Climate-smart Ecological Restoration: Guidance and Case Study John Parodi, Thomas Gardali, and Nathaniel E. Seavy 29 November 2012, Climate Smart Actions for Natural Resource Managers

PRBO Conservation Science STRAW Project Since 1992: Over 25,000 Students More than 9,000 Volunteers 415 Restorations 33,000 Native Plants Over 25 Miles of Riparian Habitat 5 acres of marsh/upland ecotone

PRBO Conservation Science STRAW Project Our Role In Restoration: 1.Revegetation 2.Biotechnical Erosion Control 3.Invasive Plant Control 4.Community Engagement 5.“One-Stop” Project Management Planning/Design Implementation Maintenance Monitoring & Reporting

PRBO Conservation Science STRAW Project Partners!

PRBO Conservation Science Project Description – Climate-smart Restoration 1.Riparian restoration 2.Marin County river miles 4.Side-by-side comparison 5.Restoration objectives 1.Accommodate changes in temperature and precipitation 2.Prepare for changes in extreme events 3.Account for disrupted wildlife and plant phenology 4.Initial feasibility assessment

PRBO Conservation Science Goals and Motivation Goals 1.Develop guidelines for climate-smart ecological restoration 2.Implement a pilot climate-smart riparian restoration project Motivation Our recognized need. It was not a mandate or a funding requirement.

PRBO Conservation Science Least Bell’s Vireo Lead and Partners Lead PRBO Conservation Science’s Pacific Coast and Central Valley Group and STRAW Staff Partners Marin County Resource Conservation District Private Landowner Prunuske Chatham, Inc. Funders Marin Community Foundation Fledgling Fund Marin Resource Conservation District

PRBO Conservation Science Planning Process Who? Primarily internal PRBO team with input by many partners, nurseries, etc. Planning process 1.Assess vulnerabilities 2.Define climate-smart ecological restoration 3.Develop guiding principles 4.Design and test guidelines via implementation Was the public involved? Design – minimal Implementation - full

PRBO Conservation Science NOW THE PAST Vulnerability Assessment - Climate Change: Restoration Game Changer

PRBO Conservation Science Vulnerability Assessment Modeling Bird Distribution Responses to Climate Change: A mapping tool to assist land managers and scientists in California The California Avian Data Center: Used the following tools: Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for California Birds And the paper published in the journal PLoS ONE – Gardali et al 2012

PRBO Conservation Science Vulnerability Assessment

PRBO Conservation Science Climate-smart Ecological Restoration Defined Climate-smart ecological restoration is the process of enhancing ecological function of degraded, damaged, or destroyed areas in a manner that prepares them for the consequences of a rapidly changing climate.

PRBO Conservation Science Climate-smart Ecological Restoration Principles 1.Forward-looking Goals 2.Broader Landscape Context 3.Build in Ecological Insurance 4.Increase Ecological Diversity 5.Build Evolutionary Resilience 6.Include the Community Adapted from: Palmer Est. & Coasts 32, Hansen et al. Con. Bio. 24, Elliehttp://

PRBO Conservation Science past future Ecosystem state e.g., drought and floods Design projects that could succeed under multiple scenarios = project Seavy et al., Ecol. Rest v27 Principles In Action

PRBO Conservation Science Principles In Action Increase Component and Structural Redundancy Dunwiddie et al., Ecol. Rest v27

PRBO Conservation Science Developed Planning Matrix We created a tool to evaluate appropriate plant species and their environmental qualities

PRBO Conservation Science Developed Planning Matrix And evaluated timing of flowering/seeding to maximize the number of months that resources (shelter, food) are available for wildlife

PRBO Conservation Science Climate-smart design Standard design Implementation - Principles on the Ground 282 students and 82 parents Climate-smart design: 24 species Traditional design: 10 species Planting more species required higher planting densities.... Climate-smart: 249 individual plants Traditional: 123 individuals plans The cost of the climate smart restoration was only 1.5 times that of the traditional design, despite the higher densities and number of species.

PRBO Conservation Science Implementation - Principles on the Ground

PRBO Conservation Science Implementation - Principles on the Ground

PRBO Conservation Science Short-term Plant species for vigor and height class for at least three summers Should tell us if: (1)The new streamside plant community can survive environmental uncertainty and provide resources for wildlife (2)Whether some of the species that are used less-frequently in traditional restoration designs are viable with regards to establishment Long-term Long-term monitoring of the bird response to the project We will be successful if these sites have consistent healthier vegetation and bird communities than sites with the standard restoration designs. Monitoring and Management

PRBO Conservation Science Lessons Learned Species were not available from nurseries, limiting the final project’s design A larger minimum project size is necessary for redundancy and self- propagation Potential regulatory challenges for projects with strict performance criteria There is a need to look beyond revegetation The public, especially students and teachers, are inspired and hungry to take actions to adapt to climate change

PRBO Conservation Science Next Steps Science More case studies are needed – Pajaro River! New online tools such as analogue climates and planting designs Partnering with engineers – e.g., large woody debris projects Expanding our planting palette tool Working with a geneticist to include evolutionary resilience Practice Additional habitat types Increase scale by expanding partnerships Restoration funders put language in their RFPs about how each project will address climate change in the context of our definition and principles. Policy Work with the agencies that approve restoration plans to include climate-smart designs Work with agencies that provide guidance on restoration to include climate-smart designs Work with agencies to update their restoration handbooks/guidelines

PRBO Conservation Science Thanks! Questions, Ideas, and Discussion? For Further Information: John Parodi, STRAW Restoration Manager Thomas Gardali, Director, Pacific Coast and Central Valley Group Nathaniel Seavy, Research Director, Pacific Coast and Central Valley Group