Since the initial transition from army base to public lands in 1995, the BLM and RON have worked together to restore hundreds of acres in the Ft. Ord backcountry. Students and community volunteers plant thousands of native plants to restore habitat and prevent erosion.
Click Here to see a map of the Fort Ord Restoration Sites. (Note: Map Layout for Print at 11" X 17")
Directions to Ft. Ord restoration areas.40,979 m2 (~ 10.12 acres ~ 21% of Total Restoration Site Area) of the restoration sites border and/or flow into nearby sensitive vernal pool wetland habitat. Restoration in these areas was focused on increasing native vegetative cover and decreasing surface runoff from neighboring relict dirt roads and trails.
These
unique vernal pool habitats provide for numerous rare plants
and animals that have adapted to seasonal cycles of inundation
and evaporation. Among these species are the federally endangered
California tiger salamander Ambystoma californiense. Many of
these plants and animals spend the dry season as seeds, eggs,
or cysts, and then grow and reproduce when the vernal pools
are again filled with water. In addition, many resident and
migratory birds use vernal pools as a seasonal source of food
and water.
111,868 m2 (~ 27.64 acres ~57% of Total Restoration Site Area) of the restoration
sites reside in rare native maritime chaparral habitat. Restoration in these
areas was focused on reintroducing site-specific native vegetation with an
emphasis on closing biogeographic gaps in native shrub flora caused by the
compacted and/or eroded soils comprising relict dirt roads.
Maritime
chaparral habitat on the Fort Ord Public Lands contains an
extremely diverse shrub community that is reliant on a dynamic
disturbance regime to sustain the health and distribution of
native flora. This unique habitat is also host to several native
species of concern. Among them are:
*California Threatened
**Federally Endangered
The remaining 40,471 m2 (~10.00 acres ~ 22% of Total Restoration Site Area ) of the restoration sites were distributed in a variety of habitats (Blue wildrye & needlegrass grassland, Coast Live Oak Woodlands, and Mixed Riparian Forest). These sites focused on erosion control and native plant revegetation following invasive species removal.
Restoration site spatial estimates and analysis compiled from Watershed and
Riparian Assessment Report (WRAR) habitat GIS data and BLM Fort Ord Public
Lands Road & Trail Inventory.
Bureau of Land Management Lands Former Fort Ord, Monterey County, California
PI: Dr. Douglas Smith Ph.D.
WRAR Report
The newly created Fort Ord Dunes State Park is an area of contrasts. It is seen by millions of people as they drive by on State Highway One, but under US Army control, has been closed to public use for decades. The land is open and relatively undeveloped, yet the past development of the land for small arms training has significantly altered the landscape. The Army deserves credit for preserving the open space character of the land, yet they used the land for the most utilitarian purposes including sewage treatment and storm water percolation. The area is revered for its beauty, but the site includes over 100 abandoned buildings. The beaches and bluffs are pounded by the full force of the Pacific Ocean, yet they are composed of tiny grains of unconsolidated sand. The vegetation is dominated by African ice plant, yet the area is highly valued for its habitat value for endangered species, such as Smith's Blue Butterfly. Our goal is to restore with native plants degraded dune habitats so that butterflies will be soaring over sites formerly whizzing with bullets. We see native plants on old firing ranges, children planting instead of soldiers shooting and university students learning about ecology instead of young men and women preparing for war.
In a continued partnership between Return of the Natives Restoration Education Project and California State Parks we plan to facilitate the transformation of the potential and the vision into a reality. Ours will be a part of the recreation of an outstanding natural environment available to the public, Fort Ord Dunes State Park will enhance the quality of life for the people of California and add to the values that attract visitors from around the world to the Monterey Bay area. (From California State Parks, Fort Ord Dune State Park Preliminary General Plan, May 1996)
Return of the Natives Restoration Education Project (RON) will bring community members to transform damaged ecosystems to ecological stability. Along the way the participants, grade school children, university students and members of the general public gain a profound sense of commitment and place in the land that they are restoring. This proposed project aims to be the first major public restoration on the Fort Ord Dunes State Park. This project also aims to involve CSUMB service learning students in the restoration process and in presenting professional development workshops to initiate teacher involvement in this new park.
Public planting events with Return of the Natives on the Dunes:
Saturday, January 26th from 10am to 1pm
Saturday, February 16th from 10am to 1pm
