Camino Corto Open Space Preservation & Vernal Pools Habitat Biological Restoration Vernal Pool & Adjacent Upland Restoration Project
The focus of the vernal pool restoration project is to protect and enhance an increasingly rare habitat that serves as a critical corridor between the nearby Storke Campus wetlands, Del Sol Vernal Pool Reserve and the Goleta and Devereux Slough ecosystems. The main objectives of the restoration plan include:
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Increasing the number of vernal pools at the site from one to [seven?].
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Enhancing the existing vernal pool at the site.
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Initiating restoration of upland habitat adjacent to vernal pools.
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Realigning the path system to improve drainage, better protect sensitive areas, and accommodate anticipated changes in foot traffic across the site.
Seven degraded sites were indicated for
vernal pool restoration efforts. These areas experience seasonal inundation,
and support some native wetland plant species, but were dominated by non-native
plants. The areas selected for 
restoration
were surveyed and marked with stakes to indicate proposed locations of pool
edges and basins in Fall 1998. Adjustments to the habitat restoration plan
were made in the field according to on-site observations. The areas selected
were dethatched and test pits were excavated to confirm the presence of and
determine the depth of a clay subsoil layer. The marked vernal pool basins
were graded and the 
topsoil was removed and set aside for later use of the
pool margins and path berms. The excavated pool sizes range
from 40' to 100' with depths of 36". Pools basins were hand
raked to produce a loose subsoil layer and seed and seed bank material was
introduced to the loose soil in the basin in anticipation of winter rains.
The exposed subsoil was covered with the topsoil at the edges and the basins
and paths were rolled with a water filled drum to consolidate loose soil
on the surface.
Seeds of native plants are planted in dethatched upland areas adjacent to the restored vernal pools and the edges of paths.
