VEGETATION REQUIREMENTS

1. Use natives

2. Plant species that are a) appropriate for site conditions, but will b) take advantage of different ecological settings.

3. Do not commit to planting a significant part of the restoration project with a species whose establishment success could be questionable.

4. Non-aggressive species should be allowed to establish before aggressive species are planted,

unless you have reed canarygrass, in which case

aggressive species should be planted immediately.

5. Mature communities cannot be re-constructed, only started.

6. Controlled flooding and draw-downs may be used to help establish certain wetland plants and discourage weeds.

7. You may plant initial species just to create appropriate site conditions (e.g., plant native willows to create shade that will inhibit reed canarygrass).

8. If you plant all the species you might expect to see in a mature plant community, you should expect to have to take special precautions to protect some of them (e.g., provide shade or nurse structures for shade-tolerant forest understory species).