Chapter 4—Restoration Program Development and Support

• 4.1 Funding, Workforce, and Partnerships
  • 4.1.1 Funding
    • 4.1.1a Forest Service Sources of Funding
    • 4.1.1b Other Funding Sources
  • 4.1.2 Budgeting
  • 4.1.3 Workforce
  • 4.1.4 Partnerships
  • 4.1.5 National Sources for Recruiting Wilderness Volunteers
  • 4.1.6 Using Professional Services
  • 4.1.7 Learning From Others
• 4.2 Options for Growing Plants
  • 4.2.1 Forest Service Nurseries
  • 4.2.2 Plant Material Centers
  • 4.2.3 Other Agency Nurseries
  • 4.2.4 Contract Growers
  • 4.2.5 School Horticulture Programs
  • 4.2.6 Working With Contractors
  • 4.2.7 General Principles for Successful Contracting
    
    

Even with volunteer assistance, restoration programs require a big commitment of our corporate energy and funding. This section discusses ideas that will help you build your program. Most Forest Service wilderness restorationists do not have a consistent program, but lurch from project to project as funding or other opportunities present themselves.

4.1 Funding, Workforce, and Partnerships

There is no magic funding source for wilderness restoration projects-roll up your sleeves and figure out your best options. Networking with other wilderness restorationists will help you see how they plan their budget and workforce. Let your allies know what you are seeking; you may gain ideas from other specialists or citizen advocacy groups. Learn by doing-keep good records of your costs, including the hidden costs such as your staff time, to refine future project planning.

4.1.1 Funding

If you are lucky, you are planning a restoration project that already has some funding. its more likely that you will need to seek out sources of funding and leverage your limited budget with volunteer labor (figure 4-1). Small projects can be accomplished with your existing workforce using appropriated dollars to cover a few material costs. Obtaining additional funding can be discouraging-the Forest Service has no readily available pot of funds for wilderness projects. Many units seek outside funding sources, such as grants for their projects.

Figure 4-1—Two teenage volunteers on a
Student Conservation Association high
school work crew pause while hauling fill.

4.1.1a Forest Service Sources of Funding

Recreation-If the impacts you are treating are related to recreation, the recreation budget is an appropriate funding source.

Recreation Fee Dollars-The national recreation fee programs may allow funds to be used for restoration projects. If your local fee program's business plan allows for restoration, you may be able to lobby for some funding.

Capital Investment Program (CIP)-Wilderness restoration projects can be submitted to the CIP program. There is no telling what year (or decade) your project will rise to the surface for funding. But this is a nice funding source when it comes through, because the funding is in place for several years.

Soil and Water-If the impacts at your project location are contributing sediment to streams with native species of fish, approach your fish biologist or hydrologist about tapping into soil and water funds.

Knutson-Vandenberg (KV) Act Funding-Outside wilderness, a restoration project may be part of the mitigation from a timber sale, such as restoring a logging landing back to a trailhead. Include this mitigation in the timber sale decision and make sure it is included in the KV plan. Be forewarned that "nonessential" KV items often remain unfunded.

4.1.1b Other Funding Sources

Federal agencies are not eligible to compete for many grants, but you may be able to partner with a not-for-profit organization, such as a native plant society, to help acquire funds. Some States have grant programs that fund a variety of improvement or restoration projects on public lands. If you apply for grants, develop your proposal to give you as much latitude as needed. For example, if you only include labor and materials in your grant, you may not be able to fund important aspects of your program, such as planning, transportation, and equipment. Your local library may have information on sources of grants for restoration projects.

4.1.2 Budgeting

Project planning is the first cost incurred in a restoration project and can be the most difficult to fund. It may be possible to attract the help of kind-hearted specialists pining for a wilderness trip.

In general, the project implementation budget is developed based on materials, equipment, and labor. You may also want to budget for training. Materials include items such as plant materials, erosion-control materials, soil amendments, and signs. Equipment will include any tools, camping supplies, and items needed for transporting materials or workers.

For projects outside wilderness, labor costs are often relatively low because of the efficiency of motorized equipment and large machinery. In wilderness, labor costs are much higher, but can be offset with volunteer labor. Don't be surprised when a task takes far longer than envisioned. For example, if your crew is using buckets to collect soil for fill, it may take up to a week to collect enough soil to restore one site or closed trail.

