Politics & Government
Laguna Canyon Foundation Gets Cash for Invasive Species Removal
$1.17 million will go towards ridding Aliso Creek of the large arundo plants and restoring the creek bed.
Submitted story from the Laguna Canyon Foundation:
Thanks to the , OC Parks, OC Watersheds, OCTA and the Orange County Conservation Corps native plants and animals will once again be calling Aliso Creek home. Several coordinated habitat restoration projects will remove invasive species in Aliso Creek from Cook’s Corner nearly to . For the past decade, invasive species, most notably arundo, a large bamboo-like plant, have expanded to take over as much as 80% of the creek bed in places. This will be the first time in Orange County an entire watercourse has been restored.
“The expansion of arundo has really impacted the native habitat of Aliso Creek” Says Derek Ostensen, Laguna Canyon Foundation President and lead on the project “where once you saw a thriving riparian ecosystem now, due to the arundo, we have a degraded monoculture where native plants and animals are struggling to survive. The fact that we can remove the invasive species from the entire watercourse is monumental and speaks to the great collaborative efforts of many organizations.”
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The program was put in motion by OC Watersheds, the Orange County Public Agency dedicated to protecting Orange County’s waterways, mapping the extent of the invasive species and obtaining all the necessary permits to perform invasive species removal and re-vegetation. However, progress slowed until Laguna Canyon Foundation applied for and was awarded an OCTA measure M grant in the amount of 1.17 million dollars to restore a segment of the creek within Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park. After that, good fortune struck and pieces began to fall into place. First, the Orange County Conservation Corps was awarded a 500,000 Proposition 84 grant and approached the Laguna Canyon Foundation about an appropriate area to use the grant. An upstream segment was identified that would connect with a current Aliso Creek invasive removal project near Cooks Corner. In addition, the OC Parks is currently working on a potential project that would extend the invasive removal process to border of Aliso Creek Golf Course.
Beginning this September a transformation will begin in the creek, the arundo and other invasive plants will be removed and in their place native willow, mule fat, and other riparian species will be planted. This project will span several years as there is a limited time fame to remove the weeds from the creek.
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“We have to be very cautious and diligent when performing this work” says Max Borella, executive director of the Laguna Canyon Foundation. “We are working in a delicate area and cannot just rip out the weeds whenever we want – we have to be aware of the nesting times of the native birds that still live in the creek and be sensitive to several species including the Western Pond Turtle. In addition, we have to worry about erosion control. Fortunately OC Watersheds has done a great job of completing the permits which outline the best method methodology for working in this environment.”
The OCTA grant will last for 5 years to ensure all invasive species are removed and the habitat is restored to natives.
“Aliso Creek needs a lot of love,” says Ostensen, “we hope this is the first of a larger program to not only improve the Aliso Creek habitat but also to improve the water quality of the creek and flood hazards”.
This project marks a major transformation for the Laguna Canyon Foundation. Previously focusing on land acquisition, their mission has transformed to supporting open space through youth and public education, habitat restoration, trail maintenance and capital projects within and .
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