SELBY!CREEK!RESTORATION!PROJECT! Revegetation!Plan! Napa,!CA! I.! INTRODUCTION! Selby!Creek!Watershed!Partners!came!together! floodwater!energy,!bank!stabilization,!sediment! as!a!locally!active!coalition!of!home!and! entrapment,!moderation!of!temperature!and! business!owners!living!and!working!in!the!Selby! humidity,!filtration!of!pollutants,!wildlife!habitat! Creek!Watershed.!!The!group!stated!its!goal;! and!corridors,!distribution!of!nutrients!and! “Our!purpose!is!to!join!together!to!learn!how!to! woody!debris,!and!a!hydrologic!connection!to! create!a!viable!relationship!between!the!creek! groundwater.!!All!of!these!functions!are! as!a!living!system!and!the!community!of!farms! impaired!or!missing!in!Selby!Creek.!!! and!homes!in!the!watershed.”!!!This! revegetation!plan!describes!the!elements!that! must!be!brought!into!balance!in!order!to! achieve!this!goal.! Selby!Creek!is!one!of!the!few!remaining!streams! on!the!east!side!of!the!Napa!Valley!supporting!a! viable!steelhead!trout!population.!!The!creek! runs!across!the!upper!Napa!Valley!from!the! Silverado!Trail!to!the!Napa!River!and!fed!by! contributing!streams!from!the!Dutch!Henry! Canyon!Watershed.!!The!creek!provides!a!key! wildlife!corridor!from!the!Howell!Mountain! ranges!to!the!Napa!River.!!! Over!many!years!of!change!and!neglect!the! ! creek!has!lost!a!good!deal!of!its!riparian! vegetation;!portions!remain!in!good!health,!but! View!Looking!down!SelBy!Creek!from!the!Silverado!Trail! stretches!are!denuded.!!Riparian!vegetation,! In!such!an!impacted!and!denuded!riparian! like!the!skin!of!the!body,!controls!the!exchange! environment,!focused!strategies!are!needed!to! of!moisture,!nutrients,!and!pollutants!with!the! re"establish!native!plants!so!they!are!able!to! outside!environment.!!!In!combination!with!the! thrive!and!reproduce.!!We!propose!the! site!geology!and!hydrology,!riparian!vegetation! following!goals!and!objectives!to!guide!our! helps!shape!the!channel!form.!!Riparian!plants! efforts!to!restore!the!riparian!environment!of! provide!vital!ecosystem!services!to!the! Selby!Creek. surrounding!environs!including!dissipation!of! 1! ! GOALS!! 1. Develop!Selby!Creek!Watershed! Partners!to!create!a!viable!and!ongoing! forum!for!communicating!about!the! health!and!care!of!the!creek.! 2. Create!models!and!templates!to! encourage!farming!practices!that!are! supportive!of!the!riparian!environment.! 3. Educate!and!engage!landowners!to! carry!on!stewardship!activities!in! perpetuity.! 4. Improve!groundwater!recharge.! 5. Protect!landowners!against!damage!and! reconnect!the!creek!to!floodplains.! 6. Establish!a!band!of!trees!along!the! southwest!bank!to!optimize!shading!of! the!creek.! 7. Revegetate!the!creek!in!a!way!that! retains!the!character!of!the!existing! riparian!plant!communities.! 8. Increase!the!resilience!and!robustness! of!the!native!plant!communities!present! ! along!the!creek,!and!remove!invasive! A!Big!Leaf!Maple!growing!in!a!coBBle!and!concrete!Berm!along! exotic!species.! the!SelBy!Creek!symBolizes!the!vitality!and!persistence!of!the! 9. Improve!onsite!biodiversity!by! native!vegetation.! increasing!the!population!of! ! development!sensitive!plant!species.! 10. Increase!the!complexity!and!diversity!of! ! habitat!types!and!the!ability!of!the! ! creek!to!function!as!a!wildlife!corridor.! ! 11. Create!multi"layered!woodland!plant! communities!where!appropriate!with! ! understory,!midstory!and!canopy.! ! 12. Provide!quality!bird!habitat!by! improving!habitat!configuration!and! ! plant!composition,!avoiding!the!use!of! ! herbicides!and!pesticides,!and!timing! activities!to!avoid!impacting!the!nesting! period!from!March!to!July.! ! ! 2! ! ! II.! SURVEY!OF!CHANNEL!AND!STREAMBANK!CONDITIONS! Arroyo!Lupine!grows!in!the!coBBle!along!the!creek!Banks In!late!2004,!Bioengineering!Associates!and!Ann!Baker!Landscape!Architecture!investigated!field! conditions!in!the!creek!and!wrote!the!“Survey!of!Channel!and!Streambank!Conditions!with!Prescriptions! to!Restore!and!Revegetate!the!Selby!Creek!Watershed!in!Napa!County.”!!This!document!described!its! objectives!as:! 1. Understand!the!creek!and!the!needs!of!the!fishery.! 2. Identify!and!understand!erosion!and!revegetation!issues.! 3. Develop!bank!stabilization!and!revegetation!designs!for!funding!applications.! 4. Determine!how!to!address!specific!problems,!such!as!loss!of!trees.! The!survey!document!described!the!Napa!River!Basin,!current!conditions!along!the!northern!Napa!River,! and!the!physical!features!of!Selby!Creek.!!It!identified!8!separate!reaches!of!the!stream!with!similar! channel!characteristics!and!described!the!main!issues!the!plan!needed!to!address!within!each!reach!to! stabilize!the!banks!and!restore!vegetation.!!The!main!body!of!the!survey!is!a!spreadsheet!detailing! prescriptions!for!eroding!areas!and!denuded!banks!by!linear!foot.!!This!revegetation!plan!builds!upon! the!work!done!in!the!original!survey!document!and!it!is!included!in!the!appendix!for!reference.! In!2005,!Selby!Creek!Watershed!Partners!was!granted!