Soil Ecology and Research Group
last update December 16, 2004
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Soil Ecology and Research Group last update December 16, 2004 |
NATIVE SEED COLLECTION PROGRAM
It is standard practice to use in restoration projects plants that have been
grown from seed sources from or as near as possible to the project sites that
are being rehabilitated. In wildfire damaged areas and in wildlands that are
undergoing non-native weed abatement it is important to incorporate into the
rehabilitation of those lands the planting of endemic plants to hold and protect
the soil and to help prevent the re-infestation by weeds. Four of the Ecological
Reserves in San Diego County have been involved in three significant wildfires
that occurred in October 2003. In addition, the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean
Water, Clean Air, and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2000 (also known as the
Villaraigosa-Keeley Act or Proposition 12) allocated money for the abatement
of wildland weeds in San Diego County's DFG Ecological Reserves. Several of
the reserves have had significant weed abatement performed on them since 2001.
Much more wildland weed abatement will be occurring during the next three years
utilizing the Bond Act 2000 money. There are now several areas that are in need
of native plants for restoration because of the post-fire conditions. There
will be more areas needing native plants as post-fire rehabilitation activities
begin and as the weed abatement continues. The proper scenario is to have local
seeds collected from the Ecological Reserves or adjacent lands for storage and
future use in restoration on the reserves.
The objective of this contract is to collect, process and store for the Department of Fish and Game a reserve of native plant seed to be used in the implementation of soil erosion control schemes, weed abatement and restoration projects for the fifteen ecological reserves in San Diego County. Additionally, information regarding the collection and storage of seeds specific to native species in the San Diego area will be compiled for the future use by DFG. Such information may be disseminated to other agencies and organizations involved restoration activities in the San Diego area. Such comprehensive and compiled local information is not available presently. Lessons learned here in this county will be made available to DFG throughout the state.
Work to be Performed:
(1) Pre-Planning
During the 1st month after the contract is signed, the Contractor will attend
a “Kick-Off” meeting with the Contract Manager and conduct initial
site visits. Issues, processes and points-of-contact will be established. Contractor
will meet or conference by telephone with Contract Manager at least once a month
for the duration on the contract. These collection activities will be done in
collaboration with the Department's Land Management and Monitoring Program (LMMP).
Appropriate scheduling will be done with consultation with LMMP.
(2) Consultations and Literature search
The Contractor will be provided a working semi-annotated list of agencies, organizations
or individuals that may be knowledgeable and or helpful about the properties
in regards to native plant populations in and near the Reserves. The Contractor
will conduct a literature search for all pertinent information necessary to
help carry out the seed collection efforts and to compile seed collection and
storage information. The Contractor will consult with the Department's LMMP
in establishing data sharing and coordination of activities on the Ecological
Reserves.
(3) Data review and site specific analysis for abatement projects
Contractor will be provided a review of all data available from the Department
and other resources identified during the initial consultation process for the
seed collection project, and will conduct site visits to identify any potential
problems and issues.
(4) Plan Preparation
The specific tasks chosen will be the collection of seeds from specific targeted
populations of native plant species. The Contractor, in collaboration with LMMP,
will prepare a collection and storage plan for each species and each Ecological
Reserve. The plan will include the names and descriptions of the native plants,
their seeds, their population locations, the specific collection techniques,
a schedule of appropriate collection times and protocols. Plans will be made
for specific populations of species of concern in the event that the collection
of their seeds may be considered. Any legal protocol to collect such species'
seeds will be planned to be followed.
LMMP staff will make available any materials that may be of service to help the Contractor field staff for the necessary correct identification of some unusual species existing on the reserves. This material will be in the form of photographs and herbarium specimens presently being collected as part of a full floristic survey of all the reserves.
The Contractor will be expected to be flexible enough to incorporate appropriate assistance from volunteers from organizations that are associated with restoration activities on the reserves. On some reserves there may possible be assistance from county park personnel or other agencies such as the California Department of Forestry, etc. Any such assistant must be done in close collaboration with the Contractor, Contract Manager, Reserve Manager and the assisting organization(s).
(5) Implementation
The DFG contract manager and/or land manager will facilitate access to the reserves
for the Contractor's personnel and help keep all responsible parties aware of
pertinent issues while working on the reserves. The Contractor will be required
to have all the necessary permitting documents, access letters, vehicle placards
and information needed for safe, legal and effective field work. Access protocol
will be followed by the Contractor.
The Contractor will integrate and standardize any pertinent field data provided by the Department of Fish and Game. The uses of the data will include the evaluation of any targeted native plant populations that the LMMP may have. This data will help establish a set of management goals and tasks to ensure the proper removal of seeds from native plant populations within the above mentioned Ecological Reserves. Such evaluations, goals and tasks will be made in collaboration with the LMMP.
Careful records will be kept to memorialize images, GPS points and to record other pertinent information for each plant, plant population from which seeds are collected. Records will also be kept regarding the processing and storage process for each species and population. Specific information for the collection, processing and storage of each species will be complied into a manual to be submitted to the DFG.
D. Reports
The Contractor will provide the DFG with the following list of deliverables.
(1) Reports will consist of written progress accounts for the program. The reports will contain precise up-to-date information on the status of each collected plant species. The reports will include all the pertinent information for each plant population, location, types of treatment/methods used in the collecting, processing and storing, dates for the same, hours spent on the various aspects of the project and any relevant annotations. Reports shall be accompanied by an electronic copy of updated Access database, as well as electronic versions of the reports in Microsoft Word. Digitally formatted photos shall accompany reports and they should be named in such a manner that they can be linked to the access database for obtaining attribute data for the photos. The reports will the status on the development of the seed collection, processing and storage manual.
(2)The first due date will be the first day of the month 3 months after the
execution of the contract. All draft reports will allow for two reviews and
two revisions by the Contract manager. Final report due 30 days after draft
is submitted.
First quarter draft report due 3 months
Biannual draft report due 6 months
Quarterly draft report due 9 months
Annual draft report due 12 months
Quarterly draft report due 15 months
Biannual draft report due 18 months
Quarterly draft report due 21 months
Annual draft report due 24 months
Quarterly draft report due 27 months
Biannual draft report due 30 months
Quarterly draft report due 33 months
Final draft report due 36 months
(3) Due with the Final draft report will be the manual for the collection, processing and storage of the native plants that were processed during the contract period.
