sis SERCAL

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The Gluqrterly Newslefter
of the Coliforniq
SERCAL
Society for Ecologicol Restorotion
Winter Solstice 2OO5 Volvme 16, Issue 4
: Poster
i.""Affi"ri,,n
we had an impressive array of posters competing for awards at our
conference in Santa Barbara this past october, and so for this issue,
Region 9 Director Paul Kielhold has collected articles based on
some of the winning posters.
by Sean McNeil, Noelle Johnson, Greg Fisher, and Elizabeth Lotz. Photos courtesy the authors.
Giant reed(Arundo donax),an invasivegr:rssnativeto Asia,is widespreadin the RussianRiver
watershed.Giant reedhasa profound impact on nativeriparian plant communitiesprimarily through
alterationsof riparian ecosystemfunctions.This would include increasedfires in riparian areas,
decreased
nativeplant species,and suppressed
seedlingrecruitment.Giant reedmay affectthe species
that rely upon thesecommunities,including threefederallylistedsalmonids-The RussianRiver Riparian
EnhancementProjectTeam,consistingof Circuit Rider Productions,Inc. (CRP),Mendocino County
ResourceConservationDistrict, and SotoyomeResourceConservationDistrict, is working in
collaborationwith regulatoryagencies,
landowners,and community n.rembers
to identif. invadedsites,
removegiant reed,and restorenativehabitatin the RussianRiverwatershed.
continuedon poge 3
A RECIPEfor Success:
Addressingpublic concerns
regarding habitat restoration of
the White Point Nature Preserve
by Eric Hong, Amanda Peterson(z Andrea Vona
g16SilverSpur
PalosVerdes
Peninsula
LandConservancy,
Road#207,RollingHillsEstates,
CA 90274.
Introduction
ThePalosVerdes
Peninsula
LandConservancy
manages
several
preserves
dispersed
among
neighborhoods,
roads,parks,andtheshoreline
throughoutthePalosVerdes
Peninsula.
Successful
restoration
andmaintenance
ofthesepreserves
is
dependentupon our technicalcapabilitiesand,just as important,
strongpublic support.To matethesetwo concerns,the
Conservancytook an innovativestepby developinga science
program that would encompassresearchon the preservesand be
conductedby staff,localschoolsand universities,and researchers.
Using a grant from Alcoa Foundation,the program called
Research
Educationand Community Involvementprogram for
the Environment,RECIPE,waslaunchedin June2006.Our first
project beganwith a tree survey at the White Point Nature
Preservein SanPedro:
*"i,
fu"-"
The surveysite is a 1O2-acre
parcelthat was ranchedand
farmed prior to World War II, then turned into an air defense
bunker during WorldWar II by the U.S.Air Force,who
subsequentlyinstalledNike missileson the property during the
Cold War. In 1978,the United StatesSecretaryof Interior granted
the White Point propertyto the City of LosAngelesfor a pr-rblic
park and recreationalpurposes.The City formally named it the
White Point Nature Preserveon May 6, 2000and officially
declaredthe land to be usedfor habitatrestoration.The relatively
r"rndisturbed
topographymeantthat ninety percentof the area
wassuitablefor nativehabitatThe PalosVerdesPeninsulaLand Conservancyand the City of
LosAngelesagreedin 2003to a twenty-fiveyearcontractto
managethe restorationof riparian woodlands,coastalsagescrub,
and grasslands
at the site.To begin the restorationprocess,the
Conservancyplantedover 300 nativetrees,a small number
compared to the total vegetationbrought to the preserve.The
removalof the non-nativetreescreatedsometensionbetlveenthe
residentsof SanPedroand the Conservancy.
Along with restoring
the land, it hasbecomequite important for the Conservanryto
createand maintain a positiverelationship,aswell as to gain
support from the public for their restorationefforts.
Awareofthe local concerns,the Conservanryaggressively
plantedtreesat strategiclocationsthroughout the preservein
order to achieveaesthetically
appealingqualitiesthat would gain
public acceptance
within the legitimaterestorationproject.Each
of the three habitats was filled with the appropriate mix of five
nativespecies:arroyowillow (Salixlasiolepls),
coastallive oak
( Quercusagrifolia),elderberry(Sambucus mexicana), lemonade
berry (Rhus integrifolia),and toyon (Heteromelesarbutifolia).
Although lemonadeberry is a shrub,the Conservanrytreatedit
asa tree becauseof the largestaturethat the mature plant can
achieve.
We neededto bridge two questions:the more public "\\4ren
will thesetreeslook like trees?"and "Does the Conservanryhave
any adaptivemanagementissues?"
With this in mind, we selected
the White Point Nature Preserveas one of our first RECIpE
projectsusing two summer interns,Eric Hong and Amanda
Peterson.They werechargedwith assessing
all of the treesplanted
to datein the Preserveand then assessing
the datato develop
answersto thesequestions.
Methods
To accuratelyassess
and conduct the 2006summer White
Point tree survey,we developedsetcategoriesof datato record.
