Outline of Quino Recovery Plan - The Xerces Society

• Cut thatch and dead nonnative plants with "weedeaters." This cutting can be
done during the summer or early fall.
• Rake up and collect nonnative plant thatch.
• Remove thatch from site and dispose of it in dumpsters, a landfill, or an area
where it can be composted nearby to reduce disposal costs.
• Return to site and spray Roundup (or more selective herbicide) on nonnative
plant seedlings after sufficient rains have fallen in winter and spring.
• Repeat spraying as necessary to prevent seed set. Other options include the
use of pre-emergent herbicide prior to the first significant rain.
• Repeat spraying as necessary to maintain nonnative plant density to a low
level. If nonnative plants are controlled each season prior to flowering and
setting seed, the level of effort required should decrease.
The nonnative plant removal process must be carefully monitored because
frequently, as the dominant nonnative plant species are removed, other nonnative
plant species multiply rapidly and replace the formerly dominant nonnative
species. Repeated nonnative plant removal visits are necessary, and adaptive
management strategies must quickly address control of newly dominant
nonnative species. Frequent site visits are necessary during the growing season
to assess nonnative plant removal efforts and to determine whether changes are
needed in the strategy being used or the intensity of nonnative plant removal
efforts. This type of nonnative plant removal effort requires control efforts prior
to flowering and seed development. As nonnative plants are controlled over the
first few years, natives will return to dominance. Removal of nonnative plants
by hand may be required around small populations of herbaceous natives.
Expansion of herbaceous annuals, including goldfields (Lasthenia) and plantain
(Plantago), which may be locally rare because of nonnative plant competition,
may require population augmentation and careful hand removal of nonnatives.
Restoring Unoccupied Habitat Completely Dominated by Nonnative Plants
If nonnative plants dominate a heavily disturbed restoration site completely (few
or no native plant species occur) and the thatch is well incorporated into the soil,
it can be more cost-effective to use heavy equipment over a large area to remove
thatch and nonnative plant seed banks. Soil scraping probably works best if
there are existing patches of native habitat adjacent to the site to allow
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