Cienega Springs Ecological Reserve Wetland and Riparian Restoration

Award Period
to
Award Amount
$991,000
Agency Name
Cal Wildlife Conservation Board
Award Number
WC-2208JC
PI First Name
Adam
PI Last Name
Lambert
MSI People
Area/s of Research
Ecology and Evolution
Limnology
Abstract

The highly productive and diverse habitats at the Sespe Cienaga provide critical resources for wildlife and are a vital link in the landscape-scale corridor connecting the Transverse and Coastal mountain ranges and over 100 linear miles of floodplain within the watershed from inland mountains to the ocean. As part of ongoing invasive plant remediation efforts and long-term site restoration planning, a variety of local assessments have been initiated to quantify floral and faunal diversity at the Cienega, including yearly vegetation surveys, avian point-counts and nests monitoring, wildlife camera trapping, herpetofauna array sampling, and invertebrate surveys. These baseline data will provide an invaluable reference to understanding how these biotic communities change in response to restoration actions, and how to adapt management to improve project performance and success in the short therm, and enhance conservation outcomes well into the future. In this plan, we first outline the monitoring and reporting specific to this proposed 20 acre riparian restoration project for WCB, and then describe the broader, ongoing monitoring program for the Sespe Cienega and Santa Clara River floodplain.