$50,000!by!the!Napa!Resource!Conservation! District!to!conduct!further!scientific!research!to!support!the!creek!restoration!plan.!!Matt!O’Conner! wrote!a!“Geomorphic!Analysis!and!Review!of!the!Selby!Creek!Stream!Habitat!Restoration!and!Riparian! Revegetation!Project”!!Jake!Rugyt!provided!a!Botanical!Survey,!and!John!Robinson!with!PRBO! Conservation!Science!conducted!a!bird!survey!and!wrote!“An!Ecological!Investigation!of!the!Breeding! Avifauna!at!Selby!Creek”!to!document!their!findings.!!These!documents!are!all!included!in!the!appendix.!! 3! ! To!round!out!the!project!analysis,!Jonathon!Koehler!of!the!Napa!Resource!Conservation!District! contributed!a!fisheries!analysis!and!Teri!Jo!Barber!of!Ridge!to!Rivers!has!created!a!monitoring!plan.!!! REVISED!REVEGETATION!PLAN! This!revised!revegetation!plan!reflects!the!recommendations!of!the!various!disciplines!and!adjusts!the! plan!to!changing!streambank!conditions!and!site!resources.!!Not!all!landowners!have!access!to!water!to! irrigate!new!plantings,!which!caused!a!revision!in!the!revegetation!methods!and!simplification!of!goals! on!some!sites.!!Some!invasive!exotic!plants!have!become!more!problematic!along!certain!stretches!of! the!creek.!!Because!of!this,!resources!will!need!to!be!reallocated!so!the!exotic!plants!can!be!removed! and!the!areas!replanted.!!A!severe!storm!on!New!Years!Day!of!2006!caused!more!bank!erosion!and! revealed!areas!needing!further!attention,!adding!the!need!for!bioengineering!and!bank!stabilization! work.!!! In!the!following!pages,!we!provide!an!explanation!of!the!strategies!and!methods!recommended!in!the! revegetation!process.!!We!have!redesigned!the!project!phasing!and!created!additional!plan!and!section! graphics!to!illustrate!the!revegetation!ideas.!!Each!component!element!of!the!plan!is!explained!and! considered!separately!in!order!to!introduce!landowners!to!the!concepts!and!opportunities!and! constraints!underlying!the!plan.!!More!specifically,!each!reach!of!the!creek!has!a!planting!plan,!a!work! plan!and!a!plant!list!for!the!initial!pioneering!phase!of!the!planting!in!2008.! ! PPhacelia!imBricata!grows!on!the!dry!gravelly!Banks!on!the!northern!portion!of!the!project!! ! 4! ! III.! STRATEGIES!AND!METHODS The!fundamental!strategy!of!this!revegetation!plan!is!to!create!a!balance!between!horticultural! restoration!and!natural!recruitment.!!Horticultural!restoration!is!the!practice!of!propagating!locally! sourced!native!plants,!planting!them!out!with!temporary!irrigation!systems,!and!tending!them!during! their!establishment!period.!!Natural!recruitment!is!a!strategy!that!involves!identifying!what!factors!are! suppressing!the!native!plants!onsite,!removing!those!factors!and!supporting!the!propagation!of!native! plants!by!using!more!limited!inputs!such!as!timed!mowing,!weed!suppression!and!seeding.!!In!planning! this!revegetation!project,!we!evaluated!our!financial!resources,!our!community!resources!and!the! condition!of!the!landscape!to!establish!how!we!could!achieve!the!maximum!improvement!in!the! ecological!health!of!the!riparian!environment.!!! HORTICULTURAL!RESTORATION!VS!NATURAL!RECRUITMENT!VS!BASELINE!! This!plan!uses!three!basic!approaches!to!the!revegetation!of!sites:!! Horticultural!Restoration!sites!are!heavily!impacted!by!development!or!invasive!plants;!there!is!water! available!for!irrigation;!the!landowner!can!sustain!and!steward!plantings!over!a!3!year!establishment! period;!and!the!wildlife!habitat!provided!by!the!site!justifies!extensive!investment!in!erosion!control,! irrigation!systems!and!planting.! Horticultural!restoration!sites!take!several!forms!in!the!Revegetation!Plan:! 1) !Understory!Plantings:!planting!densely!under!existing!overstory!trees!to!create!a!multi"layered! woodland!canopy.! 2) Major!planting!areas:!where!extensive!removal!of!invasive!exotics!has!taken!place!and!new! plantings!must!be!able!to!control!erosion!and!compete!with!the!invasive!plants!over!the!long! term.! ! Natural!Recruitment!sites!are!areas!that!already!have!a!strong!component!of!native!vegetation,!which! can!be!encouraged!to!spread!into!adjacent!areas!where!soils!have!not!been!extensively!disturbed!by! grading,!filling!or!compaction;!where!invasive!exotic!plants!are!limited;!where!the!landowner!can!sustain! and!steward!a!longer!and!more!complex!restoration!process;!and!where!the!use!of!seeding!and!mowing! are!appropriate!primary!restoration!activities.!! ! Natural!Recruitment!Sites!are!indicated!on!the!plan!as:!! 1) “Manage!Exotics!and!Natural!Recruitment”!and!“Manage!Grassland”!sites.!!! 2) The!site!description,!!establish!“Plant!Clusters”!describes!planting!densely!in!clusters!next!to!an!