Solano Resource Conservation District provides custom conservation plans, free of charge, to all District landowners. The plans are designed to enhance wildlife habitat, reduce soil erosion, improve water quality and establish native plant communities on your property, without interfering with residential and agricultural activities. Please contact us for more information.
(Root-wads used to stabilize a creek bank on a private property - Fall 2002)
Rindler Creek Restoration Project
Solano Resource Conservation District is working to restore riparian, wetland, and upland habitats along Rindler Creek, which runs through rangeland in the coastal hills near Vallejo.
Using mitigation funds, the RCD will control invasive weeds and establish native vegetation at a ten acre site along the creek owned by the City of Vallejo.
Over time, portions of the creek and a nearby pond and wetland have experienced erosion, downcutting, and trampling as a result of prolonged cattle grazing and the realignment of an adjacent road. Invasive weed species, including artichoke thistle and fennel, occur throughout the upland pasture areas.
SRCD began work at the site in the fall of 2005. Cattle have been fenced out of the restoration area, and an off-stream water source will be provided for them. A portion of an existing stock pond will remain accessible to cattle in order to maintain open water habitat suitable for amphibian species like California red-legged frogs. Trash and debris will also be removed from the site.
Native plants adapted to saturated conditions, such as sedges, rushes, and willows, have been planted along creek banks and wetlands. On the surrounding hillsides, upland species such as blue wild rye, quail bush, coyote bush, and elderberry were used. Tree species, including oaks and buckeyes, were also planted in the uplands to develop native overstory vegetation.
(Dead artichoke thistle and newly planted native vegetation - Winter 2006)
This project will continue through 2011. Each year, RCD staff will monitor the plants' survival, provide supplemental watering as necessary, control competition from non-native grasses and invasive weeds, and do follow-up planting to replace plants that have died. Photopoint monitoring stations and physical habitat evaluation using the California Department of Fish and Game's Stream Bioassessment Procedure will also be used to evaluate restoration progress in vegetation communities and stream habitat.
Old Alamo Creek Restoration Project
Solano Resource Conservation District is working to restore riparian habitat along Old Alamo Creek, which runs eastward from Vacaville, through agricultural lands and the small community of Elmira. The project is funded by the City of Vacaville.
Along most of its length, Old Alamo Creek is overgrown with invasive weeds, including Himalayan blackberry, Tree of Heaven, and Arundo. These invasive species have displaced native plants and reduced habitat quality for fish and wildlife.
The RCD will remove invasive plants and in-stream debris and then re-vegetate these riparian areas with native plants. This will help stabilize stream banks and reduce erosion, improve water quality and habitat, and enhance the aesthetics of the waterway.
The RCD is also working to bring together people who live along Old Alamo Creek, county and city representatives, and others with an interest in the creek to form a stakeholder group that will develop priorities for the restoration effort.
In the summer of 2006, work will begin on the section of the creek that runs through residential Elmira. Additional sections of the creek will be restored in coming years, with restoration projects and ongoing maintenance planned for the next five years. Please contact us for more information, or if you would like to get involved with the Old Alamo Creek Watershed Stakeholder Group.
Oak Woodland Research & Restoration Project
Solano Resource Conservation District is partnering with the UC Berkely Integrated Hardwood Range Management Program to research methods of improving oak regeneration on grazed rangelands. Investigators are evaluating the cost-effectiveness of several restoration techniques such as surrounding planted acorns with organic mulch, adding water absorbing polymers to the soil and protecting seedlings from dry-season grazing.
Jeremiah Mann, of UC Davis, has been contracted by Solano RCD to lead the project as part of his masters program. Other team investigators include Jodie Salz, Dr. James Thorne, Dr. Douglas McCreary, Morgan Doran and Dr. Richard Harris. Preliminary results are expected in the Fall of 2006.
(SLEWS student assists in planting acorns in the research plots - Winter 2006)
Sacramento River Delta Arundo Control Project
Solano RCD, in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, has received funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to remove isolated populations of Arundo donax and Red Sesbania from Cache Slough and the Sacramento River. Both of these species have been identified by the Solano County Weed Management Area as high priority aquatic invasive weed species. After removal, which will begin in the Spring of 2006, volunteers will replant the sites with native plant species which provide crucial riparian wildlife habitat. Contact Solano RCD to get involved!