MAINTENANCE SPECIFICATIONS 120-Day Container Plant Warranty Period During the 120 days following the completion of container plant installation at restoration sites must be maintained regularly (e.g. once or twice a month) to ensure their successful establishment. At the end of the 120-day establishment period, a thorough inspection of the restoration areas shall be conducted by the Restoration Grantee and ANF Botanist, and a list of those container plants that are dead and/or dying shall be submitted to the ANF. The Restoration Grantee shall guarantee 75 percent survival of the plants during the warranty period. Throughout the 120 day warranty period the Restoration Grantee will likely need to monitor the restoration sites and make adjustments in order to ensure that the warranty period success criteria are met. This will most likely mean visiting the restoration sites as often as biweekly. Monitoring will consist of walking through all restoration sites and taking notes on restoration progress and/or setbacks. Irrigation Supplemental irrigation will be necessary during plant establishment to ensure successful establishment and growth of container plants. The frequency and amount of required watering depends on the type of irrigation utilized. This is described below for each watering method. The Restoration Grantee will verify that irrigation has been performed adequately (e.g. verifying that soil is moist to a minimum depth of 14 inches). The irrigation system installed by the Restoration Grantee is subject to the review and approval of the ANF Botanist. If container plantings are done at the incorrect time of year (outside of October 1 to February 1) irrigation rates may increase as much as threefold. Supplemental watering methods will vary based on site access and location but will typically consist of one of the following methods: Deep pipe watering: Deep pipes are vertical plastic pipes with holes drilled in them at different depths (typically 2 inches in width and 14 inches in depth) that are inserted next to container plants to allow irrigation water into the deep root zone. This improves water delivery to the plants roots and minimizes water evaporation and weed growth. A cap or screen is put over the top of the pipe to discourage wildlife and debris from entering. Deep pipes can be filled by a water truck hose, watering can, or a drip emitter with pulsed irrigation from a remote storage tank or water truck hookup. See the description of drip irrigation below on these specifics. It is expected that in the first year after planting, container plants will be watered (typically 1-2 liters) twice per month every month of the year if no rain event occurs. The rain event should measure at least 1 inch to obviate the need for supplemental water. In the second year after planting, container plants will be watered twice per month, if no rain event occurs, between May and October. In the third year after planting, container plants will be watered once every two months starting in June and ending in October. In the fourth year after planting, container plants should not need to be watered, unless it is an extremely dry year. Tree Shelter watering: If tree shelters are installed over plants, drip irrigation may also be funneled into the base of the tree shelter rather than using deep pipes. However, the tree shelter must be sufficiently buried into the soil to prevent water leakage. Watering schedules would be the same as described above for deep pipe watering. Surface watering: Container plants would be watered using a hose connected to water truck or water storage tank. Water is applied using a shower head-type nozzle capable of providing low – pressure application to prevent erosion or damage to the plantings and planting basins. It is expected that in the first year after planting, container plants will be deep watered (typically1 -2 gallons per plant) every 10 days to 2 weeks during the 120-day establishment period and every 2- 3 weeks the remaining months of the year if no rain event occurs. The Restoration Grantee will monitor soil moisture and schedule irrigation to promote deeper rooting and plant acclimation. In the second year after planting, soil moisture will be monitored and container plants will be deep watered every 2-3 weeks to promote deeper rooting and plant acclimation between May and October. In the third year after planting, container plants will be deep watered once every two months starting in June and ending in October. In the fourth year after planting, container plants should not need to be watered, unless it is an extremely dry year. Surface watering can be combined with a main line irrigation system to bring water out along lengthy disturbance areas. Weed Control (Outlined in greater detail in the ANF Herbicide Use and Guideline Document (Appendix A)) The Restoration Grantee shall remove all nonnative weeds from the restoration areas in order to help establish the developing plant community by reducing the competition for natural resources, including water, nutrients, and sunlight. Restoration areas will be subject to weed control efforts until the performance standards are met. A listing of the known non-native, invasive plant species on the ANF can be found in Appendix B. The amount of weeding required will be determined by the amount of weed seed in the soil, weather conditions, and the Restoration Grantee’s diligence in removing the weeds, thereby reducing the weed seed bank. An annual pre-weed removal meeting will be held in December or early January between the ANF Botanist and Restoration Grantee to discuss weed control methods and schedules. Following installation, weeds will be controlled through manual removal or herbicide use. These two methods are described in detail below. The control method used will depend on the weed species, location of weeds, and the time of year that weed operations occur. Installed plants and native vegetation shall not be damaged by weed control operations. Regardless of the method of control, all weeds on site shall be removed prior to the development of seed to prevent the introduction of more weed seed into the soil seed bank. If weeds are not controlled before they reach a flowering or seeding stage they shall have these reproductive parts bagged in 3 mil or greater plastic, sealed to prevent seed dispersal and disposed of legally off site. All equipment, tools, tires, and shoes should be cleaned by air, brush, or water before entering and after leaving the restoration site. Excess loose dirt and mud may spread noxious weed seeds from one area to another. It is the responsibility of the Restoration Grantee to ensure that all restoration sites will have less than a 5% cover of all non-native species at the end of each growing season for the life of the contract. Manual removal: Manual removal is the process of removing the entire portion (roots, stems, flowers, seeds) of a non-native species by hand. Hand removal of non-native species may include the use of small trowels, but not hoes unless approved by an ANF botanist, and care must be taken to ensure that the root systems of native plants are not damaged in the process. Herbicide removal: All herbicides used will be applied by a qualified individual in accordance with the Herbicide Control Goals and Guidelines attached as Appendix A of this document. The Restoration Grantee will adhere to the ANF Herbicide Use and Guidelines (Appendix A) for allowed use of specific herbicides for site specific populations. Herbicide Treatment Guidelines: In order to purchase herbicide, the Restoration Grantee must have a Pest Control Business License or be in possession of a Qualified Applicator’s License (QAL). However in order to apply pesticides, a QAL is only necessary if restricted use pesticides are being utilized. In this project only general use herbicides are going to be utilized, therefore a Qualified Applicator is not required to be present when herbicides are being handled. Herbicide application will be limited to cutting and painting stumps, basal bark spray, or foliar or spot spray using backpack or ATV-mounted (for roads) sprayers. Herbicide will be applied according to the label instructions. A listing of the herbicides that are authorized for use and their effects on vegetation and wildlife is in Appendix A. A brightly colored dye shall be used in all applications. The dye shall be a nontoxic, water-soluble, liquid material, such as “Blazon” by Milliken Chemicals or equivalent. The dye shall be mixed with the herbicide at no more than half the rate specified on the label (one-quarter the rate will usually suffice). Spraying shall be conducted only when weather conditions are conducive to effective uptake of the herbicide by the targeted species (e.g., sunny, dry, and when plants are actively growing) and when wind conditions are such that herbicide drift is nonexistent. Applications of herbicide will not occur during or if a precipitation event is expected. During herbicide application, protection for non-targeted species is required. This is relevant to any native plants outside the restoration areas, as well as native plants within these areas. No herbicide will be stored on or near the ANF. United States Department of Environmental Agriculture Forest Assessment Service September 2015 Angeles National Forest and San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Plan for Invasive Plants Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, California For Information Contact: Janet Nickerman Project Lead, Angeles National Forest (626) 353-8439 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program.