The following box lists potential budget items. While this list is not exhaustive, it will help you think of a variety of costs. Keep in mind that it is far more efficient to overprepare than to be underprepared. Having a thorough site assessment and restoration plan will make the budgeting process fairly easy. Planning also helps to set priorities for each component of the project so that the most important portions of the project are finished first, an important factor if funds run short and the project cannot be completed.

4.1.3 Workforce

If you do not have a restoration program in place already, it will take a little extra effort to develop your workforce. Skill development begins during the planning phase-take the time to educate your team if they haven't already been involved with restoration projects. Team members will benefit from reading this guide and other literature relevant to your habitats and plants, by listening to talks by other successful restorationists, and by attending a restoration course. You might consider inviting restorationists to provide training or present a case study for your team and work crews.

Don't just assume that the trail crew or wilderness crew will make a good restoration crew, although they certainly will have good skills to contribute. It helps if your restoration crew has lots of perseverance. The work goes slowly and is hard on the back and knees (figure 4-2) because of all the bending and kneeling. The crew needs an eye for detail, precision, and thoroughness in tasks such as installing erosion-control features, identifying plant species, and transplanting plants. The crewleader needs to have good technical skills, be good at quality control, and work well with people. Crewmembers with a background in gardening, landscaping, or working with plants are good choices. Folks more interested in moving through a project quickly are not good choices. Even motivated workers may need a pep talk to get through the more monotonous or uncomfortable parts of a project.

Figure 4-2—All restoration projects include
lots of uncomfortable bending and endlessly
monotonous tasks—choose your crew carefully.

Give the crewleader time to become prepared. Perhaps the crewleader was involved in the planning and already has ownership in the project. Consider sending the crewleader to a restoration training course at the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center in Missoula, MT. Other ways to increase a crewleader's skills include reading publications such as this guide, attending other restoration workshops (check with the Society for Ecological Restoration), and visiting other units with successful restoration programs. Take a reconnaissance trip to the restoration site with your crewleader so the leader clearly understands each aspect of the project.

Once the crew is onboard, provide them with on-the-job training. Show them pictures of the various steps of the restoration process, and explain the principles involved in each step. Be sure to include any other expectations you may have for the project, such as practicing Leave No Trace principles, preventing further damage to the project site, working a split shift to beat the heat, or any other concerns. If your work crew is small, consider recruiting a larger group during the first few days to help move heavier items (logs and rocks) and to create a sense of momentum. Unless your project area is close to a trailhead, consider having the crew work long hitches to maximize the hours they spend working on the project relative to the time spent in travel. If you aren't supervising the project yourself, be sure to at least visit while the work is underway for the sake of the crew's morale and to allow you to make any midcourse corrections that may be needed.

4.1.4 Partnerships

Lots of folks care about wilderness and restoration of damaged wild places. Project dollars can be maximized and public good will can be enhanced by building partnerships. This section specifically discusses the role of volunteer partnerships. The next section discusses the use of professional services.

Volunteer relationships can be developed for any aspect of a project-from monitoring and planning, to growing plants, to project implementation and maintenance. Depending on the skill level of the volunteers, you will need to invest a considerable amount of mentoring, training, coordination, supervision, and quality control when working with them. Responsible, motivated, mature individuals are almost a prerequisite for restoration projects; avoid using the 1-day volunteer Scout or school group as your planting crew unless they already have a lot of ownership in the success of your project.

There are many ways to recruit volunteers. Tap into organizations in your area that enjoy service projects. Examples might include hiking clubs, the Back Country Horsemen, environmental clubs or organizations, and native plant societies. Many college students need internships. Interns could help during the various phases of a restoration project (figure 4-3). Also consider recruiting graduate students who need a thesis project. Build relationships with teachers or professors who might be a source of interns or graduate students.

Figure 4-3—Students fulfilling internships can be
motivated restoration workers. If they volunteer,
do your best to defray their expenses.

Be creative and develop any natural alliances. For example, one of the wilderness rangers in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness is a retired school teacher from Iowa. She developed a partnership where teachers from Iowa receive continuing education credits for helping with wilderness restoration projects. The following section lists several national organizations that act as clearinghouses for volunteers.

Volunteers need care and tending. Be sure they receive the rewarding experiences they are seeking. When recruiting volunteers, let them know how important their contribution will be to wilderness management. Provide for their basic needs by providing assistance with transportation, housing, and gear. Offer a stipend if you can.

