Maintenance and Stewardship - Project Planning and Management for Ecological Restoration - page 177

quickly invaded by weed species requiring a higher level of labor than previously anticipated. We
have also seen situations in which contractors have installed plants just prior to the date of a site
review, and thus we ended up relying on poorly established plant materials to meet the success
criteria.
Sometimes, plantings receiving supplemental water are irrigated for only one growing season.
In drier areas, and in areas of seasonal drought, plantings are commonly irrigated for an additional
one to two years. During this time, the amount of water that plantings receive and the frequency
of watering are generally gradually reduced. The decision as to when to stop watering altogether
should rest in the hands of the site manager, although it may be fixed in project planning docu-
ments or permits. Generally, requirements for plant survival are adjusted downward from the 100
percent level required at the end of the first growing season.
In many cases, regulatory agencies require a period of one to two years when there has been
no irrigation. Such a period of continued plant survival and growth is often required in permits,
especially if the restoration project is providing compensatory mitigation for habitat loss. Although
there is no application of supplemental water during this period, other maintenance activities are
likely to continue (e.g., weeding around plantings and weed management). Typically, plantings
are monitored during this period to ascertain how they are doing without supplemental water.
Some plant mortality should be expected, and any concern is relevant only in terms of whether
the plantings are on a trajectory to achieving the mandated success criteria. At the end of the pre-
determined plant establishment period, the plantings are assessed to determine whether they meet
the criteria for plant survival and sometimes growth and cover.
Stewardship: Restoring Ecological Functions
The goal of stewardship is to address the whole site, including those ecological processes needed
to sustain the desired vegetation community. The intent is to nurture those habitat elements re-
quiring longer time frames to develop and establish a positive trajectory in the overall maturation
of the site. This would include deliberate actions focused on creating or providing a specific ele-
ment of a species' required habitat. Stewardship involves long-term management, which ensures
the long-term viability of a project site from controllable damage, such as vandalism and other
human-based disturbances. Urban stream projects are excellent opportunities for this type of stew-
ardship (box 11-1).
Stewardship may also include continued weeding and plant care. The concern is less for the
survival or functioning of introduced independent elements, such as plants, berms, and streams,
and more for the continuation of restored functions and values.
As briefly discussed in chapter 1, two strategies exist for restoration projects: construction and
management. In this section, we discuss the reestablishment of ecological processes through vari-
ous management activities or by simulating what a natural process might do on a site.
Stewardship is involved with making conscious modifications to the vegetation, water regime,
or substrate to promote the occurrence or increase of specific or targeted species. This can be ac-
complished in multiple ways. Typically, it involves the return of a process that has been suppressed