Bring It All Together - Project Planning and Management for Ecological Restoration - page 224

The project began prior to the rainy season with the eucalyptus removal and the clearing of
leaf litter and seeds, which was completed within about six weeks. These activities gave the ap-
pearance of a major logging operation. The wood was cut to fireplace lengths and made available
to the local community. This helped to reduce costs of hauling and disposal fees and also created
additional goodwill with nearby residents. Leaf litter, seeds, weeds, and other trash and debris were
removed and hauled to a local landfill.
After the clearing (demolition) and soil removal process was completed, irrigation work was al-
lowed to begin. PVC pipe was placed twelve inches below the surface. Rotary sprinklers mounted
on high, two-foot risers were used to provide supplemental water during the first two years of plant
establishment. A solar power panel was installed to provide electricity to operate the controllers
and timers for the watering cycle.
When irrigation work was completed in one area, planting immediately began in order to com-
plete all planting prior to the winter rains. Prior arrangements were made with local vendors to en-
sure the availability of plant material to be planted at the sizes required. Applicable specifications
previously developed for restoration projects were used to ensure proper treatment and installation
of the site. We provided on-site inspectors to examine the plant material for general health and
vigor of the plants as well as any possible infections. This construction staging technique of having
concurrent activities is known as fast-tracking. The project installation was completed prior to the
first winter storm. Without the fast-tracking technique, this schedule would not have been met. A
six-foot-high chain link fence was erected around each planting area, with a three-foot-wide access
gate. Placement of signs at various locations, removal of an illegal mountain bike creek crossing
(a preserve-requested action), debris removal, and other maintenance activities completed the
installation effort.
Monitoring
Members of the project team regularly visited the site after installation (fig. 14-8), and observations
on the progress of the site were made and documented in field monitoring reports. The project
was considered to be small, and it was possible to monitor all the plantings within the project lim-
its. In addition, all of the locations where eucalpyts were removed were examined for resprouting.
Data were simply tabulated as individual mortality totals. The number of dead plants was very
low, and these were replaced during the plant establishment time period. Remediation issues in-
volving irrigation system repairs and replanting of dead plants were noted and discussed with the
construction administrator.
Several acts of vandalism were recorded during the first year; many of these reports were made
by members of the FLPCP. These acts usually resulted in damage to sprinklers and the removal of
a small number of plants. The timely reporting of vandalism allowed us to repair damages before
secondary effects could occur.
The contractor performed weeding on bimonthly intervals during the first year. This aggressive
effort was required because of the invasive nature of the eucalypts and palms previously occurring
on the site, as well as other weed species opportunistically exploiting the newly available habitat.