Treat volunteers with the same respect you would a paid crew and be clear on relationships, including who is in charge of a project. Handle differences of opinion or morale issues with good cheer. While volunteers are working on the project, arrange for site visits from dignitaries, such as the district ranger. If an assignment takes longer than 5 days, include free days for volunteers to take time off and explore or relax. Counsel students regarding career ladders and career options; offer to write letters of reference. Recognize the crew's accomplishments with nonmonetary awards, an end-of-project social event, and followup correspondence or pictures.

4.1.5 National Sources for Recruiting Wilderness Volunteers

Costs were based on 2003 price schedules.

American Hiking Society (AHS) Volunteer Vacations
1422 Fenwick Lane
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone: 800-972-8608
Web site: http://www.americanhiking.org
E-mail: shearn@AmericanHiking.org

Types of volunteer offerings: 1- or 2-week trips with an emphasis on trail work and shelter maintenance. This might work well for a trail relocation project where restoration of the old trail is part of the project design.

Agency expectations and costs: Free to the agency. The agency provides at least partial supervision (directing work) and transportation from the airport, as well as group cooking supplies, tools, safety equipment, two-way radios, and first-aid supplies. An AHS crewleader can be requested to take care of logistics such as menu planning, grocery shopping, and camp management.

Cost to volunteers: $80 for members and $100 for nonmembers, plus transportation costs.

Earthwatch Institute
3 Clock Tower Place
Suite 100, Box 75
Maynard, MA 01754
Phone: 800-776-0188
Web site: http://www.earthwatch.org
E-mail: info@earthwatch.org

Types of volunteer offerings: Trips are to conduct meaningful field research projects. Volunteer fees help fund the research. This program is designed to assist researchers who have less access to funding.

Agency expectations and costs: The agency provides a salary for principal research personnel. The agency provides food, lodging, and onsite transportation.

Cost to volunteers: Varies by project, ranging from $700 to $2,500. For example, an average 2-week trip costs $1,800. Food and accommodations are included in the cost.

Elderhostel
11 Avenue de Lafayette
Boston, MA 02111-1746
Phone: 800-454-5768
Web site: http://www.elderhostel.org
E-mail: registration@elderhostel.org

Types of volunteer offerings: While most of their trips are for educational purposes, Elderhostel does offer service trips (and backpacking trips).

Agency expectations and costs: The agency provides supervision and tools.

Cost to volunteers: Costs vary, but $115 per day appears to be an average. Limited scholarships are available.

Sierra Club Volunteer Vacations
85 Second St. 2d Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: 415-977-5500
Web site: http://www.sierraclub.org
E-mail: national.outings@sierraclub.org

Types of volunteer offerings: Service trips run from 7 to 10 days and help with tasks, such as restoration, trail work, cleanup, and noxious weed control. The group will have a cook and a leader who handles logistics. Recreation days are part of each trip.

Agency expectations and costs: Free to the agency, although if funding is adequate, a stipend for volunteers is appreciated. The agency directs the work, provides tools, and provides support to pack food, tools, and gear (participants carry their own personal gear).

Cost to volunteers: Varies by project, ranging from $375 to $500, plus transportation. Food is included in the cost.

Student Conservation Association (SCA)
689 River Rd.
P.O. Box 550
Charlestown, NH 03603-0550
Phone: 603-543-1700
Web site: http://www.thesca.org
E-mail: rauger@thesca.org

Types of volunteer offerings: Three basic program offerings have a variety of options with a variety of costs.

• SCA Conservation Internships-College students and other adults can volunteer for 12 weeks, 6 months, or 2 years to perform most types of resource management work, including wilderness restoration.

Agency expectations and costs: A 12-week internship costs the agency about $2,400. This cost varies, depending on transportation, uniform needs, and other incidental costs. The agency provides housing, training, supervision, gear, tools, and so forth.

Cost to volunteers: Volunteers receive a stipend of $50 per week for food and incidentals from the SCA and reimbursement of transportation and uniform costs. Students who complete their program may be eligible for an Americorps education grant.

• SCA Diversity Internships-This program is similar to the conservation internships, but actively recruits persons of color and women. A 12-week internship costs the agency about $3,175.
  
  
• SCA Conservation Crews-A high school work crew (figure 4-4) of six to eight students is supervised by two paid highly trained crewleaders. They live at the project site for 21 to 30 days, including a recreational trip (usually a backpacking trip) at the end of their study.

Figure 4-4—An impromptu team-building exercise for
a Student Conservation Association high school work crew.

