[APWG] Protocol for weed conversions or native restoration

[Craig Dremann - Redwood City Seed Company]

Dear All,

Our local utility PGE is planning to put a new gas pipeline through the
middle of a serpentine grassland that is full of rare and Endangered
species.  Our County's group of public land managers, called the WMA or
Weed Management Area group, are advising PGE how the project should be
done, to limit the introduction of new weeds, and to try and restore the
pipeline route back to 99% native plant cover through the park.

Here are my suggestions towards that effort:

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This gas pipeline project at Edgewood Park would be very similar to my
1994 Great Basin gas pipeline that you
can see at http://www.ecoseeds.com/greatbasin.html.

Here is some of the items we should ask PGE to do:

1.) TEST PLOTS. At least two years before construction starts, they hire a
professional in ecological restoration, to set up on site test plots using
the same species of native seeds that they will be using for the whole
project.

2.) MIMIC CONSTRUCTION. The test plots must mimic that actual
construction, in that a short stretch of the route is trenched to the same
width and depth as the pipe will be set at Edgewood, maybe 30-50 feet
long, and if a parallel side road is going to be graded, that is done just
like it will be for the actual construction.

3.) STOCKPILE SOIL, LIKE PROJECT. The dirt dug out of the trench or graded
from the side road, is stockpiled into to piles, for the same length that
it will be for the construction.  The first pile is the top 4-5 inches,
and then the second pile is everything else.

4.) PUT SOIL BACK, TO CREATE TEST PLOTS. After you have stockpiled the
soil for a estimated duration of the project, you put it back in the order
that you removed the soil, and use that site for your test plots.

5.) PROFESSIONAL SEED COLLECTOR. Hopefully during the same year that you
were digging the trench and stockpiling the topsoil, etc. PGE can hire a
professional native seed collector, and got permission from the County to
collect local native seeds from Edgewood to use on your test plots.  In
granting the permit, the County should charge a large sum for the seeds,
earmarked for other restoration projects at Edgewood.

6.) ONLY USE LOCAL GENETIC MATERIAL.  My studies of native grass ecotypes
that you can read and see pictures of our WMA ecotypes of Bromus at
http://www.ecoseeds.com/juicy.gossip.three.html , and other research about
native plants, show that the genetic material is unique for serpentine
populations, so we need to stick with that material for replanting of any
easement projects through our county’s serpentine.  Fortunately, companies
like Hedgerow have already been growing some of our Bay Area serpentine
ecotypes, so there may be some seeds on the shelf somewhere.

7.) SEEDS HAVE TO BE WEED & OTHER CROP FREE!!  Any seeds that are sown,
either in test plots or for the whole project, must be weed free, noxious
weed free and OTHER CROP free.  Sometimes the Other Crop issue is
overlooked--which could mean Harding grass seed, Ryegrass seed, Meadow
fescue, etc.--basically anything that is grown as a pasture grass, could
interfere with your native planting, even at a very low number of seeds
per pound.  That is why you ask for zero-zero-zero tolerances for the
weeds and other crops.

7) BULK UP SEEDS. PGE takes half of the seeds that the professional
collects, and sent it to a commercial seed grower, to bulk up the seed for
the whole project.  Native seeds usually bulk up on the order of one pound
into 100 pounds within one year.

7.) PLANT TEST PLOTS. Then you take the other half to set up test plots,
to see how you can get 99% native cover within 60 days or less.

8.) TWO YEAR’S WORTH OF PLOTS. That is why you need a two-year lead time,
to take the 1% of the first year’s test plots that were successful in
getting you 99% cover, and copy that result into a second year of test
plots, to confirm that these methods will work for the whole project.
Expect 99% failures in the first year, but take that 1% success and
multiply it the second year.

9.) TINY TEST PLOTS. Your test plots do not have to be very large.  The
smallest I use for Ex-situ is 4 inch by 4 inch square plastic pots using
the top 2 inches of soil.  For In-situ plots, the biggest I use the first
year is the USDA ARS Microplot that is 3 by 6 feet for each treatment.

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I hope this information is useful.

My exsitu test plots from the top two inches of soil from the Southern
California Endangered species home makeover project, are already showing
clues on what to do, and what NOT to do, only two weeks after setting up
the plots.   I am going to modify the plots that are working towards the
best trajectory, and add more materials, and it should act like stepping
on the gas to make the car go faster.

I hope this information is useful for those reading these posts, who want
to get 99% native cover within 60 days or less, like to finish a
construction project, or to convert some weed areas like along roadsides
or in sensitive wildlands areas, or in Endangered species habitat like at
our park, back to native cover.

Sincerely,  Craig Dremann (650) 325-7333