Site Analysis And Goal Development

Question 1

What are the 13 most common elements of restoration projects?

Answer 1

1. Site assessment
2. Develop goals and objectives
3. Begin developing project budget
4. Design restoration treatments
5. Develop monitoring plan
6. Assess need, apply for permits/approval
7. Design and conduct public outreach
8. Pre-restoration monitoring (site data)
9. Implement restoration treatment
10. Conduct post restoration monitoring
11. Conduct periodic maintenance
12. Reevaluate and adjust objectives, treatments and monitoring
13. document changes to site and to restoration/monitoring taken

(Steps 1-8 completed simultaneously)

Question 2

What are the 4 parts to site assessment?

Answer 2

Historical conditions

Current conditions

Stressors/impacts that brought site from historical to current

Desired future conditions

Question 3

What to use to assess current site conditions (5 points)

Answer 3

Scaled base maps like:

Topography 
Soil classification 
Aerial photos 
Property boundaries 
Other relevant features and reference points

Question 4

Why should base maps extent outside of site boundaries? (2 points)

Answer 4

Take into account stressors off site

Take into account the condition of the entire area (landscape view)

Question 5

What else should these base maps include? (2 points)

Answer 5

More detailed site conditions using:

Existing information
Old field surveys

Question 6

Coarse scale detailed site conditions to include in base maps (3 points)

Answer 6

Ecological units (e.g wetlands, forests etc.)

Surface hydrology (which is often overlain on base maps of topography and soil type)

Anthropogenic features (eg. Fences, buildings)

Question 7

Fine scale detailed site conditions to include in base maps (5 points)

Answer 7

Plant cover types - list and map native/exotic/invasive species: photos useful, as well

Fauna (birds, mammals, fish)

Soils (specific soil conditions)

Seedbank (see what might be inside and outside site, and what could be added)

Impacts - (erosion, land use, culverts etc.)

Question 8

When do we need to know the historical site conditions during site analysis?

Answer 8

When the aim of the project is to return the site to some pre-disturbance condition

Question 9

What to look at when investigating historical site conditions (6 points)

Answer 9

Soils 
Historic photographs 
Reference sites 
Historical land surveys 
Tree ring analysis 
Oral history interviews

Question 10

What is oral history? (2 points)

Answer 10

A type of historical reference that can be used when analyzing the history of a disturbed site

Often important in pacific salmon restoration as managers converse with First Nations

Question 11

How is looking at soils useful in historical site analyses? (2 points)

Answer 11

Might show where historic locations are (eg. Topsoil from wetland (OM) or from deciduous forest etc.)

Can show you plants that commonly appear on soil types

Question 12

When might we want to use aerial photos for historical site assessment, and when regular? (3 points)

Answer 12

Use regular when looking at up close features of the area

Use aerial when analyzing changes to the landscape

Use whatever might be available

Question 13

What are reference sites useful in identifying? (3 points)

Answer 13

Species lists for flora and fauna

Relative abundances of key species

Plant distributions relative to abiotic factors (hydrology, topography etc.)

Question 14

What can tree rings tell you about a site?

Answer 14

Age of trees

Fire scars - severity of fire, frequency of fire

Thickness of rings - resource availability during growing season

Question 15

Steps for identifying impacts and stressors that have led from historical to current conditions of site (3 points)

Answer 15

1. Form hypotheses about which previous and ongoing stressors changed the restoration site from its past to current condition
2. Define ecological health zones qualitatively (by looking at presence of native species and number/severity of stressors)
3. set priorities for restoration (determine sites for active or passive restoration)

Question 16

Why are historic conditions rarely attainable? (3 points)

Answer 16

We don’t really know what the historical conditions are because everywhere has been altered in some way (reference sites as well)

Some native species have likely went extinct

Natural disturbance regimes like fire are difficult to replicate in their historical way (dangerous because of humans etc.)

Question 17

What two key factors mainly determine the likelihood of whether a site can be restored?

Answer 17

Major stressors can be reduced or eliminated

Many native species persist or can be introduced

Question 18

What is the difference between goals and objectives?

Answer 18

Goals are the general, overarching statements of what you are trying to accomplish, while objectives are statements of your intended changes to reach your goals

Question 19

What is passive restoration? (3 points)

Answer 19

Technique used to safe costs during impact/stressor prioritization

If full blown restoration techniques are not needed, sometimes just removing the stressor will send the site back onto its natural successional trajectory

Can allow for the restoration of ecological integrity just by altering stressors or native species composition

Question 20

Objectives must be: (5 points)

Answer 20

Specific 
Measurable 
Attainable 
Results-oriented 
Time-specific

Question 21

How are objectives organized? (3 points)

Answer 21

Refers to conditions you want to achieve

Followed by action statements

Organized by:
Expense
Priority
Outcome

Question 22

ER projects are most effective with: (2 points)

Answer 22

Holistic restoration view

One big pulse of funding at the beginning