Fairview
Mitigation Wetlands/Bush Pasture Park
as important case studies
• What is a wetlands mitigation?
Mitigation involves any of a number of actions to restore, enhance, or
slow down the degradation of a wetlands site. It is usually NOT a
replacement for retaining good quality wetlands if the good land is
converted to development, BUT it can be a good solution if wetland to
be built on by industry is already degraded severely, and the
replacement mitigated acres improve other degraded habitat.
In evaluating global biodiversity losses at all levels (from genes to
ecosystems), scientists often emphasize the importance of identifying
and protecting hot-spots of diversity (Pentergast et.al. 1993, Heywood
1995). Two Salem, Oregon sites offer rich case studies for
plant-polinator interactions in diverse, but imperiled grassland
ecosystems with habitats ranging from wetland prarie to oak savanna.
Project Objectives
To Apply
the best scientific
tools to practical issues in local areas
Scientists and volunteers will use field and lab-based methods to
create and monitor visually and functionally diverse landscapes. Field
and genetic data will help guide the management of ecologically and
historically important communities.
To Restore
degraded communities by enhancing
biodiversity
Educators, students,
and citizens will
reintroduce native camas and other flowering plants to reconstructed
grassland “islands” that occur near local
businesses.
To Enlist
public support to maintain camas meadows
and wetlands
We hope this broad
participatory effort
will be a national model that exemplifies how citizens and scientists
can work together to understand ecological processes. A new website,
videotaping, and interpretive signs will highlight the potential for a
future, on-site nature center that local citizens can enjoy.