[RWG] [APWG] Ecosystem Restoration, weed project Performance Standards

[Wayne Tyson]

What's SPECIFICALLY controversial about performance standards?

WT

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Craig Dremann - Redwood City Seed Company" <Craig at astreet.com>
To: <apwg at lists.plantconservation.org>; <rwg at lists.plantconservation.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 4:29 PM
Subject: [APWG] Ecosystem Restoration, weed project Performance Standards


> Dear Wayne and All,
>
> Regarding restoration performance and weed management standards---all I
> can personally contribute to these discussions are details about projects
> that I have recently measured, with linear toe-point transects (Evans &
> Love, 1957), so all the readers can have accurate scientific measurements
> of what has been accomplished so far.
>
> I hope that all the readers can appreciate accurate measurements, whenever
> discussing any topics that are as controversial as non-riparian
> Performance Standards for weeding projects or restoration projects in
> California--where tens of millions of dollars could be at stake if a
> project succeeds or fails?
>
> I just came back from driving through coastal California, on US 101 from
> San Jose to Los Angeles and back, and was looking all along the 400 miles
> route for any patches of our State native grass, the Nassella pulchra.  I
> did spot a small patch in the median in Santa Barbara County, but it was
> only 10 feet wide by about 100 feet long.
>
> So that means, if you include the median plus a 10-foot width on both
> sides of US 101, out of 63 million square feet along that route, I only
> saw 1,000 square feet, which means that less than 0.002% of that plant is
> left in that portion of the seven counties I drove through.
>
> When you get down to less than 50% native cover in a huge area, you should
> start to worry?  But when you look and see you achieved the awesome level
> of  99.998% weed cover in your understory,  I am sure everyone will agree
> that is very, very, very bad?    That could be called 99.998% bad?
>
> That is why it is so important to start discuss what we can work out for
> some successful weeding and restoration performance standards now, while
> we still have some examples of the original native ecosystems to use as
> models?
>
> Our vegetation understories in the arid West, and perhaps nationwide, may
> be too far gone, to be able to recover from the weeds all by themselves,
> without our help?
>
> Happy Valentines Day--love your local ecosystem, replant or protect some
> local native wildflowers.
>
> Sincerely,  Craig Dremann (650) 325-7333
>
>
>
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