CAMP CADY WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA RESTORATION PROJECT

 

The objective of this continuing demonstration study is to determine the potential suitability and sustainability of selected plant materials for site restoration/revegetation on riparian salt cedar infestation sites along the Mojave River, within the Camp Cady Wildlife Management Area’s jurisdiction.

The Camp Cady water infrastructure has been replaced with not only new piping but pressure tanks and flow meters as well. With the aging water lines replaced not only for the office and bunkhouse areas but the surrounding restoration areas, new plantings are taking place. The Camp Cady caretaker Bruce Kenyon, Quail Forever, has been replacing plants in the restoration areas that died due to water pipe breakage in years past. Fish and Wildlife is in the process of installing a weather station at the office to collect vital data. The tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda) has shown to be proliferating in the tamarisk at Camp Cady, stalling mechanical and chemical eradication measures on tamarisk trees until the damage done by the beetle can be determined. Other native plants have established in the study area showing what species will survive in the salty and sandy environment. The water uptake from the saltcedar may affect the nearby plants water availability, depending on the amount of stress the existing beetles are placing on the trees. Also, the partial shading from the remaining controlled saltcedar debris may affect the plant survival for these species in the sandy loam understory.