“ It has been my pleasure to work with Natures Image on numerous successful native habitat restoration projects during the past 10 years. They consistently demonstrate their expertise and care.”
Pam Devries, Biologist, Bonterra Consulting
Overview
Nuevo energy owns and maintains hundreds of acres in the suburban Los Angeles town of Brea, California. In 2003, demand for new housing in this community was high and residential developer Shea Homes was anxious to acquire a parcel of Nuevo land to meet demand.
Before development (i.e. CSS removal) could begin, however, state regulations required that 120 acres of the property be set aside and restoration construction begun. Additionally, “documented utilization” of revegetated areas by the Costal California Gnatcatcher had to occur. The sale of the property from Nuevo Energy to Shea Homes was contingent on meeting these requirements.
The Challenge
Project owners knew timing was critical to the success of their residential development plans. A successful restoration required that all non-native plant species be removed and that irrigation be installed. A grow-and-kill period would need to follow and then planting, seeding and maintenance. The typical restoration timeline would have to be substantially accelerated for the development to remain viable.
Complicating matters, the 120 acres to be restored were distributed over several hundred acres including difficult-to-access, steep-slope terrain. Water sources were a distance with low water volume and pressure. These complications had the potential to make the restoration cost-prohibitive. Stakeholders faced a difficult challenge of accelerating the timeline while containing costs.
The Solution
Working together, Natures Image, biologists and clients developed a solution to achieve these aggressive goals. First, Natures Image proposed using their uniquely designed, steep-terrain machinery. This reduced costs by automating much of the hand-labor and decreasing the time needed for non-native species removal, irrigation installation, and native planting on the steep slopes.
Natures Image designed and installed an irrigation system leveraging several booster pumps to effectively deliver water across the sprawling project. This system, combined with intelligent irrigation techniques, accommodated an early summer grow-and-kill and a late summer planting to accelerate plant growth and eliminate months of waiting for winter rains.
The team chose to increase the density of plantings in strategic areas relying on the thicker planting to choke out weeds naturally. This technique reduced weeding costs and accelerated the timeline required for the landscape to reach maturity. A strategic decision was made to delay seeding for one year. This successfully allowed for faster, more cost-effective maintenance techniques to be used.
The Results
Just one year after planting, the Coastal California Gnatcatcher was documented in the revegetated areas of Tonner Hills. Nuevo Energy successfully completed the sale of property to Shea Homes and the residential construction began in a timely manner. In 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service commended Natures Image for their work on this project. Today, the plants are self-sustaining and will thrive on for generations to come.
