What's Growing On
Spring 2003

by Jason Lopez, Resources and Trails Manager

Work by the Seasons

Although there is a perception that there is little change of season in Southern California, the fieldwork in the River Park is very much influenced by the seasons. The planning of Park projects involves many variables such as: the availability of water (either natural or imported), types of soil, the logistics of working in a natural area (often with no vehicle access), heat and cold, sensitive wildlife and the availability of equipment and/or labor.

Scheduling work involves knowledge of these variables and predicting what conditions will be like when the task is performed. For example, work in the summer is restricted by heat, dry soil and lack of labor. To accomplish their tasks Park Rangers may need to import water, use more equipment and reduce exposure to the elements.

Habitat work is very dependent upon the wet season and has proven difficult the last few years. Usually January, February and March are the best months for planting. Come November, Rangers begin preparing for the planting season by propagating cuttings in containers and removing exotic species.

Field staff kicked off the restoration season this year by removing large numbers of invasive tamarisk trees. Over the last few years, these tamarisk seemed to almost mock Park Rangers and habitat restoration volunteers as we passed them by while attending to more urgent tasks. This time last year Rangers were spending about 80% of their time constructing the Mule Hill Trail. Now the focus is more on habitat restoration since the area disturbed by the construction process needs to be re-vegetated and smug tamarisk trees need to be removed. In many instances, the areas we are restoring were occupied by exotics, so the River Park is actually creating habitat where it did not exist before a trail was developed.

Another nice bonus for wildlife is that the River Park has an underlying goal of protecting and enhancing habitat in the River Valley and will go beyond our mitigation requirement by creating habitat in other areas as well. In addition to creating habitat, we will also be maintaining the Park’s past restoration projects to ensure their continued success.  

Wintertime brings rain (hopefully) to the River Valley. The water, cooler temperatures, available labor and softer soil greatly increase the project possibilities. The busy season for the Park is from about September to May. More people use the trails during these months because of the cooler temperatures, there are more possibilities for projects, and there is more damage to the trails due to water runoff.   These factors greatly intensify the workload of Park Rangers. Although available water and cool temperatures make for more work, the arrival of winter is very much welcome. Staff is able to address projects that have sat on our “to-do” list for months, and our restoration projects require less watering and have greater success. You may have noticed this time of year Park Rangers and volunteers have a dazed look, dirtier clothes and a smile of satisfaction.