Ecological Restoration. 1. UNIVERSITY shall allow the COUNTY, volunteers, or contractors, in concert with UNIVERSITY researchers and scientists, to conduct invasive species removal identified on the Ecological Management Plan. These volunteers shall not be considered Contractors and are not required to have or maintain the levels of insurance set forth in paragraphs nineteen (19) and twenty (20) of this Agreement.
Ecological Restoration. The aim of ecological restoration is to establish a successful, self-sustaining community on reclaimed sites. It is expected that a mature plant community will require 5–10-15 years or more to develop (Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council 2003; Xxxxxx et al. 2008). The target ecological community will be based on locally derived plant composition and structural data (as determined by pre- disturbance surveys, reference sites or other local data sources). A restoration plan will be developed by the conservation team, and will contain clear goals, quantitative summaries of reference area conditions, and straightforward, measurable criteria for evaluating implementation and success. Ecological restoration will require that species-specific reclamation research is implemented and identifies viable restoration methods, and that these results can be synthesized into practical reclamation protocols for the species. Restoration areas for research and demonstration may be designated within conservation areas but must be included in the restoration plan. The restoration of the conservation area to be developed must be funded in advance of development. A restoration study must carried out at an ecologically relevant scale for the species and the project (to be determined by the conservation team), and demonstrate successful restoration of a self-sustaining Comment [TS26]: 5-10 years is way too short of a timeframe especia lly since recruitment for both species is episodic. We don’t know how it takes for the other species in the community to establish either. Comment [TS27]: And reference sites population of the species, and restore its environment (soils, moisture regime, etc.) and associated community components (pollinators, other flowering plants, etc.) prior to surface disturbance in designated conservation areas on non-federal lands. Successful restoration protocols must be identified prior to more than 5% new surface disturbance in conservation areas. Factors of success will include successful recruitment of the species over at least three generations and one drought period or 15 years whichever is longer, stable or increasing population of recruited plants, genetic representation, lack of inbreeding depression, suitability of substrate characteristics and intactness of community components including pollinators and other flowering plants including other oil shale endemics such as Dragon milkvetch (Astragalus lutosus), oilshale columbine (Aquilegia barn...
Ecological Restoration. DESIRED OUTCOMES CFLRP identified as a component of each approved project’s landscape strategy to “fully maintain, or contribute toward the restoration of, the structure and composition of old growth stands according to the pre-fire suppression old growth conditions characteristic of the forest type, taking into account the contribution of the stand to landscape fire adaptation and watershed health and retaining the large trees contributing to old growth structure.” As part of the landscape assessment (Xxxx et al. 2012), the pre-fire suppression old growth conditions were described for each of the 9 ecological sites (habitat type groupings) occurring in the SW Crown project area. Any restoration efforts in the SW Crown should have as a goal the return of a specific site to these pre-fire suppression conditions. However, other considerations and constraints may require some modifications to this primary goal. In particular, climate change considerations may result in a change in the desired conditions for a site based on predicted future fire regimes or the ability of a site to sustain the conditions that were present under historical climate regimes. Additional constraints imposed by forest plans or listed species requirements may complicate restoration efforts and require some modifications. Describing and documenting these constraints will be helpful to future planning efforts. Most of the native ecosystems have either become in-grown with additional densities of trees or now lack the spatial heterogeneity (for mixed severity fire regimes) that existed under historical fire regimes. Forest structures, as indicated in the landscape assessment have been changed by a number of factors with past logging and fire suppression having the greatest influence. Identifying the remaining areas that still retain the late seral structural components and restoring them to representative conditions of pre-fire suppression old growth conditions while also protecting them from further loss to wildfire could be a priority for CFLRP projects.
Ecological Restoration. The Grantor retains the right to conduct ecological restoration on the Protected Property. Ecological Restoration includes, but is not limited to, planting native species, removing non-native or invasive species, installing erosion control structures, or installing fencing necessary for the re-establishment of native vegetation.
