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2007 Conference Field Trips
Note: There is a is a $50 fee for any workshop or field trip you wish to attend. This fee is in addition to the conference registration fee. You can make your workshop and field trip selections on the conference registration page. If you do not plan to attend the conference and will attend ONLY a workshop and/or field trip you will be required to pay a $50 workshop registration fee in addition to the workshop or field trip fee.
(FT01) Yakama Nation Wetlands and Riparian Restoration Project
Tracy Hames, Yakama Nation
This tour will visit a 21,000 acre floodplain restoration project the Yakima Valley on the Yakama Reservation. We will visit restoration sites on lower portions of Satus and Toppenish Creeks and discuss wetland, riparian and upland restoration techniques. We will discuss watershed-scale land protection and acquisition, and view in-stream structures and modifications as well as in-progress terrestrial habitat restoration on upper terraces. Emphasis is on the restoration of floodplain areas in an intensively agricultural setting, incorporating wildlife, fish and tribal cultural goals.
(FT03) Hanford Reach National Monument
Mike Gregg, USFWS
The Hanford Reach National Monument is a 195,000 acre monument managed by the USFWS and contains some of the last remaining shrub-steppe habitat in the Columbia Basin. Restoration of shrub-steppe has been the primary management focus for USFWS. The field trip will focus on these restoration efforts and provides attendees with a first hand look at the successes and pitfalls of restoration in the Columbia Basin. There will also be opportunities to discuss management of elk, rare plants, and salmon.
(FT06) The Oregon White Oak Sandwich Tour, Tieton and Swauk Canyons
Reese Lolley, The Nature Conservancy
East of the Cascade Mountains Oregon white oak is distributed in a narrow transition zone between shrub-steppe and ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir communities. We will visit sites in the Tieton Canyon west of Yakima and the Swauk Valley west of Ellensburg; the Swauk population represents the most northern distribution of the Oregon white oak. Questions for consideration are:
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What are the differences between Eastside and Westside communities- plant community and disturbance ecology. How do these differences affect restoration strategies?
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What are key knowledge gaps relevant to the conservation and restoration of this system east of the Cascade Mountains?
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Discuss two active climate change research projects centered on this zone and how such work might be useful to restorationists?
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Discuss lessons learned in active restoration projects in Oregon white oak east of the Cascades Mountains.
Logistics: Please bring hiking boots. Transportation will be provided for the field trip. After spending the morning in the Tieton, we will meet back in Yakima. For those that are traveling home west or east from Ellensburg (I-90), may want drive their own vehicles to the Swauk site.
Photo credit: Keith Lazelle, copyright The Nature Conservancy
(FT07) Restoration and Management of Wetlands at Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge and Impacts to Steelhead
Howard Browers, US Fish and Wildlife Service
A visit to Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge on Toppenish Creek, visitors will be given a brief history of the Refuge and will tour a portion of the Refuge to see actively restored wetland units, discuss wetland and water management and benefits to wildlife, and see areas where USGS and USFWS did field studies to evaluate potential impacts to steelhead. Results of the steelhead study will be
discussed.
(FT08) Ecological Restoration of the Sunrise Campground, Mount Rainier National Park
Julie Hover, NPS
The Sunrise Campground at Mount Rainier National Park was constructed in a subalpine meadow in the early 1930s. The popularity of this ecologically sensitive area resulted in severe damage to vegetation and soils. In 1973, the campground was closed to automobiles. Camping was gradually reduced to a small walk-in camp, although the campground road system remained intact. In 1997, the park received a Canon USA Expedition into the Parks grant through the National Park Foundation to recontour and begin to revegetate the road system. In partnership with several volunteer groups, the park has continued to replant the site a section at a time since 1997, using plants grown in the park’s greenhouse from locally collected seed and cuttings. So far, more than 310,000 plants have been planted to revegetate 2.5 acres of disturbance.
The restoration site is an easy 1.5 mile walk from the Sunrise parking lot. Because work has proceeded more or less north to south along a linear path, visitors to the site can see the year-by-year progression of a decade’s worth of revegetation over a distance of about half a mile. Field trip participants will learn about the history of the project (including how volunteer partnerships were developed), the revegetation methods used, and the interim results of several revegetation research studies conducted at the site.
