Irvine Ranch Conservancy Celebrates the Completion of the West Loma Subwatershed Project in Partnership With OCTA
After a decade of work, the restoration project has met success criteria and has been officially signed off by U.S. and California regulatory agencies
(Orange County, Calif.) – Irvine Ranch Conservancy (IRC) is celebrating another successful habitat restoration project in the West Loma region of OC Parks’ Irvine Ranch Open Space, which marks the fourth in a series of mitigation projects sponsored by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA). These projects are funded through the Renewed Measure M Freeway Environmental Mitigation Program, which allocates approximately $10 million to support habitat restoration efforts benefiting a diverse range of common and rare wildlife species across almost 400 acres.
The West Loma restoration project covers 62.5 acres of active restoration as well as an additional 400 acres dedicated to targeted invasive plant control. Focusing on five key habitat types - coastal sage scrub, elderberry shrubland, mulefat shrubland, native grassland, and red willow woodland - the nearly 10-year restoration process involved replacing non-native, invasive weeds with a diverse array of native wildflowers, shrubs, and trees carefully selected by IRC staff to thrive in the area. Beginning in 2014, the project timeline involved years of site preparation, followed by seeding and planting, and culminating in maintenance and monitoring.
Staff from wildlife agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, inspected the site and evaluated monitoring data. After certifying the project met all standards for ecological performance, it was deemed fully successful and complete.
“To deem a project successful, it has to meet certain success criteria including native and non-native cover standards, number of functional groups of plant species, and evidence of native species recruitment within each vegetation community,” says Robert Freese, IRC Restoration and Enhancement Program Manager. “We encountered a significant challenge with the Silverado and Bond Fires of 2020, which burned 27 acres of the project just one year after completion of seeding and planting. Four years later, we are thrilled with the project’s post-fire trajectory, and we have restored a more fire-resilient ecosystem.”
As part of the monitoring process for the West Loma restoration project, IRC staff tracked the nesting of specific sensitive birds and discovered a significant increase in the average number of nests for the California gnatcatcher, California cactus wren and least Bell's vireo following the completion of seeding and planting. This increase in nesting activity underscores the positive impact of the project on overall biodiversity and ecological connectivity.
The positive outcomes from the West Loma restoration project highlight critical factors to consider for future restoration initiatives. Large landscape-scale projects with multiple habitat types foster greater connectivity with the surrounding ecosystem that benefits wildlife. Furthermore, having a diverse mix of plant species facilitates drought and wildfire resiliency, allowing for natural selection of plant species through unpredictable weather events. These insights provide valuable lessons for IRC to incorporate into future restoration projects.
For more information on restoration projects taking place at Irvine Ranch Conservancy, please visit irconservancy.org.
Staff from wildlife agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, inspected the site and evaluated monitoring data. After certifying the project met all standards for ecological performance, it was deemed fully successful and complete.
“To deem a project successful, it has to meet certain success criteria including native and non-native cover standards, number of functional groups of plant species, and evidence of native species recruitment within each vegetation community,” says Robert Freese, IRC Restoration and Enhancement Program Manager. “We encountered a significant challenge with the Silverado and Bond Fires of 2020, which burned 27 acres of the project just one year after completion of seeding and planting. Four years later, we are thrilled with the project’s post-fire trajectory, and we have restored a more fire-resilient ecosystem.”
As part of the monitoring process for the West Loma restoration project, IRC staff tracked the nesting of specific sensitive birds and discovered a significant increase in the average number of nests for the California gnatcatcher, California cactus wren and least Bell's vireo following the completion of seeding and planting. This increase in nesting activity underscores the positive impact of the project on overall biodiversity and ecological connectivity.
The positive outcomes from the West Loma restoration project highlight critical factors to consider for future restoration initiatives. Large landscape-scale projects with multiple habitat types foster greater connectivity with the surrounding ecosystem that benefits wildlife. Furthermore, having a diverse mix of plant species facilitates drought and wildfire resiliency, allowing for natural selection of plant species through unpredictable weather events. These insights provide valuable lessons for IRC to incorporate into future restoration projects.
For more information on restoration projects taking place at Irvine Ranch Conservancy, please visit irconservancy.org.
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