Restoration Fieldwork
Our Field Work Goals Are To:
- Bring people into the Bosque and deepen the local community’s connection with the Rio Grande and its floodplain habitat
- Aid public land managers by removing invasive non-native species and providing data on safe and effective management strategies
- Develop guidelines for the successful reintroduction of Yerba Mansa (Anemopsis californica) and other declining native plants
- Improve habitat and biodiversity in the Bosque
- Assist in the evolution of a new 21st century riparian plant mosaic where native plants will thrive alongside non-natives
- Help Bosque plant communities transition into a future that is predicted to have hotter temperatures, less water, and increased non-native species populations
- Contribute to conservation efforts being made by other organizations
Our Field Work Includes:
- Undertaking baseline documentation of existing non-native Ravenna Grass (Saccharum ravennae) and new sprouts from the exisiting seed bank using GPS and photographs
- Teaching plant identification so volunteers can recognize native and non-native species
- Training field crew volunteers how to effectively remove Ravenna Grass using shovels and mattocks and to remove seeding stalks
- Planting and reseeding natives in appropriate areas
- Documenting newly emerging Ravenna Grass and native plant recovery as our work progresses
- Maintaining a comprehensive botanical inventory of the area
- Providing year-round watering and maintence of plantings to support establishment
- Undertaking baseline yerba mansa population surveys in the greater Albuquerque area for long-term monitoring of stands
Our Research Includes:
- Experimental removal of non-native invasive Ravenna Grass throughout the site
- GIS tracking of invasive Ravenna population
- Experimental replanting of Yerba Mansa and other native plants in different micro-habitats
- Experimental reseeding of other native grasses, herbs, and shrubs in open areas of the understory
- Long-term monitoring of changes in vegetation over time
Support Our Field Work
Sponsor a Restoration Field Day
Sponsoring an event includes professional training and work tools, plants and seeds, snacks and water, and GIS data collection. Businesses will have your logo on event communications and promotions, featured on our website, and in our newsletter. Individual donors will be listed on our website and newsletter, if you choose. $750 per event.
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Join Our Field Crew
Help us restore native plants and improve habitat at our next Bosque Restoration Field Day. See our Events page for details. Or join our field staff to help care for our plantings, collect data, and monitor our site.
Published Articles by the YMP Director:
United Plant Savers Species At Risk Monograph for Yerba Mansa (August 2022)
Cottonwood Forest Communique, In The Journal Of Medicinal Plant Conservation (Spring 2021)
Rivers, Restoration, and Hope for Medicinal Plants Part 2: River Restoration and Emerging Plant Communities, In Plant Healer Quarterly (Fall 2017)
Rivers, Restoration, and Hope for Medicinal Plants Part 1: Understanding Threats to Riparian Ecosystems, In Plant Healer Quarterly (Summer 2017)
Drought, Climate Change, and Medicinal Plants in the Anthropocene, In Plant Healer Quarterly (Spring 2017)
Ecological Herbalism for a Better Understanding of Place and Plant Medicine, In Plant Healer’s Good Medicine Confluence Class Essay Book (2016)
Yerba Mansa and the Rio Grande Bosque, In Plant Healer Quarterly (Summer 2015)
