This project provides post-construction restoration and subsequent maintenance for habitat that was temporarily impacted by construction activities in eleven (11) restoration areas (RAs) encompassing 425 acres along the Santa Ana River and within the Prado Basin. The Santa Ana River is the largest river in southern California, with a 2,650-square-mile drainage basin. The river rises in the San Bernardino Mountains, crosses San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange Counties, before ultimately draining into the Pacific Ocean. The habitat types involved in this project include riparian riverine, riparian scrub, and upland coastal sage scrub (CSS).
The project work included:
- Developing a monitoring and maintenance plan
- Selective removal and/or herbicide treatment of non-native vegetation and trash removal
- Supplemental planting or seeding as necessary to preclude the reestablishment of
non-native vegetation - Tracking and documenting the growth of native vegetation, and identifying problem areas
and remedial actions - Preparing qualitative inspection reports
- Preparing annual restoration-monitoring reports
- Adaptive management tasks
Site Maintenance and Acorn Collection Activities
This project includes invasive exotic-plant species control; chemical (i.e., herbicide) and mechanical weeding; trash removal; planting and watering; and seed collection. After preperformance surveys with a biological monitor present to verify that no active migratory-bird nests exist, and crew training to differentiate between native and invasive plant species, Eco’s team performed diligent weed control using mechanical and chemical methods to aid in establishing and ensuring the success of future-planted native species and support of natural native recruitment. Trash removal sweeps were conducted. Acorns were collected (permitted) and propagation was provided at a selected nursery in San Diego. Areas with nesting birds were avoided in compliance with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).
Site Monitoring
Our Restoration Ecologists conducted qualitative inspections of each site at three (3) times during Year 1 to monitor/assess weed-abatement performance, identify new sources of non-native invasive species
(or other problematic vegetation) and estimate native plant cover. Each qualitative visit also included evaluating the presence and recruitment of native plant species; identifying and documenting the presence of non-native plant species; documenting any erosion problems; monitoring for the presence
of human-made trash or vandalism; and the current assessment of RA conditions.
