Specifically, this report will address progress made on the development of the native plant nursery, progress with native seed collection, the status of shrike habitat enhancements and the progress of a number of lesser projects.

Native Plant Nursery
Prior to arrival of SERG personnel to SCI, development of the nursery site was begun by the Navy Public Works Center under direction of the Natural Resources Office. A site near the Natural Resources Facility at Wilson Cove was selected for the nursery and several improvements were made to the site, including the construction of a concrete work area, storage building and post and cable shadehouse.

During the summer of 2000, early attempts to propagate plants at the new facility showed little success and demonstrated a need for a more controlled environment for propagation. Of particular difficulty were the sustained high winds that rapidly desiccated germination media and buffeted temporary structures beyond utility. A decision was made that a permanent greenhouse was needed to produce the quantity of native plants desired for habitat restoration projects. Funding was secured and the materials for a 24 by 48 foot Agratech greenhouse were purchased and delivered to the island.

In November 2000, ground was broken for the construction of the greenhouse. (Figure 1). A considerable amount of rock was encountered during the digging of the perimeter even with

portable power tools, providing valuable insight into the conditions that could be expected for future field plantings. On December 5, 2000, the concrete footings were poured, and the exterior structure was completed March 2001 (Figure 2). Subsequently, work began on constructing propagation benches, work surfaces and the installation of irrigation and electrical systems.

June 11, 2001, marked the first germination in the new greenhouse with the sprouting of Lavatera assurgentiflora glabra seedlings (Figure 3). This species is notable for several reasons. It is a Channel Island endemic known only from San Clemente and Santa Catalina Islands; though it is historically reported as widespread on San Clemente, it is now known from only six locations; and while numbering fewer than 100 individuals, it has no legal protective status.

Currently, there are twenty-three species in propagation at the nursery (Table 1). Most species are being propagated from seed. Seeds are typically germinated in open flats of sterile potting mix and seedlings are transplanted to deep pots containing a mix of native and potting soils. Viable seed has been unavailable for several species that are desirable for restoration plantings. For these species, propagation by vegetative cuttings is being pursued. The chaparral shrub Malosma laurina is an example of a species for which viable seed has not been discovered during the last two collection years. Vegetative propagation is showing success for this species (Figure 4).

Seed Collection and Processing
Seed collection began in May 2000 and has been an ongoing task. Target plant populations are monitored for optimum timing and opportunistic collections are made during the course of all field work (Figures 5 & 6). Efforts are made to collect seed from diverse populations. Typically, geographical coordinates for each collection site are recorded using a GPS receiver. A computer database is maintained for reference.

Seed from 43 native species has been collected from approximately 170 sites throughout the island (Appendix. A). Two collections of particular note were made during this period. On May 29, 2000, a collection of Coreopsis gigantea was made near Point Jack. This collection is notable, as the status of this plant population was unknown and thought to be possibly extirpated. This proved not to be the case, as a large population of at least 1000 plants of this species were found in full fruit at this site on the eastern escarpment. On 22 October 2000, collection of Quercus tomentella from one of the Vista Canyon groves yielded approximately eighteen kilograms of acorns. This collection was particularly valuable as no groves in 2001 produced more than a handful of acorns.

Collected seed is cleaned and stored in refrigerators at the nursery. Seeds with pulpy fruits, such as Prunus lyonii, are stripped of the fleshy parts before storage to reduce the risk of mold formation. For smaller seeds, an Oregon seed blower is utilized for separating seed from chaff and other impurities. A second refrigerator was acquired in 2001 to increase cold storage volume to approximately forty cubic feet. Refrigerators are kept at approximately forty degrees Fahrenheit. Viability tests are being conducted on seed lots and this information will be available in the future.

Native Species Plantings
Two types of plantings have been undertaken and are ongoing; establishment of a live collection, and outplantings for the restoration of native habitat. Live collection plantings are being made at the nursery and adjacent to the NRO facility (Figure 7) and consist of all species currently in propagation. Species planted to date include: Artemisa californica, Coreopsis gigantea, Encelia californica, Eriophyllum nevinii, Hazardia cana, Heteromeles arbutifolia, Isomeris arborea, Lavatera assurgentiflora glabra, Prunus lyonii, Quercus tomentella, and Rhus integrifolia. These plantings provide cutting stock for nursery propagation, a live genetic reference area for rare species, and a place to educate new arrivals to the island about the native flora.

Several habitat restoration projects are also underway and include shrike habitat plantings, oak reforestation, and Lavatera assurgentiflora plantings.

