PARENT SESSION
Oral Session #25: River and Riparian Restoration I.
Presiding: M.A. Madej
Tuesday, August 6. 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM. Mohave Meeting Room, TCC.
Restoration of the Lower American River Parkway. Part II. Restoring and managing riparian vegetation.
Burwell, Trevor*,1, Brown, Sheri1, 1 Jones & Stokes, Inc., Sacramento, CA
ABSTRACT- Riparian vegetation in the Lower American River (LAR) Parkway in Sacramento, California is threatened by changes in hydrology and sediment regimes and wildfires. Existing mature stands of riparian forest and woodland are senescing and natural recruitment is not occurring to replace senescent trees. The LAR Task Force, a consensus-based consortium of stakeholder groups, was formed to develop a planning document to guide future management of the Parkway. The LAR Task Force developed goals, objectives, and desired future conditions for riparian vegetation and wildlife habitat. The challenge was to prepare a plan that enhanced and restored riparian vegetation while integrating recreation, public safety, fisheries, flood control, bank and levee protection, and water supply requirements. A multi-stage, hierarchical analytical approach was developed using existing data, including GIS-based vegetation maps, a digital elevation model, and a hydraulic model to characterize existing riparian landscapes in the Parkway. Spatially explicit constraints and opportunities maps of stream reaches were generated to illustrate vegetation management and restoration potential. Parkway landscapes were classified using a GIS-based dichotomous key. The classification provides information on site specific and system-wide challenges and management needs to conserve existing stands of high quality vegetation, biophysical and infrastructural limits to restoration potential, and floodplain position in order to identify suitable riparian vegetation types. The maps and GIS database resulting from this systematic approach provide site specific planning tools and a landscape context for individual management and restoration projects. Habitat restoration potential is maximized while accommodating other goals for the Parkway. Projects include enhancing 1,200 acres of existing riparian woodland and 350 acres of oak woodland, and restoring over 1,200 acres of riparian forest and woodland habitats.
KEY WORDS: riparian habitat restoration, vegetation management, urban wildlands