The specificlocation of eachtree was recordedby GPSfor future
referenceand eventualincorporation into a GIS map. Health and
condition criteriaweretakenthat included height,width,
continued nextpoge
March 7-1O,2OO7
25th Annual
Salmonid
Restoration
Conference
at the WellsFargoArtsCenter
in SantaRosa
www.calsalmon.org
or email:[email protected]
The Salmonid Restoration
Federation Conference includes full-day
workshops on dam removal and FERC relicensing,fish passage
barrier removal
tools, estuaryrestoration, and an urban
creek restoration workshop and tour.
Field tours include visits to sustainable
grazingsitesin southernSonomaand
westernMarin counties,Sonoma
vineyardswith salmon friendly
agricultural practices,restoration and
ecologically-sustainable
waterprojectsin
Dutchbill Creek watershed,steelhead
habitat restoration projectson Upper
SonomaCreek,bioengineeringand instream restoration projects,and roads and
up-slope restoration sitesin western
Sonoma.
Concurrentsessions
focus on
environmental,biological,and policy
issuesthat affectSalmonidhabitat
restoration and recoveryof native fish
populations.
The plenary sessionwill feature
prominent keynotespeakersincluding UC
Davis FisheriesProfessorPeterMoyle who
will addressthe SanJoaquinrecovery
efforts,RestorationpioneerLiza Prunuske
who will provide a 2}-year retrospective
on restorationeffortsin SonomaCounty,
and Nat Scholtzfrom NOAA Fisheries
who will presenton Coho Salmon
recoveryissues.
CongressmanMike Thompson and
Kat Anderson,author of Tendingthe Wikl,
are invited speakers.
Other highlightsof
the conferenceincludethe Wild and Scenic
EnvironmentalFilm Festival,SRF'sannual
meeting,a postersessionand reception,
and a cabaret,banquet,and dance.
For more information, pleasesee
www.calsalmon,org or contact Salmonid
RestorationFederationat 7A7.923.7501.
A RECIPE for Success conr,n,ed
herbivory ill effectssuch as yellowing,
plus flowering and fruiting status.
Results
We found 149 treesalthough over
300 wereplanted.We suspectthat some
treesdied and somewe could not locate.
A total of hvo dead treeswere found
and, of the 149treessurveyed,most
treeswere healthy.
The plantsare,for the most part,
relativelyyoung with an averageheight
of 1.76m. Several
of the specimens
planted in 2000 havereachedheights of
three to four meters.Out of the five
plantssurveyed,the lemonadeberry
held the lowestpercentageof yellowing.
Data on the oaks,on the other hand,
suggestthat it had the highest
percentageof yellowing. There was no
relationshipbetweenamount of
yellowing and growth, as measuredby
height.The greatestamount occurredin
the riparianwoodland,indicating
possiblestressfrom insufficient water.
Knowing that this aestheticfeature is
not deleteriousto the treesis an
important fact to transmit to the local
community.
We found herbivory by an exotic
milk snail (Otala lactea)a problem,
particularlyin the riparian woodland.In
addition to being unsightly,some trees
harboredsnailinfestationsthat were
sufficientlylargeto impact the amount
of foliage.Most susceptibleis oak,
althoughall speciessustainedsomelevel
of infestation.Therewas no relationship
betweendegreeofinfestation and tree
height.Usuallythe snailswerefound
attachedto the main trunk, wherethere
is sufficientperchingspace,but some
werefound nearthe upper branches.
Conclusion
We are encouragedby the tree
restorationefforts and believethat it will
lead to an aestheticallypleasing,native
landscape.Although we were able to
locateonly half of the treesinstalled,we
believethe restoration is successfulat
this highly degradedsite due to the
generallyvigorous growth of the
surviving trees.Through the work of
our interns,we gainedvaluable
information for both our neighboring
community and our restoration staff.
Our interns benefited from the field and
offi ce working experience.
We are now poised to addressthe
questions posedby our public and staff.
The first is to developa report for the
neighboringcommunity to inform them
of the good news that treesplaced in the
ground in December2004are now
averagingtwo meters in height. For time
to maturity, we can direct attention to
the treesplantedin 2000,as they are
highly visiblehaving beenplacednear
the roadsideand entranceto the
Preserve.The secondprovides feedback
to our staff, identified as two
outstanding problems, herbivory from
an exotic snail and lack of water.both
occurring primarily in the riparian
woodland. The exotic snail infestation is
a concern that, left untreated, can
imperil the aestheticappearancesand
health of the young trees.Also,
irrigation wateringschedulesmust be
maintainedin the woodland to insure
successofthe plants.
Our RECIPEproductswill be varied,
utilizing the appropriatemedium for
eachstudy.In this community-focused
example,we will include resultsin both
the Conservanry'squarterly newsletter
and also the White Point neighborhood
publication.We plan to developGIS
capabilitiesthat can be placedon the
Conservancy's
webpageso that
n-ronitoringmaps can be displayed.It
will be important to note that the next
phaseof the project includesthe
introductionof 131treesofvarious
speciesincluding the oak, toyon and
elderberry,as part of Los AngelesMayor
Villaraigosa'sMillion Tiee Initiative.
And, the staff may work toward daylighting a storm drain abovethe riparian
woodland,to provide a constantwater
source,at some point in the future. *