San Vicente Creek Enhancement

Project Update

August 2015 - The installation of native plants have filled in and this summer, Student Conservation Association crews and Park staff installed split rail fencing to direct foot traffic to a new staircase that leads to the Reserve’s beach.

February 2015 - San Vicente Creek Enhancement began on Saturday, February 28th, 2015 with the removal of ice plant found at the mouth of the creek and adjacent to the trail leading to the tidepools. Ferns were then planted along the Coastal Trail (a.k.a. the Dardenelle Trail). Thank you to all volunteers who lent a hand!

About the Project

Many visitors to Fitzgerald Marine Reserve are so excited to explore the tide pools that they are unaware that the San Vicente Creek runs through the Reserve and into the ocean. Healthy creeks are critical to the overall habitat both up and downstream. The San Vicente Creek Enhancement Project is a pilot vegetation management project which focuses on enhancing the creek within the Reserve property by removing exotic invasive plants and replanting native vegetation.

The consultant team for the project included a biologist specializing in "riparian enhancement". He inventoried San Vicente Creek to determine opportunities to eradicate or manage exotic non-native plants and facilitate native plant cover. Restoration of the creek began in winter 2014 and will continue for several years as staff and volunteers tackle two prevalent invasive species. An integrated approach to removing cape ivy from valuable coastal scrub habitat just above the mouth of the creek will be combined with manual removal and targeted herbicide applications. At the same time, ice plant found at the mouth of the creek and adjacent to the trail leading to the tidepools will be removed and replanted with a variety of foredune and coastal scrub plants. Volunteers will have an opportunity to lend a hand in the creek restoration by assisting with the replanting process.