THE LAND CONSERVANCY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY

Restoration Project: Floodplain and Wetland Restoration

Filipponi Ecological Area

Overview/History

The Filipponi Ecological Area is an 80 acre conservation site purchased by the City of San Luis Obispo in 1999. The property was purchased from Herb and Diane Filipponi through the San Luis Obispo Greenbelt conservation program. The site is a designated ecological area, so it is not an open public use site. Access to the site is available through docent led hikes, however. Keep an eye on the Land Conservancy's events calendar for tour dates.

The Problem

Historically, this property has been farmed or grazed for probably 100 years. Levees on the property confined the stream that runs through the property, a seasonal stream called the East Fork of San Luis Obispo Creek, to keep the site from flooding. Floodwaters came periodically, however, and would break the levee. The power of these floods scoured the soil off the site and deposited it in San Luis Obispo Creek where it fouled the nests of spawning steelhead. When the City purchased the property as part of the San Luis Obispo Greenbelt, one of the goals was to reduce reduce the erosion and subsequent sedimentation of the creek.

Normally, conserved farmlands are not taken out of production. Tis prioperty was a special case because of the opportunity to create rare wetland habitats, and the high maintenance related to farming it. Statewide, California has lost approximately 95% of its wetlands. It is increasingly rare to find land that actually has the potential to be recreated as a functioning wetland. This property had this rare capacity, so the decision was made to convert the land use to fish and wildlife habitat.

Project Approach

The Land Conservancy approached the City with the proposal to restore the stream corridor and build new wetlands. Over the next 4 years, the Land Conservancy raised over $700,000 to restore the site. First, we recreated an active floodplain by removing 800 feet of levees. Once the floodplain was reactivated, we set out to restore 4,000 linear feet of the stream corridor, install 6 off-stream wetland pools, and create a seasonal wetland swale. Throughout the project, we worked with teams of hydrology experts and experienced grading contractors. We also brought an army of volunteers to help plant approximately 19,000 native plants. Special care had to be taken during construction to avoid the rare Congden's Tarplant that was naturally occuring on the site. We also had to time the construction to avoid the nesting seasons of birds and southwestern pond turtles.

Results

Today the restoration work is complete and the habitats on the site are maturing every year. Natural recruitment of native plants is also a sign of project success. An interesting monitoring method we use here is the annual monitoring of bird species utilizing the site. While 20 species were identified on the site prior to construction, we now have over 90 species of birds. We also see evidence of a great number and variety of wildlife, including coyotes, foxes, skunks, opossums, bobcats, mountain lions, bears, and even southwestern pond turtles.

Project Partners

A project of this size calls for an interdisciplinary planning team and a host of other project partners. Funding came from a number of sources including: The County of San Luis Obispo, City of San Luis Obispo, David and Lucille Packard Foundation, Department of Fish and Game Office of Spill Prevention and Response, and the Regional Water Quality Control Board. Design assistance came from Questa Engineering, and construction was handled by R. Burke Construction, the Land Conservancy, the California Conservation Corps, and hundreds of community volunteers.