DESERT LANDS RESTORATION TEAM

SUBGROUP MEETING

Barstow BLM Headquarters

31 August 2000

### In Attendance: 

### John Hamill DOI Lead, DMG

Clarence Everly DoD Lead, DMG

Eric Boerner MDEP (DRLTF Webmaster)

Matt Brooks USGS, BRD

Dave Charlton Ft. Irwin, NTC DPW

Zina Dean Stover Seed Company

Nona Evans MDRCD

Pete Lounsbury MDRCD

Carolyn Martus 29 Palms

Lynn Moody Cal Poly SLO

Patti Novak-Echenique USDA, NRCS

Hunter Seim BLM, Palm Springs

Ruth Sparks Charis, Ft. Irwin Eli Smith USGS

Amy Waddell USGS, Stanford Univ.

Jessie Walker BLM, Barstow

Ric Williams Charis, Edwards AFB

**MINUTES**

**9:30-10:00 AM Introductions**

Meeting started with welcome by Ruth Sparks, round table introductions,
and an update on activities at the various locations, as follows:

-   Amy W. has been involved in Valley Fever research at Fort Irwin

-   Pete L. announced that the MDRCD has brought Nikki Grieci on board
    to work on grant proposals and the RC&D

-   Ruth S. has six rehabilitation projects in line for this coming fall
    and reported that several existing sites were hit very hard by the
    recent rains.

-   Ric W. discussed some relatively inexpensive, high-resolution aerial
    photos and software, call him if you want more info

-   Dave C. is heading up tamarisk removal projects at the springs on
    Fort Irwin

-   Hunter S. is primarily involved in Wilderness Act implementation at
    the moment

-   Jessie W is doing tamarisk work and preparing for an upcoming burn
    at Afton Canyon and Amargosa River, also monitoring perennial
    vegetation and exotic grasses at the Willow Fire area and working on
    the Ord Mountain grazing EIS

-   Lynn M. teaches soil science with an environmental management
    emphasis, SLO has an interdisciplinary program including earth
    science, geography, GIS and geology and is planning a landscape
    rehabilitation minor set to come on-line in 2001 which will involve
    a project internship

-   Patti N. announced that the soil survey is beginning at JOTR, work
    is also set to start at DEVA as soon as logistics of hole digging
    are settled, also negotiating with BLM for large-scale mapping
    throughout the Mojave

-   Zina D. is continuing work on native seed collection with greater
    variety of species and developing a seed increase program to avoid
    overharvesting of existing stands

-   Matt B. has a journal article on wildland weed species in review and
    is still taking comments on the current list, also working with JOTR
    data on fire behavior and succession in blackbrush, changes in soil
    nutrients and availability, and working through CalEPPC to set
    criteria for listing of wildland weed species

-   Carolyn M. is involved in tamarisk and Russian thistle control and
    working with USGS on the Recoverability/Vulnerability of soils

**10:00-10:15 AM Upcoming training opportunities**

The group shared information about upcoming classes, conferences and
workshops as follows (these will also be posted on the DLRTF website):

-   From UCR Riverside: Edible and Useful Plants (Biol 1012) 6-8 Oct;
    still slots available; call Cal State San Bernadino Extension at
    909-880-5975 to sign up.

-   From California Native Grass Association: Techniques and Strategies
    for Using Native Grasses and Graminoids in Restoration Projects;
    this one is past, but they will likely hold similar workshops in the
    future so check it out
    (www.essexenv.com/cnga/Restoration_Workshop_Information.html)

-   From Southern California Botanists: symposium in October on soils
    and mychorrizae (no further information available yet)

-   From California Association for Fire Ecology: Nov 27 -- 1 Dec in San
    Diego including a desert-specific session (www.ice.ucdavis.edu/cafe)

-   From CalEPPC: 2000 Symposium 6-8 October in Concord; there will be
    an informal desert studies working group meeting during the
    symposium
    (http://www.caleppc.org/symposia/00symposium/symposium2000.html)

-   From SERCAL: Annual meeting October 26-29 in Santa Barbara with a
    session on Invasive Weeds Friday afternoon and a session on Arid and
    Mined Lands Restoration on Saturday afternoon
    (www.sercal.org/sercal2000.htm)

**10:15-10:30 AM Current job announcements**

Position announcements were as follows:

-   MCAGCC has a 6 month entry-level position involving a variety of
    plant and animal work. Requires a BS in biology or related field and
    would be a great introduction for a recent graduate.

