
Southern Oregon University. She used this grant to fund her capstone research project, a
comprehensive field study focused on assessing the impacts of free-range cattle on
biodiverse mountain meadows, streams, and wetlands. The 2025/2026 study focuses on
two sub watersheds nestled in California’s Scott Valley: Cabin Meadows and Rock Fence.
These watersheds contain a variety of meadows with differing hydrogeomorphic types,
including fens, that support a plethora of heterogeneous plant communities. The
subalpine meadows in this region provide sanctuary for rare and sensitive species found
in the Klamath-Siskiyou ecoregion, such as Darlingtonia californica.
The Scott River Watershed Council (SRWC), a local conservation organization, has
observed degradation in these habitats, largely due to hydrological disruptions, sediment
transport, and ecosystem deterioration. With support from the SRWC, Courtney has
investigated how free-range cattle contribute to this habitat deterioration, and will
share her research methodology, results, and conclusions. This study provides key
insights into cattle behavior in these sub watersheds. The SRWC intends to use these
findings to identify concentrated impact areas and develop targeted, cost-effective
restoration strategies.