Watsonville Wetlands Watch
Restoration
Wetlands are a valuable natural resource that have been widely destroyed and degraded in California and nationwide. California has lost more of its wetlands than has any other state. Preservation and restoration of the Watsonville sloughs are central to the work of Watsonville Wetlands Watch.
Slough wetlands and uplands that have experienced various levels of disturbance are candidates for restoration efforts. Removal of exotic invasive weeds is the first step in returning these areas to natural health. Watsonville Wetlands Watch members, student groups, and volunteers work with landowners and agencies to enhance lands for wildlife habitat while learning what constitutes a functioning system. Our reward is seeing wildlife return to an area and thrive.
Maintenance is an important part of the work we do. Until newly-restored native plants become well-established – a two-to-three year process – they need to be watered, weeded, and cared for. It is not enough to put them in place and forget about them. Support for restoration allows us to see the plants through this cycle and ensure good prospects for their long-term survival.
WWW has partnered with the Pajaro Valley Unified School District to coordinate the restoration of the 80 acres of Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas (ESHAs) which surround Pajaro Valley High School. We have written a school-site restoration plan and assisted with wetland restoration and construction of a native plant garden at the Watsonville Charter School of the Arts. The State of California has funded Proposition 50, to restore wetland and upland habitat on lower Watsonville Slough, Struve Slough, and West Struve Slough.
Some of our goals are to:
- work with other private landowners to restore other areas adjacent to the sloughs
- do a compost demonstration project at the Fitz WERC to encourage others in the community to compost
- continue to partner with public agencies to restore habitat in the Watsonville sloughs, expand our monitoring efforts, and to further develop and advance restoration techniques.
Program links
- Get Involved
- Current Projects
- Restoration Committee
- ESHAs Restoration Plan
- Fish and Game Restoration Plan
Restoration Example
Above. Poison Hemlock, Conium maculatum, near Struve Slough where it restricts wildlife use and nesting habitat. To begin the restoration process, the Hemlock was mowed, below.
Above. The mowed patch was mulched with wood chips and planted on a Saturday Restoration Day in the winter months. Early the following summer, a diversity of native marsh plants had grown in replacement, below.
