This is template 3 for your weed management plan

DRAFT LONG-TERM WEED MANAGEMENT PLAN MCWMA DEMONSTRATION SITE – FORT BRAGG 1. Management Area Description The Mendocino Coast Cooperative Weed Management area is conducting a demonstration Adopt-a-Highway weed management project on the Caltrans Right-ofWay at the corner of Highways 1 and 20 in Fort Bragg. a) Unique Features This site was chosen for the demonstration project because of the following characteristics: 1. this site is highly visible to automobile travellers, as Highway 20 is the main access route for residents and visitors of the central Mendocino Coast and Highway 1 is the major coastal travel corridor; 2. the steep slopes of the area increase the visibility of the project to motorists, but create the potential for erosion; 3. it is accessible by foot for management and observation from the neighboring Boatyard Shopping Center; 4. it is located conveniently to the largest population center of the area, Fort Bragg; 5. it contains populations of many of the common weeds of the area. b) History The site had received minimal maintenance prior to commencement of the MCWMA Adopt-A-Highway project. The area in front of the Coast Motel billboard located on the western portion of the site has been kept cleared of broom and other weeds by the hotel owner. Some ornamental plants are present in the area; some were probably placed there by the landscaper of the adjacent shopping center, while others probably escaped from the shopping center landscaping. Caltrans has conducted brush-cutting of the broom and pampas grass to maintain visibility. More information on the details of the Caltrans maintenance should be available from Brennan Ladao. c) Management of Adjacent Lands (see attached maps) 1. Boatyard Shopping Center: NE corner of intersection, owned by Group II. A managed landscape of ornamental trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants is maintained on the perimeter of the property by Ramon North. 2. New construction at the Boatyard Shopping Center has just been completed, adjacent to the northern portion of the demonstration site, and new landscaping will be installed there in 2007. The MCWMA has an opportunity to influence the landscaping plans by, for example, suggesting that capeweed, cotoneaster and pampas grass not be included in the new planting. 3. Hare Creek Development: A large development is planned for the adjacent property west of the demonstration site. The owners, Group II, are also the owners of the Boatyard Shopping Center, and have been cooperative in the Adopt-a-Highway project. They have given permission for entrance to the property for removal of broom, and for use of their property for burn piles of the broom debris. 1 01/21/07 DRAFT LONG-TERM WEED MANAGEMENT PLAN MCWMA DEMONSTRATION SITE – FORT BRAGG 4. Trailer Court: Judy Hahn manages the landscaping of the Trailer Cove trailer court to the east of the site. Her mother also owns a residential property to the south of the site. 5. The development of the Hare Creek property will result in the removal of most of the weeds from that property, leading to removal of a potential source of reinfestation. 6. The Hare Creek riparian area, which borders the demonstration site on the south, is also infested with broom and pampas grass. Restoration of this area, owned by Group II, is not directly addressed in the plan, but may influence the success of the plan as the area may serve as a source of reinfestation. DFG (contact Tina Fabula?) will need to be involved in such an effort. 2. Land Management Goals In this section we describe the land management goals for the management area in general and any particular portions of the area that may have different goals. a. Vegetation should be low-maintenance, aesthetically-pleasing, and not interfere with traffic, motorist visibility and view from the shopping center. b. There is a significant amount of pedestrian use of the intersection, but the site structures are not sufficient to handle this safely. The development of the Hare Creek property may increase pedestrian traffic as well. Caltrans is responsible for addressing this issue. Revegetation will be conducted to have no negative impact on pedestrian access by preserving existing trails. c. Locally-native plants that otherwise fit the landscaping requirements are preferred. d. Vegetation should not negatively impact adjacent natural areas. In particular, the landscaping should not serve as a source of propagules that are invasive in natural areas. e. Erosion should be minimized to preserve water quality. f. It should be emphasized that ecosystem restoration is not a goal for this site. The site is a managed landscape that is not a significant habitat resource. g.The area provides a demonstration site for creating a roadside landscape that is not infested with invasives. In the MCWMA, invasive weeds are so prevalent that many people assume these are native and do not have negative environmental consequences. 3. Weed Management Objectives. In this section, we describe the weed management objectives as they are associated with the general and specific land management goals for the management area, as listed in the previous section. a. reduce or eliminate species that don't match the landcaping requirements, as described in the previous section; b. reduce or eliminate sources of invasive plants that may invade adjacent areas. 4. Inventory. In this section, we lists the weed and conservation species that are present in the management area. This list includes all plant species found in the area. Species marked as 2 01/21/07 DRAFT LONG-TERM WEED MANAGEMENT PLAN MCWMA DEMONSTRATION SITE – FORT BRAGG weeds are potentially invasive species or species rated as California Noxious Weeds. Conservation species include existing species in the area that do fit the landscaping requirements. The list is contained in the embedded spreadsheet below. Double-click on the table to open a frame in which you can scroll down to see the entire list. Mendocino Coast Cooperative Weed Management Area Project Demonstraton Site -- Hwy. 1 & 20, Ft. Bragg NE = adjacent to Boatyard Shopping Ctr; SE = adjacent to Hare Creek; W = west of Hwy. 1 Plant Inventory 12/20/06 Latin Binomial Sections Present (x), Int.