-   Fort Irwin is still looking for a Wildlife Biologist. Position is
    full-time with the Charis Corporation and approximately equivalent
    to GS 9/11 depending on experience.

-   DEVA has a Natural Resource Specialist term position available.

-   USGS needs 1 or 2 biological technicians to work on fire projects in
    the Mojave and Great Basin Deserts

**10:30-11:15 AM DMG Issues**

John Hamill and Clarence Everly updated the group regarding Desert
Manager issues. The Annual Report for FY99 ("Partners for the Desert")
was distributed and is available upon request. It provides a brief
overview of work sponsored by the DMG including wild burro management
initiatives, dump cleanup, the Gateway Visitor Center concept and
various GIS and internet services. The current 5-year plan was also
distributed and includes goals and budgets based on input from the
various DMG subgroups. This document provides a vehicle for continued
dialogue and a means of tracking expectations and accomplishments.

There was \$400K in the President's budget for FY01, but this did not
pass Congress. There may still be some money forthcoming for restoration
in FY01 and the priority is to hire a Restoration Coordinator to take
the lead on future inter-agency work.

Rules and Operating Procedures have been developed for the DMG and all
work groups. These rules and operating procedures are currently in draft
form and may be viewed on the DMG website
([www.dmg.gov](http://www.dmg.gov/)). Rules specifically covering list
server protocol were discussed. Basically, there will be two lists: one
for group members (representatives of those agencies listed in the DMG
Charter) and a second list for interested parties (any individual or
representative of a group who wants to be informed of group activities).
The first list will allow send/receive capabilities to all list
subscribers and the second list will be allow individuals to receive
announcements and other messages sent by the Team Leader. It was
stressed that the involvement of interested parties is welcomed and
encouraged and that feedback from these individuals regarding any DMG or
work group issue may be addressed to Team Leaders.

The final Desert Manager issue concerned the vacant co-chair position
for the Restoration Team. As per the Rules and Operating Procedures,
work groups will now elect a chair and vice-chair for a term of one
year. The Restoration Team is in need of several members who would be
interested in serving in this capacity. Please contact Clarence or John
if you are interested or know of someone else who would be willing.

**11:15--11:45 PM** **Recoverability/Vulnerability Field Trip Report
(Ruth Sparks)**

Ruth provided a recap of the Recoverability/Vulnerability Field Trip
co-sponsored by the Restoration Team and USGS in May. The 2-day event
was well attended with 29 participants including managers,
restorationists, and researchers from throughout the Mojave. Tour
agendas and other materials are available from Ruth Sparks and will
posted (eventually) on the Restoration Team homepage. Field sites
visited included the Mountain Pass Burn, a geomorphology viewing area
near Zyzzx, Valjean railroad cut, Camp Ibis (Patton camp), and Viceroy
Gold Mine. Some of the points of discussion from the field sites were
summarized as follows:

-   Fire is unlike other disturbances in that there is little associated
    compaction and greater soil nutrient changes.

-   Surface age is an important factor affecting soil hydrology which
    determines the response of a surface to various impacts and the
    process of recovery. Geomorphological maps can aid in the
    interpretation of soil survey information.

-   Climate variability is an important feature of the Mojave Desert
    ecosystem. We may be entering a drier period, but most of our
    current understanding of recovery and restoration is based on the
    last 20 years of higher precipitation. We are likely to experience
    an increase in the number of days of precipitation but reduced
    intensity with less frequent runoff events.

-   Soil crusts are important for control of wind erosion and changes in
    species composition may be expected as a result of air pollution.
    Development of a predictive model of crust occurrence and species
    composition may be possible based on soil chemistry, lithology,
    surface age, texture, elevation and precipitation, but this needs
    more work in the Mojave.

-   Susceptibility to compaction is a primary determinant of
    vulnerability to disturbance and varies with texture and soil
    moisture conditions. Preliminary mapping of vulnerability for areas
    near Valjean has been completed.

-   The Patton site provided an example of recover on a young surface.
    Vegetative cover was good, but larger species had still not come
    back. This led to a discussion of what constitutes recovery;
    recovery depends on whether the goal is stabilization, visual, or
    functional.