Agency expectations and costs: Costs vary, based on the crew size and the length of the assignment. For example, a two-leader, six-person crew costs $17,615 for 30 days. The agency provides assistance with transportation from the airport, a place to camp the first night, transportation of gear to and from work locations, tools, two-way radios, a food resupply, and periodic contact to coordinate with leaders, bring in mail, and interact with participants.

Cost to volunteers: Transportation (financial aid is available).

Wilderness Volunteers
P.O. Box 22292
Flagstaff, AZ 86002-2292
Phone: 928-556-0038
Web site: http://www.wildernessvolunteers.org
E-mail: info@wildernessvolunteers.org

Types of volunteer offerings: Generally, week-long trips with a focus on wilderness work, including restoration projects.

The agency expectations and costs: No cost to the agency. The agency directs the work and provides the tools.

Cost to volunteers: Varies by trip, about $200 for a 7- to 10-day trip, plus transportation.

4.1.6 Using Professional Services

A variety of professional services are available to help you accomplish your restoration project goals. This section discusses potential resources beyond those of your team, including additional Forest Service expertise, skilled help available from other agencies or organizations, and contractors.

4.1.7 Learning From Others

Network to find out who has experience with restoration projects in environments similar to your own. If you can, find out the types of restoration prescriptions that work for them and the methods they use to propagate plants and plant them successfully. Visit their projects. Potential contacts include other Forest Service wilderness managers, employees of other agencies, such as the National Park Service or Bureau of Land Management, university professors, and research scientists. You may wish to consult with agency specialists who are not assigned to your team, such as a geneticist or fire rehabilitation specialist.

Contact managers of restoration projects in similar environments where native species may have been used to restore lands at ski areas, road projects, or visitor centers. Contractors and consultants are a potential source of information, but be sensitive in pressing for their trade secrets!

The Society for Ecological Restoration can steer you to members who live in your area. Your local native plant society can put you in touch with restorationists. A local native plant gardener could provide beneficial information. A list of helpful organizations, along with their Web sites, is included in chapter 5, Tools of the Trade and Other Resources.

4.2 Options for Growing Plants

Very few Forest Service units have direct access to a greenhouse facility for propagating native plants. Fortunately, you have a number of options for working with professional growers. Don't be surprised if growers have not worked directly with your selected plant species-many wilderness areas are in environments very different from those with which they are familiar. Your grower may be learning by trial and error.

Supply the grower with any known propagation methods for your species. Explain your goals for genetic diversity, including any specific practice you prefer, such as not overcleaning seed, using all plants produced (without selecting just the superior plants), seed storage, and careful greenhouse management.

4.2.1 Forest Service Nurseries

Forest Service nurseries (figure 4-5) are diversifying their programs to include propagation of plant species other than trees. Discuss your project needs in advance because your project will not be the equivalent of a tree-planting operation. For example, dormant bareroot stock seedlings are planted in the spring, so Forest Service nurseries might want to deliver your plants at this time. Most subalpine or alpine restoration projects are more likely to be successful if they are completed in the fall right before the seasonal rain and snows.

Figure 4-5—Forest Service nurseries have been producing a
variety of native plant species in response to increasing demand.

4.2.2 Plant Material Centers

The Natural Resources Conservation Service has plant material centers located regionally. These centers are staffed by professionals who grow a wide array of native plants for restoration and reclamation projects. Their mission is to produce protocols for large-scale production. Normally, they do not grow plants for small applications, but in some locations they have been working with national parks to provide plants. Talk to other agency restorationists in your area to see if they have worked successfully with the plant material centers.

4.2.3 Other Agency Nurseries

Sometimes, other agencies have greenhouses (figure 4-6) and are happy to help grow plants. If you have a national park near your unit, see if it has a greenhouse. If it does, you may benefit not only from use of the greenhouse, but from networking with other restoration professionals.

Figure 4-6—Many national parks, such as North Cascades
National Park, WA, have greenhouses with plant propagation
staff. Park employees are a terrific source of expertise and
sometimes are able to help out other agencies.

4.2.4 Contract Growers

Fortunately for restorationists, native plant nurseries are on the rise. Check to see if one is near you. Local nurseries may already have experience in working with your selected species. Often, a local grower is willing to experiment with propagating a small batch of plants at no charge to develop a successful propagation protocol. A restoration project may be the beginning of a long-term working relationship.