Shrike Habitat
Native shrub cover has been severely reduced by historic grazing practices, and many species that likely had much wider distribution on the island have been reduced to isolated remnant populations. The reduction of shrub cover by feral grazers has resulted in a net loss of available shelter for animal species and an overall decline in habitat diversity. Lanius ludovicianus mearnsi (San Clemente Island loggerhead shrike) requires shrub cover for nesting and roosting sites and for evasion from predators. A general improvement of native plant diversity would also be expected to benefit shrikes by providing increased habitat for prey species. Additional background is described in Shrike Habitat Enhancement Measures (Appendix B).

Five sites were selected for the first series of habitat enhancement plantings. Approximately 1000 native shrubs and 700 native grass plugs will be planted at these sites. On November 29, 2001 the first of these site plantings was begun at Lemon Tank (Figure 8). Temporary irrigation lines were installed and planting holes were dug. Prior to planting, holes were filled with water and allowed to drain (Figure 9). Water was supplied with a 200-gallon polyethylene tank carried in the rear of a pickup truck. Shrub plantings were completed on January 24, 2002. Species planted at the site are represented in Table 2. The approximate locations of these plantings are displayed in Figure 10.

Oak Reforestation
There is currently very little natural recruitment of the Island Oak (Quercus tomentella) on San Clemente. One possible reason for the lack of seedling establishment is soil erosion resulting from past over-grazing by feral goats. Soil erosion can result in a lack of safe sites for germination. To slow continuing erosion and to aid in the rebuilding of soil, oak seedlings will be planted around existing groves. The first of these plantings will be at the Vista grove and will begin in January 2002. Acorns collected from this grove have been germinated and the seedlings are growing at the nursery. Transplanting will occur following winter rains as soil moisture levels rise. Additional sites for oak plantings are currently under consideration and it is expected that the establishment of three new groves will be attempted in 2002. Another consideration for the lack of recruitment is the possible disruption of mycorrhizal associations. To investigate this possibility, soil samples were collected from twelve sites across several plant communities. These samples are being analyzed for mycorrhizae spores. This data is currently being studied and a report will be prepared under separate cover.

Lavatera Outplantings
Another species showing very little natural recruitment is Lavatera assurgentifolia glabra. Historic reports suggest that this species was once widespread on the island. This species is currently under propagation at the nursery. A number of possible outplanting sites are being considered. The first of these sites is east of the landfill and is projected for installation in late January 2002.

Sensitive Species Preservation and Propagation
A sensitive species propagation program is being developed to aid the reproduction of plant species, which for various reasons may currently be suffering reduced reproductive success. The term “sensitive species” is not meant to carry any legal definition in this usage and may include any species for which distribution and/or reproduction is limited. Efforts to begin the propagation and outplanting of endangered species have been slowed by delays in endangered species permit process. Permit applications have been submitted by the Natural Resource Office and are pending approval by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. In the interim, this work has focused on locating plant populations, investigating possible strategies to reduce the "at risk" status of these species and the propagation of plants without legal status (Table 3).

Avian Habitat Enhancement and Restoration
A primary focus of the Habitat Restoration Program is the enhancement of habitat characteristics for the endangered San Clemente Island loggerhead shrike to aid in this species’ overall recovery plan. Methods being utilized to achieve this goal include the replanting of suitable native species (described above), physical alteration of existing conditions (ie. the removal of unwanted vegetation) and the installation of artificial structures to serve as a stop gap during native plant reestablishment. The rationale for these methods is described in Shrike Habitat Enhancement Measures (Appendix B).

Perch Installations
During the period March – June 2001, 474 artificial perches were installed at thirteen proposed release sites (Table 4). Each perch consists of an 8.5 foot length of 3/4 inch electrical metal tubing, to serve as a vertical support, and a 16 inch length of 5/16 inch diameter doweling inserted at the upper end of the tubing to serve as the perch (Figure 11). The tubing and doweling for each perch was cut to length and drilled at the Natural Resources Facility, transported to the release site and assembled prior to installation. Installation involved drilling a one-inch diameter vertical hole approximately 18-24 inches into the ground and inserting the perch to leave approximately six feet of tubing above ground. Holes were drilled with a Hilti TE 55 hammerdrill powered by a Honda 1000 generator (Figure 12).

Materials were transported to most sites by hand carrying with the exceptions of Horton and Burns which received boat delivery and Norton 6 which received helicopter transport piggybacked with a shrike release water delivery (courtesy of the Institute for Wildlife Studies).