At 6400 feet in elevation, the Sunrise area offers open vistas with spectacular views of Mount Rainier (including the magnificent Emmons Glacier) and other Cascade peaks. The vegetation is typical of the “rain shadow” side of the park and is dominated by green fescue; wildflowers, heathers, and subalpine firs are also common. At the end of September expect to see fall colors ranging from brilliant reds and yellows to muted browns and greens. At this elevation, snow is always a possibility in September, so be sure to dress warmly in layers.
Bring food, water, sunscreen, sunglasses, hiking boots, warm clothing, and raingear. The Visitor Center and other amenities are usually closed by the end of September, so potable water may not be available.
(FT10) Moist Soil Management in Project Wetlands - Sunnyside Wildlife Area
Rocky Ross, WA Department of Fish & Wildlife
We will be visiting two separate management units of the wildlife area where moist soil management is being performed. Both units lie within or near the floodplain of the lower Yakima River. Water for these projects comes from irrigation drains, natural springs, diverted river water, and a municipal water treatment facility. Some of the water is delivered to the wetlands via lift pumps and some is received by natural gravity flow. We will visit an ongoing project and two planned projects that are just getting underway. We will discuss some of the challenges with this type of management, including silt-laden water, an invasion of white lily pads, carp infestations and structures that help minimize beaver activity at water control structures.
(FT14) Wild Horse, From a Bitterroot's Eye View: Wind Development and Shrub-Steppe Restoration
David Bradney, Wildlands, Inc.
Brent Renfrow, WDFW-Ellensburg
Jennifer Diaz, Puget Sound Energy
Denise Horton, Botanist
Ron Bockelman, David Evans and Associates Inc.
Puget Sound Energy constructed the Wild Horse Wind Project in 2006 on ridgelines surrounding the headwaters of Whiskey Dick Creek in Kittitas County, Washington. Although livestock grazed the area, good shrub-steppe habitat with intact biological soil crust is prevalent and invasive weeds are rare. Shallow soils at varying depths over bedrock basalts presented several challenges when constructing the 34 miles of new or improved roads, 127 pads for the turbines, and 27 miles of underground electrical cables at the wind farm. Likewise, the semi-arid climate and prevalence of lithosols created a unique situation for restoring native vegetation on areas temporarily disturbed during construction. This tour of the wind farm will provide a brief overview of construction activities and the ongoing collaboration among agencies, contractors, and PSE. Then specific restoration strategies and techniques, including the hedgehog cactus rescue program, will be described at several representative locations. Feedback and suggestions from tour participants are welcome and encouraged. A stop is also planned at PSE’s companion solar demonstration project, which should be nearing completion at Wild Horse in September.
(FT16) Conservation Successes: Badger Mountain and Trails through the Red Mountain Appellation
Sharon Grant, Friends of Badger Mountain and the Ridges to Rivers Open Space Coalition
We'll meet at Trailhead Park on the edge of Richland, WA and hear how a small group of citizens -- later named the Friends of Badger Mountain -- was able to acquire for preservation nearly 600 acres, comprising most of this striking land mass, in a little over two years. The land was ceded to the county to be held forever in its natural state for non-motorized use. We'll hike the mountain, an 800' foot climb, on a sinuous trail built entirely by volunteers. Along the way we'll see markers that tell the story of its near submersion during the Ice Age Floods and see the results of efforts to repair with native plants land that had been misused. Then its off to lunch at a winery and to the nearby Red Mountain viticultural area. Here we'll learn how the recently formed Open Space Coalition is working with the wineries to create trails throughout this new 4000 acre development. A special feature is how the Ice Age floods along with the climate created the kind of soil for a premiere terrior. We'll close with an understanding of what's involved in creating a proposed Ridges to River Trailway over miles of undulating ridges.
Weather should be warm and sunny, but could be windy; dress accordingly.
(FT17) Ethonobotany of the Klickitat Trail - Respecting Places of Ancient and Contemporary Harvests
Linda Storm, EPA and University of Washington
On this field trip we will visit a number of different harvest places used by native practitioners throughout the seasonal round. End of summer brings acorn, hazel nut and huckleberry harvests. Autumn is the time to gather weaving and other materials. We will visit wet meadows, oak riparian zones and other landscape places to learn about their useful and diverse ethnobotanical plants. We will talk about how changes in the land has lead to losses of some important ethnobotanical plants and how returning ancient practices of traditional ecological management could help restore them.
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