4.2.5 School Horticulture Programs

Many high schools (figure 4-7) and colleges have horticulture programs. They might consider becoming partners on your project at a cost savings to you. You may only need to pay the cost of materials. Or the plants may cost slightly less than those grown commercially. Make sure an experienced teacher is supervising the project and that your goals for management of the plants are clear. Crop failures may be more likely when plants are grown in an instructional setting because of the lack of adult skills and conflicts with band field trips, spring break, and so forth. You might not end up with all the species and the genetic diversity that you planned for in your planting design. An advantage of this option is that it can create a wonderful learning opportunity for students.

Figure 4-7-After spending the better part of the school year
propagating many flats of plants for 1 hour a day, this high
school student was able to take part in the planting at Lake
Mary in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, WA.

4.2.6 Working With Contractors

Working with contractors can be an excellent means to accomplish all or part of a wilderness restoration project. Many contract restorationists can bring a wealth of expertise to your project.

This section will cover some general principles of contracting (Potash and Aubry 1997; St. John 1995). Check with your contracting officer or other units that use restoration contractors to obtain a sample contract so that you don't have to write one from scratch.

To find reliable contractors, check with sources, such as the Society for Ecological Restoration, local or regional native plant nurseries, your native plant society, other units with restoration projects, and your botanist. You can contract all or part of the project: project planning and design, seed and plant material collection, plant propagation, project implementation and outplanting, site maintenance, and monitoring. For instance, wilderness programs might contract for plant propagation, using a mix of project crews and volunteer labor to implement the project.

4.2.7 General Principles for Successful Contracting

Acquaint yourself with agency contracting guidelines. Each agency has strict procedures that must be followed, including the method of contracting (depending on the amount to be awarded), cutoff dates for submitting requests, and lists of interested contractors that must be notified of bid solicitations.

Work with your contracting office to make definitions, bid items, and other clauses as specific as possible. If items are vague, contractors automatically inflate their bids, raising project costs. In addition, bid-item contracts usually will generate lower bids than lump-sum contracts because the contractor will get paid for each component successfully completed. If your project is in wilderness or a remote setting, be clear about the difficulty of access and potential limitations on the types of tools, such as motorized tools or wheelbarrows. Most professional restorationists do not deal with small hand projects; they are accustomed to using large pieces of machinery (figure 4-8) to treat many acres.

Figure 4-8-Most contractors are accustomed to
accomplishing their work with dozers, rippers,
imprinters, tractors with drills, and water tenders.

Develop standards for weed control, pathogen and insect control, watering, and signs. Provide a format or forms for project documentation.

Address the things that might go wrong. Provide contingencies for propagation losses, late plant deliveries, bad seed lots, and natural disasters. Plan for ways to handle excess plant materials that may be propagated-perhaps you will opt to buy up an agreed amount of plants and allow the contractor to sell the rest.

Develop your own cost estimates for each bid item. Reject the low bid if it is unrealistically low to deliver the desired result.

Include qualifications for contractors and their personnel to assure project success; qualifications may require previous experience in working with your plant species and in your environment. You may consider preparing a small contract, such as a procurement contract (for less than $2,500), to help a local contractor develop skills in working with your plant species and in your environment.

Performance standards need to be developed to measure success for each bid item. Put yourself in the contractor's shoes-you want your project to succeed, but if your standards are too stringent, you will drive your costs up or create an adverse situation for contract administration. Do your homework-ask other units what type of success can be expected during various stages of your project. For example, if a plant species is difficult to work with, you cannot expect a high rate of survival once seedlings are outplanted.

Sometimes the contract includes remedial measures. For example, if monitoring performed up to 2 years later reveals certain deficiencies in project installation, a contractor can be required to fix it. This can include replanting. If you forced the contractor to follow poor techniques, the failure may not be the contractor's fault.

Build checkpoints into your contract to assure that work is progressing as planned. Careful oversight by an inspector will prevent shoddy work. Adjustments can be negotiated along the way if needed, especially if difficulties arise in working with certain plants. Payments should be made at specified checkpoints, with a portion of the payment saved until the end to assure quality work.

Once a contract is awarded, you will have a prework meeting. If the contractor will be working in the field, be sure to express your expectations for the practice of Leave No Trace principles, adherence to wilderness regulations, and campsite locations. Contractors may think they are exempt from pertinent regulations such as restrictions on bringing dogs into the area, having an oversize group, living on public land, or having a campfire. Be sure to discuss any exceptions to regulations in advance and work out potential problems.