Installation time per perch varied widely from three minutes to twenty minutes depending on the substrate at the individual perch sites. When possible, holes were placed in rock to provide the most stable installation.

For most release sites, perch locations were selected by the shrike research group, with the exceptions of the Horton, Burns and Norton 4 sites. At these sites, perch locations were selected by SERG staff using the previously completed sites as references. Perch locations were selected primarily along canyon rims and on the adjacent plateaus,

typically within 100 meters of the canyon edge or on the broad slopes surrounding the release cages. The layout of a typical installation is depicted in Figure 13.

During the installation of perches at Middle Ranch 1, a pair of wild shrikes took up residence at the site. In order to mitigate possible confrontations between this pair and the proposed release birds, a decision was made by the Shrike Working Group to reassign this release site to the Norton 4. This change resulted in the installation of fourteen additional perches beyond the 460 originally proposed. Research and data collection on the utility of these perches is being conducted by the Shrike Research Group.

Vegetation Removal
In order to improve bare ground foraging characteristics preferred by shrikes, patches of exotic vegetation and morning glory were removed from release sites. Herbaceous vegetation was cut to ground level with gas-powered string cutters. Thick-stemmed material and morning glory were cut by rigid blade cutters. Approximately 800 square meters of vegetation were removed from eleven 2001 release sites (Table 5). This activity was performed concurrently with perch installation. Plastic tarping was applied to nearly half of these clearings to kill seed and young plants by a process known as solarization (Figure 14). The tarps were removed beginning in mid-July 2001. The tarped areas had a “burnt” appearance (Figure 15). These sites will be monitored through Spring 2002 to determine the effectiveness of this treatment.

Herbarium Management
A herbarium is a collection of plant specimens that have been pressed, dried and stored for reference. Carefully annotated vouchers can be extremely useful for a variety of research purposes as a catalogue of both current and historic plant occurrences. Until recently, the San Clemente Island collection was stored at the old Photo Lab facility. In order to protect this collection and make it useful to researchers, it has been relocated to the new Natural Resources Facility. Two new herbarium cases, (29”x19”x84”) were purchased from Delta Designs and delivered to the Natural Resources Facility on October 18, 2000.

Vouchers were relocated in small groups to allow for freezer treatment of the specimens to reduce the risk of infestation by deleterious organisms. As each group was transferred to the NRO facility, it was stored first for two weeks in a chest freezer, then transferred to a herbarium cabinet. Following the relocation and freezer treatment of specimens, the

information of each voucher label was entered into a computer database. A summary of

this data is included as Appendix C. The complete database is available in the Botany Lab and is searchable and sortable by each data field (eg. collector name, genus, species, collection location, etc.). All vouchers were processed in this manner.

Using this database as a reference, a list of species not represented in the herbarium has been compiled (Appendix D). With the assistance of Student Conservation Association interns, efforts will be made in 2002 to collect these missing species.

In October 2001, the herbarium freezer failed. As the interior of the freezer warmed and defrosted, several vouchers were dampened and molds formed on the plant surfaces. These vouchers were transferred to a working freezer to kill the molds and are now in the process of rehabilitation. To prevent any similar damage in the future, plastic tubs have been purchased to hold all vouchers when they are placed in the freezer.

Other Tasks and Projects

Compilation of SCI Flora
An additional task recently completed by the botany interns was the completion of a draft flora of island species. This flora is a compilation of published descriptions for each species known from the island. A collection of illustrations is also being compiled. As soon as this work is completed, a printed form of this flora will be available to residents and visitors and should prove useful as a field guide for the identification of San Clemente Island plant species.

Fog Collection
Post-planting irrigation is critical to the success of most restoration plantings. The first sites selected for planting are reasonably accessible by vehicle. This accessibility allows for the transport of irrigation water to the sites. Subsequent planting sites will be less accessible and alternative means of irrigation are being sought. One area of investigation is fog collection. In many arid areas of the world, fog collection is proving to be a viable source of fresh water. From direct observation it would seem that fog provides a considerable portion of the island’s precipitation, but it is as yet an unmeasured quantity. On December 11, 2001, in cooperation with Gerald Estberg PhD., a physicist and meteorologist with the University of San Diego, a fog collection array was installed adjacent to one of the island weather stations. This collector will provide basic data on the timing and moisture availability of fog events. This data will be very useful in determining the practicality of using fog collection as a water source for irrigating restoration plantings.