-   In many instances no action may be the best alternative since
    compaction decreases naturally within a fairly short time and many
    restoration activities actually increase disturbance.

-   Eliminating berms and other linear features is important.

**11:45-12:15 Recoverability/Vulnerability Cost Modeling (Eli Smith)**

Following the field trip, Len Gaydos (USGS Sacramento) suggested that
some consideration of costs and successes of various restoration
techniques was necessary to make the R&V model truly useful to
restorationists. Eli Smith, a graduate student with the Center for
Science Policy, presented a methodology for incorporating costs into the
USGS Recoverability/ Vulnerability Modeling effort. He described a five
stage process for collecting economic data, relating project success to
restoration techniques and site characteristics, and creating risk maps
that could be used by restoration decision makers. He requested help
from those doing restoration work to provide cost and success data or
information about existing data sources (such as CERPI). Comments from
the group suggested that this process needs to somehow account for
subjective information such as criterion for success, goals of the
different agencies, timelines for recovery, and changing climate
conditions. It was pointed out that the proposed analysis would require
a huge sample size in order to deal with the potential variability. It
was also suggested that in the course of collecting this information,
Eli could help populate some restoration project databases. The group
provided Eli with contact information so that he could follow up with
individuals who may have some of the necessary data.

**12:15-1:15 PM Lunch**

**1:15-2:30 PM** **Pulling Together Initiative (Matt Brooks)**

###  The Pulling Together Initiative provides DoD/DOI funds for conservation initiatives at a 1:1 or 1:2 match of state or local monies. Funds are available for up to three years of a project. Matt proposed that this could be used as seed money for a high desert Weed Management Area (WMA). Funding could be applied for once an MOU has been drafted and priorities have been determined. Discussion followed as to appropriate boundaries for such a WMA, what entity is best positioned to lead the initiative, and what stakeholders need to be involved. The WMA needs to be multi-county and focus on weed management problems away from coastal areas that currently get the most attention and funding. Matt suggested it would be best to begin with an existing entity such as the DLRT or the Mojave Desert RC&D. Deadline for FY01 proposals is 7 November -- probably too soon for a response from the DLRT. There is a possibility of forming a weed working group within the DLRT which would interface with the WMA once established. Pete Lounsbury (MDRC&D) will draft a briefing paper to be presented at the next DMG meeting (28 Sept) which will define the concept for a high desert WMA and identify a possible role for the DLRT.

**2:30-3:00 PM** **Fire history database project**

Ruth asked the group for information about an Access database program
created by Pam Anning at Saquaro National Park for handling fire history
data. Data entry and reporting follow the standard DOI format for the
Historical Fire Events Database. Ruth is attempting to use or modify the
database for capturing fire history data at Fort Irwin. She was seeking
feedback as to the usefulness of this format and ways to simplify the
data without losing critical information. Matt emphasized the need to
include a comment field for notes about fire behavior in addition to the
basic site information.

**3:00-4:00 PM Miscellaneous agenda items**

Other brief agenda items were as follows:

-   Carolyn offered to review the restoration homepage for necessary
    design and content changes. Ruth will send her copies of previous
    comments/changes that were identified by Jane, Val and Ruth last
    fall. Team members were asked to look at the homepage and provide
    feedback to Carolyn within the next month. Updates will be made
    prior to the next team meeting and will be available for comments
    from the group.

-   Ideas for a workshop (late FY01/early FY02 timeframe) were discussed
    and included (1) technology for restorationists (i.e. remote
    sensing, aerial photos, GIS applications, scanning software), (2) a
    training session on site monitoring techniques (John Willoughby?),
    or (3) fire ecology and management. It was decided to put out a
    request via the list server for additional training/workshop
    suggestions and add it as an agenda item for a decision at the next
    meeting.

-   John emphasized the need for better communication from the
    Restoration Team to the Desert Managers Group and better
    follow-through, particularly on development of the restoration
    project database. Eric will make edits to the database based on
    previous comments from the group and tie-ins to the dump cleanup
    database. These will be demonstrated at the next meeting for final
    comments.

**The next meeting date was tentatively set for Tuesday and Wednesday,
14-15 Nov 2000, in Death Valley National Park.** Final plans for meeting
time and location, camping, and a possible field site visit will be
posted on the web and sent out on the list server once these have been
confirmed with Dana York.

Respectfully submitted,

Ruth Sparks