Site Analysis - Project Planning and Management for Ecological Restoration - page 61

water movement is a major factor in anticipating erosive events. Some site flooding and planning
for those events will greatly enhance the performance of your site. If your site is large enough, you
can provide small canals and stream channels that can provide initial water control. The type of
flooding will also be a factor in determining the need for protection of banks or levees. In urban
areas, water may enter the site from a culvert or a small pipe. Typically, this form of transport will
increase the flow rate and the energy with which the soil will move. Providing a rock apron or
some other device will dissipate the energy prior to contacting the soil and causing erosion.
Irrigation System. Sites without an apparent water source and with an unpredictable rainfall
pattern may require some form of irrigation system to ensure that plants survive. The type of system
you use is up to your specific circumstances. If you believe you will need to bring water on-site, you
should evaluate the current sources for water, such as an adjacent river, pond, or water pipeline.
The source and how you will use the water will be a major factor in your budgeting and design.
Buffer Requirements. It is always a tempting prospect to use all the space that is available to
you. Depending on adjacent land uses, however, this may not be wise to do. In urban locations, the
adjacent land use is typically a road, a residence, or some other actively used property, such as a park.
The immediate area adjacent to your property boundary may be best used by creating some type of
screen or natural barrier that will reduce the impacts to the interior of the project site. The require-
ments of your target species will guide you in determining the most effective screening choice.
Access and Access Control. At times, you do not have a choice on how people access your
property. Past land use, agreements, and easements may have already determined that issue. What
is at least partially under control is how they traverse your project and the adjacent areas. The
more roads and trails across the larger area, the more diminished will be the habitat values. Access
control is a critical issue, especially with young sites. A wide range of fences and other barriers can
be used very effectively. Will this be an issue for your project? Is your project “in the way” for local
residents trying to get somewhere else? Sometimes it is more productive to have a designated path
or road that controls where the visitors will be rather than trying to prevent any access.
Vandalism Control Features. Unfortunately, vandalism is a significant issue with urban resto-
ration projects. The reasons for vandalism are many (chapter 10) and may be beyond your capability
to eliminate entirely. The best you can do is design a project that addresses the types of vandalism you
anticipate as reflected in the adjacent land uses and human pattern of the vicinity. Most often, irriga-
tion systems are attacked. We have had our sites used for practicing baseball batting, making off-road
vehicle donut tracks, and trying out a new hatchet, to name a few. How will you address this issue?
There are measures to control access by vehicles, but keeping people totally out of a site is generally
not feasible. Coming up with an approach to counter vandalism requires creativity (chapter 10).
Define the Candidate Area for Work. Make maps of your site during your visit. Do not rely on
engineering maps alone; instead, look at the site from different points of view (fig. 4-4). Mapping
will help you come to terms with just how much of the site will be included in a specific project.
Several factors will come into the decision-making process for how big the project should be.
What shape will it take? Perhaps a portion of the site will require excessive resources, leaving you
with limited funds and resources to restore the rest of the site. Your initial thoughts will need to be
recorded and reexamined from time to time.