Construction and Installation - Project Planning and Management for Ecological Restoration - page 160

Other practitioners have tried to force the
growth of weedy species by irrigating the
site followed by discing in the weedy plants,
sometimes more than once. Regardless of
your strategy for controlling exotic pest plant
species, the best time to start is when imple-
mentation begins.
Sometimes, you will know in advance that
the presence of certain native or nonnative
wildlife species may impede the progress of
your project. You might find it necessary to
construct exclusionary fencing to limit access
by browsing animals. You may need to tempo-
rarily reduce the population of gophers on-site
or trap and remove beaver, even though the
restored habitat may be intended to support
beaver in the future. Hunting dogs have been
used to chase away geese for the first couple
of years in the Upper Truckee River Marsh
Restoration (Lake Tahoe Basin, California
Tahoe Conservancy 2012b). Brown-headed
cowbirds are trapped (fig. 1-4) and removed
from locations in southern California where
the success of the riparian habitat restoration
project depended on the nesting success of
the endangered least Bell's vireo. Use of these
methods can generate resistance by citizens;
be aware of this and build consensus.

FIGURE 10-5. A flowchart of various site preparation
actions prior to installation at a restoration site.
Account for these tasks in your schedule to ensure
supplies are available when needed.

Installation of Site Modifications and Infrastructure

Typically, restoration projects require at least some form of site modification and construction of
infrastructure in support of the project. It generally follows that the more urban the project loca-
tion, the more likely the need to modify the site and existing infrastructure.
Where there is existing infrastructure on, above, or below your project site, you may need to
take measures to accommodate the feature(s). You may need to remove abandoned structures. If
your project is on abandoned agricultural land (old fields) with high groundwater, you may need
to remove or break up old tile drains installed years ago. This can be quite expensive and deserves
a line item in the budget.
After you have relocated existing infrastructure, you can proceed with any required grading of the
project site. This may be a two-step process if the final grading and resoiling requires a finished grade