Ecological Restoration on Steep Slopes

Story and photo by ECI staff

Pacifica Coastal Bluffs

Over the past several months ECI has cleaned up the old slope by removing old erosion control products, removed invasive plants such as ice plant, hydroseeded the slope, installed heavy duty erosion control blankets and finished with the installation of native coastal bluff plants grown by Central Coast Wilds nursery. The native species installed include: Frageria chiloensis, Eriophyllum staechadifolium, Erigeron glaucus, Eriogonum latifolium, and Dudleya spp. ECI will continue to maintain the site through the first year in hopes of getting the plants established in these extreme conditions.

A HUGE thank you to the members of the crew working on this! Steve Glascock, Mo Najera, Kevin Dougherty, Forest Wallace, Spencer Dillon, Rafael Higuera, John Sherman, Gonzalo Haro, Oliver Delarosa!

Ben Lomond Sandhills

Since ECI started working at Quail Hollow Quarry in 2013, we have not been able to access the dreaded Upper Highwall, because previously-used fall protection systems were deemed unsafe. Thanks to some ongoing efforts by numerous people, there are now cables stretching across the top of the wall, totalling about 500 feet. Forrest led the way, with help from Polo, Miguel, Mo, Gonzalo, Kevin P., Aaron B., Garrick and Ellen. After installing the cables, planting on the Upper Highwall proceeded, including the CNPS-listed Arctostaphylos silvicola, endemic to the sandhills. Partway through the planting, a crazy windstorm buried half the plants, but the site is so steep that most of them soon saw the light again.