=introduced to site Weed Conserv. (native spp. to site in bold type) NE SE W Agave sp. x X Agrostis stolonifera x X Albizia julibrissin x X Anagallis arvensis x Anthoxanthum odoratum x x x X 5. To Be Completed: Locations of Target Weeds and Conservation Species: General locations of the species are indicated in the table above. Important species will be mapped as hand-drawn polygons on maps with aerial photo backdrops, provided by Caltrans. The hand-drawn polygons will be digitized into GIS and attached to this plan. 6. To Be Completed: Prioritization of Weed Populations Forecast which, if any, species or populations threaten or have the potential to threaten your management goals and targets. This forecast is based on, in order of preference, site knowledge, literature review, expert knowledge, and manager’s intuition. Much of this information is contained in risk assessments. 7. To Be Completed: Evaluation of Invasiveness and Impacts In this section, we identify NIS populations (patches) or metapopulations for monitoring to determine invasiveness and impacts. One species has been identified for evaluation: African daisy (Dimorphotheca sinuata). This species was evaluated by Cal-IPC for invasiveness but was not listed, primarily for lack of authoritative information. It is an attractive ground-cover, but can be aggressive in landscaping. Actions may be taken to control this species if it spreads too rapidly and interferes with other desired plantings. 8. To Be Completed: Management Practices After monitoring and assessing the most invasive NIS, identify the practices (actions) currently available to manage them. Clearly describe how implementation of the practices will move conditions towards the management goals and abate threats to priority conservation species and conditions (this can be in terms of successional management if you find it applicable). Suggest who (e.g., management agency employees, citizen groups, etc.) will implement the on-the-ground management practices. Be specific about 3 01/21/07 DRAFT LONG-TERM WEED MANAGEMENT PLAN MCWMA DEMONSTRATION SITE – FORT BRAGG the sequence of actions and the time of year to conduct them. Specify erosion prevention measures in detail. Examples: A. Revegetation with Excess Restoration Plants Several local nurseries propagate locally-native plants for restoration projects. Sometimes the plants are unable to be used and then become available for other purposes. Such plants that also meet the landscaping requirements of the demonstration area may be purchased. If planted during the rainy winter season (best in February or March), then watering is not required, reducing the maintenance effort. A California Conservation Crew will be hired for one workday to clear weeds from the designated planting areas. The following weekend, volunteers will assist in planting. Tools required for this workday include picks(2) for rocky soil, digging bars and planting hoes for tubes. A follow-up volunteer day is required in April for weeding. Mulch (wood chips stabilized with wattles, no Monterey cypress, Montery pine OK, but weed-free mulch preferred) should be installed by May. Past experience has shown that few volunteers show up in response to media advertising, so targeted efforts to organizations are necessary. Volunteers for these efforts should be recruited from local civic organizations and schools (children must be 16 or over to participate in Adopt-A-Highway events.) The CCC crews may also participate as volunteers to complete their community service requirements. B. Scotch Broom Removal Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) occurs in several established stands on the site. One of these, on the westside of Highway 1, is suitable for volunteer control because it is wellseparated from traffic and, at least partially, on a flat area. When the soil is wellsaturated (January-March), even large broom shrubs may be pulled with the aid of weed wrenches. The adjacent landowners, Group II, have given permission for burns to be conducted on their property in exchange for removal of the broom on their property near the boundary line. Broom is well-established on both properties, so there is no additional dispersal risk from moving broom debris west to locations were it may be safely burned. State Parks has offered wax paper to be used to cover the piles until they may be burnt. CDF has agreed to supervise burning of these piles. Erosion prevention is not necessary on the flat removal sites. Broom seedling germination is expected in places where mature broom has been removed. This opportunity will be used to test the method of flaming for seedling control. Patches of mowing and hand-pulling will be compared to the flamed patches for costeffectiveness. A control patch will receive no treatment for one year. 9. To Be Completed: Evaluation of Management Practices 4 01/21/07 DRAFT LONG-TERM WEED MANAGEMENT PLAN MCWMA DEMONSTRATION SITE – FORT BRAGG Determine how you will set up comparisons of the different management practices in the field, and how you will compare the results in the office. State how you will incorporate the results into the management plan. Consider transects (an educational opportunity); photomonitoring; holding a monitoring workshop. 10. Adaptive Management In this section, we identify a mechanism to revisit and revise the management goals, practices, monitoring, and assessment based on monitoring and evaluation. The following practices will be implemented: a) continuous recording of treatments; b) annual review at a meeting of the MCWMA Projects Workgroup (May?), with the goal of minor adjustments to the plan; c) major revision of plan as needed (no set period). Appendix I. Timeline of the MCWMA Demonstration Project May, 2006, Caltrans hired a CCC crew to removed pampas grass from the site. In October 2006, MCWMA conducted a volunteer work week-end. During the two day event, iceplant and other weeds were removed and native plants and seeds were planted on the cleared areas. (Note: a hyperlink to images of this event should be added here.) Occasional maintenance of the cleared and revegetated areas has been conducting to remove invasive weeds, primarily wild radish. (Note: add specific dates, if known. Contact Brennan at Caltrans for more information.) Appendix II. People and Contact Information Name Phone Judy Haun (707)964-5873 Brennan Ladao ? (707)445-6391 or Bob Melendez (707)834-0003 (cell) Ramon North (707)964-6703 Greg Patton (925)934-2222 Peter Warner (707)937-9176 Lynn Webb (707)964-5674 (707)964-2852 e-mail brennan_l_ladao@dot.ca.gov bob_melendez@dot.ca.gov groupiire@everdream.com pwarn@parks.ca.gov lynn.webb@fire.ca.gov manager@mendocinocoastmotel.com Organization Trailer Cove Caltrans Caltrans (retired) Group II Group II State Parks CDF Coast Motel Attachments: 5 01/21/07 DRAFT LONG-TERM WEED MANAGEMENT PLAN MCWMA DEMONSTRATION SITE – FORT BRAGG Project Fact Sheet and Checklist Adopt-A-Highway Encroachment Permit Maps of Site (as pdf) Group II agreement 6 01/21/07