Learn how CIR's restoration work is helping to restore our community's natural habitats on the Central Coast this year.
1. Conejo Open Space, Invasive Plant Removal
With approximately 300 acres of ground to cover, our team has been tasked with removing populations of invasive Thistles and Knapweed.
Location: Ventura County | With Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency
One of our most extensive projects this year has occurred in Ventura County at the Conejo Open Space in Thousand Oaks, California. With approximately 300 acres of ground to cover, our team has been tasked with removing populations of invasive Thistles and Knapweed.
Our crew covered 5 different COSCA (Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency) sites earlier this year and continues to work on removing the high-density of thistles along the trails while targeting a critical area known as Hawk Canyon. This area hosts by far the densest population of invasives and thorny obstructions by far, making logistics challenging for our crew.
This project is a massive undertaking. We're still hard at work this summer removing invasives such as Sweet Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), Yellow Star Thistle (Centaurea solstitialis), and populations of Artichoke Thistle, (Cynara cardunculus) hidden amongst the thatch and chaparral.
Our team plans to work on several more sites throughout the open space and continue to restore equilibrium by removing the monoculture of invasive species that are crowding out this spectacular natural preserve.
2. Angeles National Forest, Ongoing Restoration
Location: Angeles National Forest | With PAX Environmental
This project is working to maintain restoration sites along two SoCal Gas Pipelines.
CIR has worked on a consistent basis over the years with PAX Environmental, another one of our partners on the Angeles Pipeline Project. This project is working to maintain restoration sites along two SoCal Gas Pipelines. Due to the rain we received at the beginning of this year, many of our regular work sites with PAX faced erosion issues. A huge amount of snow also wreaked additional havoc to our sites earlier in the year.
It took several months for warm rain to wash away the winter deluge and for our restoration crew to resume work. In late May and June we were able to start hand-weeding. The crew was treated to a healthy and diverse bloom of native vegetation and worked hard to remove mainly nonnative grasses and one mustard species along the forest pipeline.
Our work in past years to reduce the seed bank of invasive plants was evident but there is still much to be done! Although our team is taking a temporary break from weeding due to the hot summer conditions, we'll resume restoration in the fall along the Old Ridge Route and Libre Mountain Gulch areas within the Angeles Forest.
3. Los Padres National Forest, Tamarisk Removal
Location: Los Padres National Forest | With National Fish & Wildlife Foundation
We're removing invasive tamarisk from the Sisquoc with our partners, the Los Padres Outfitters.
After winter storms postponed our camping trips into the Sisquoc River, Channel Islands Restoration is back with boots on the ground! We're removing invasive tamarisk from the Sisquoc with our partners, the Los Padres Outfitters. Tamarisk is another invasive plant species that has been a recurring target for our restoration technicians over the years. A single adult tamarisk can drink up and flash off over 200 gallons of water a day through evapotranspiration.
When multiplied by the millions of tamarisk in the southwestern United States it is easy to see how some of our water challenges might be relieved by removing these invasive plants. If you're interested in joining us in late summer and early fall for our next trips, preliminary registration is now available.
4. San Marcos Foothills, West & East Mesa Updates
Location: San Marcos Foothills Preserve | With Various Community Partners
An aerial view of the San Marcos Foothills looking toward the mountains.
CIR now has the responsibility to maintain the trails on the San Marcos Foothills West Mesa, in addition to restoring habitat there. We have enlisted the help of a dedicated group called Trail Team G, led by volunteer Gerry Ching to maintain and restore the trails on the property and make them more accessible to the community. Here are key accomplishments this year by CIR and our Trail Team G:
We've sowed Stipa pulchra seed on some of the decommissioned trails and repaired minor drainage issues.
Successfully removed Poison Hemlock, Thistles, and other unwanted vegetation from the new trails while helping people stay on the intended walking paths.
Work has continued through the spring and summer to reduce the amount of thatch and we want to ensure that the area is set up for further fire mitigation and removal of invasive species.
We're excited to progress as our work continues.
Look out for emails to become a regular Trail Team G volunteer into summer and late fall.
This year we received funding to treat Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum) in two locations and to reduce Coyote Bush (Baccharis vanessae) in our restoration sites. The first round of reductions has lead to amazing results in the increase of wildflowers at the East Mesa while benefiting native birds and butterflies too!
As spring rolled around our team was busy collecting native seeds to stockpile for plant propagation on the Preserve and other projects as genetics allowed. We've also cooperated with volunteer groups such as the Stanford Alumni Club to assist with seed collection, and look forward to continuing our work on the Preserve with a comprehensive survey of the creeks this summer!
5. Become More Involved with Our Organization
Channel Islands Restoration volunteers on Anacapa Island.
Become a CIR Member to support habitat restoration. Stay tuned for information about our exclusive
member's only picnic in Santa Barbara this fall, and new top-tier donor benefits.Watch our educational webinars online from the comfort of your home to learn more
about local environmental issues from leading experts in ecology, geology, history, and more.Consider joining the CIR Legacy Society to make a lasting contribution to Channel Islands Restoration's mission.
Have another way that you want to become involved with our mission?
Contact contact@cirweb.org or call (805) 448-5726