Laserfiche WebLink
Community centers which usually draw more than 100 people each. For more information about this event, call Kim <br />McManus at 541-682-5312. <br /> <br />Parks and Open Space Division Studies Innovative Techniques for Wetland Restoration <br />The Public Works Parks and Open Space Division, Lane Council of Governments (LCOG), and the Institute for Applied <br />Ecology have been awarded a $151,000 wetland program development grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection <br />Agency (EPA) to study methods for restoration and management of wetland prairie ecosystems. The project will span <br />three years and will test the use of innovative techniques for maintaining diverse, native plant communities. <br /> <br />The project started May 6 and 7, when 100 sheep grazed 10 <br />of the 50 experimental plots at the City’s Coyote Prairie site <br />to help reduce the amount of existing vegetation and open <br />up bare spots in the soil. <br /> <br />While sheep are a familiar sight in the Willamette Valley, <br />targeted grazing has only recently begun to be used as an <br />alternative to gas-powered mowing for ecosystem <br />management. In spring, the sheep like to eat succulent <br />young grasses and broad-leaved plants, reducing the amount <br />of space taken up by these plants. <br /> <br />The newly opened space will be seeded this fall with native <br />forbs to increase the diversity of native plant community. <br />Although grazing is used in other places across the country <br />to achieve restoration goals, this study will be one of the first <br />opportunities to evaluate this new restoration tool in the <br />Willamette Valley. Grazing will be compared with three other techniques (mowing, haying, and ecological burning) as <br />part of this research. <br /> <br />For more information, contact Natural Areas Restoration Supervisor Trevor Taylor at 541-682-4888. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 4 <br />May 13, 2010 <br />