Houlton Farm Planning Committee Meeting 2016-02-02

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RESTORATION PROCESS Restoration is a process. It takes time to restore ecosystems to their former functionality and diversity. Sometimes this can only be approximated. It took many decades to degrade the ecosystem and biological communities on site, so it will not be restored overnight. Many steps are typically involved in a successful restoration; even deciding when a restoration is complete/successful can be very difficult. Restoration should be viewed as a process not a state of being. The ultimate goal is to achieve and maintain a diverse natural community at the site, though this will not always proceed in a linear fas lion. Using the concept of adaptive management will be key to continual progress at t Adaptive management is a strategy commonly used by land managers, and i rates thought and action into the restoration process. It can be described as a strat uses evaluation, reflection, communication, and also incorporates learning int nni management. It is set up like a feedback loop and looks like this: Assess P b -4 D -4 Implement -4 Monitor -4 Evaluate -4 Adjust -4 Asses lem -4 and . Thus, moving forward with restoration, each round of adap ' man ement refine d hones the process to better fit the conditions of the site. T trate ould be em asized at the William H. Houlton Conservation Area. ` Given the size of the property and its pro: take a large amount of effort to restore of "edge" (rivers, adjacent lands, etc) allows native and invasive. While managing pro engaging neighbors in the importance of i restoration on the property bagoW succ of exotic invasive plants - wi inc protected and manage he area ity to other prIWIe seed) sources, it will khKWin this site. a amount and type of a I supplfof propagules, many non - les . n the river is impossible, n on it lands will not only help the as it wi 1 reduce the potential seed source s ize of natural communities being The restoration of the biolommui4M, at the William H. Houlton Conservation Area will be broken in ses. E ._ase will address the restoration of each given target plant comm -phas�-r restoration of some of the larger areas. Phases Restorati ill also b ritize ith the most important resources or vital areas taking precede... However, re ation will ultimately be conducted based on available funds and resour d may no ccur sequentially or as prioritized. On this site, rem f ' . asive plants around the farm field is the highest priority. Without this crucia �t step, savanna restoration will be plagued by invasion. Prioritizing invasive removal fi -t will lead to better results in subsequent restoration tasks. The second priority is restoring savanna/prairie in the currently farmed areas of the property. Savanna is a rare and vulnerable plant community, and increasing its presence on the landscape is an important goal. The third priority will be restoring the floodplain forest island and woodland areas. Friends of the Mississippi NU W.H. Houlton Conservation Area NRMP