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Restoration

From its foundation as an organization Umpqua Watersheds has recognized the critical need for habitat restoration to bring back endangered, threatened and species of concern from the brink of extinction. Currently a majority of the burden of responsibility for restoration work falls on the shoulders of Federal and States agencies. We explore the complex issues surrounding restoration work policy. As a watchdog committee we protect restoration ecology in the context of vocal opposition to its implementation. We assist in prioritizing areas of the natural world that needs immediate attention. We collaboratively support sound science based projects that raise the level of ecological health in our watersheds.

Umpqua Watersheds, Inc.           

Restoration Principles

Adopted March 1, 2013

 

Direct questions to:

Ken Carloni, Ph.D.

Education Program Chair

ken@umpquawatersheds.org

 

LANDSCAPE LEVEL RESTORATION PRINCIPLES

Planning:

  • Plan at the 4th and 5th field watershed levels
  • Consider the whole landscape regardless of ownership.
  • Use ecological, historical and archaeological data to map current conditions and reconstruct historic landscapes.
  • Base decisions on the Historic Range of Variability of local landscape reference conditions.
  • Use adaptive management principles to design and monitor management activities.

Practices:

  • Manage toward average historic landscape patterns and proportions.
  • Manage toward average historic abundance and distribution of native plant, animal and fungal species while suppressing invasive species.
  • Manage to increase carbon storage, nutrient capture, and biotic diversity.
  • Use prescribed fire in proportion to its historic size, frequency and intensity.
  • Maintain or reestablish gene flow connectivity across the landscape.

Priorities:

  • Prioritize restoration of previously logged stands over primary forests.
  • Prioritize restoration projects based on current landscape needs, not on stand history alone.
  • When warranted, convert uncharacteristically common stands (e.g. even-aged plantations) into rare communities (e.g. oak/pine savanna).
  • Use fire as the preferred active management tool in primary forests.

 

SITE BASED RESTORATION PRINCIPLES

Planning:

  • Action spectrum:
    1. No action.  This keeps the site on its current trajectory.
    2. Restoration.  This moves the site toward a historic configuration.
    3. Conversion.  This converts a site to a significantly different plant community.
  • Incorporate local Traditional Ecological Knowledge in stewardship planning and implementation.
  • Delineate sites into managed stands and primary forest based on disturbance history.
  • Survey pre-management site conditions and conduct post-management monitoring to assess effectiveness of treatments.

Practices:

  • In managed stands, recreate biotic and structural diversity by encouraging:
    1. multi-layered stands.
    2. multi-aged stands.
    3. patchy canopy cover.
    4. species diversity in all layers.
    5. the development of large trees.
  • In primary forest, restore historic conditions only if they:
    1.   are out of their Historic Range of Variability.
    2.   are unable to be created on previously managed stands.
    3.   will maintain or improve critical habitat for the rarest species first.
    4.   are likely to increase the fire resiliency of rare stands and habitats.
    5.   are likely to persist without frequent ground reentry.
  • In all sites, monitor for evidence of stress caused by climate change.  Specific treatments to pre-empt climate change should only be undertaken if:
    1. climate-related stresses are directly measured (not modeled).
    2. a pattern of stress is observed at the landscape level.
    3. treatments are first applied on a small, experimental basis before scaling up.

Priorities:

  • Conserve and/or reintroduce keystone species on all sites.
  • Prioritize conservation of rare species by:
    1. status (e.g. Threatened and Endangered, Survey and Manage species).
    2. importance to keystone functions.
  • Conserve legacy structures and plan for adequate future replacement of:
    1. large trees, snags and down logs.
    2. Hardwoods, shrubs patches and other diverse species.
  • Protect unique site features (e.g. seeps, outcrops, cultural areas) on all sites.
  • Survey and monitoring data must be a product of every activity.

Join Us At Our Next Restoration Committee Meeting

Our Restoration Committee meetings occur on the first Tuesday of the month, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. via Zoom and held jointly with the Conservation Committee

 

Read Our Restoration Blog