Introduction
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| Goats were used on one of the Soquel Creek restoration projects for initial clearing of invasive plants. |
The Resource Conservation District currently has two programs that address habitat restoration:
the Healthy Watersheds Restoration Program (HWRP) focuses on smaller-scale restoration projects, while the Integrated Watershed Restoration Program (IWRP) focuses on larger-scale restoration projects.
The Healthy Watersheds Restoration Program (HWRP) was started in 2003 as the Arundo donax Eradication Program to address the Arundo donax sites on Soquel Creek as identified in the Soquel Creek Watershed Enhancement Plan (2003). Arundo donax has successfully been removed from five sites along Soquel Creek over the last three years, and removals at two additional sites on Soquel Creek are being scheduled. In 2005, removal of English and Cape ivy (among other non-native invasive plants) and habitat restoration began on three sites along Soquel Creek, totaling about eight acres. One goal of this program is to eradicate Arundo donax from the Soquel Creek and San Lorenzo River watersheds, and to restore riparian corridors throughout the County to benefit wildlife, and the community, and to decrease erosion and flood risks. Another goal of the program is to improve upland habitat through restoration of upland areas. This includes invasive plant removal and revegetation projects as well as fuel-load-reduction projects. The program also aims to educate the community about the threats of non-native invasive plants in order to prevent the spread of invasive plants in Santa Cruz County.
The Integrated Watershed Restoration Program (IWRP) began in 2004. The mission of IWRP is to facilitate and coordinate projects to improve fish and wildlife habitat as well as water quality in Santa Cruz County watersheds using a voluntary, non-regulatory approach. This program, funded by the California Coastal Conservancy, brings together the various funding and permitting agencies to coordinate better how projects are funded and permitted. The following components are Phase 1 of IWRP: Designs and permits for approximately fifty-five high priority restoration projects, expansion of the rural roads technical assistance program (including an additional twenty to forty erosion control project designs), Comparative Lagoon Ecological Assessment Project, and the “Watershed Cruzin’ Education Activity and Resource Guide” (Grades four to twelve). Phase 2 of IWRP was just recently funded to implement several projects throughout the County. See the IWRP website for more program information.