Vegetation and Soil Programs

1. Mount Rainier National Park Vegetation and Soil Programs

2. Vegetation Diversity More than 900 species of plants Number of plants in park

4. Forests *ages- <100 to 1000years *low-elevation - Douglas fir, western hemlock, western red cedar *mid-elevation - silver fir, noble fir, Alaska yellow cedar *high-elevation- subalpine fir, mountain hemlock, whitebark pine, Engelmann spruce

5. Subalpine Parklands Mosaic of tree clumps and subalpine meadows Located between forest line and treeline

6. Alpine Zone

7. Current Vegetation Program Monitoring condition Restoration of native systems

8. Ecological Restoration of Native Plant Communities Purpose: To restore native plant communities where they have been damaged by human use or are threatened by introduced plant species. Program Components: Stabilization and Revegetation of Human Impacts and Control of Introduced Invasive Plants

9. Ecological Restoration of Native Plant Communities • Restoration Components: • Recreational Disturbance • Post Flood Repair Restoration • Federal Highways

10. Human Impacts: Types

11. Human Impacts: Types

12. Human Impacts: Types

13. Human Impacts

14. Meadow Restoration:Before

15. Meadow Restoration: After

16. Steps in Restoration: Stabilization

17. Steps in Restoration: Filling Fill Site to Grade Match surface to adjacent contours

18. Steps in Restoration: Erosion Control/Mulching

19. Steps in Restoration: Seed Collection Cutting and Seed Collection Volunteer Groups

20. Seedling flats

21. Steps in Restoration: Hardening Off Greenhouse Propagation of Native Plants

22. Steps in Restoration: Transporting Plants

23. Steps in Restoration: Transporting Plants

24. Steps in Restoration: Planting

25. Steps in Restoration: Planting

26. Highway Construction • Highway 123 • Christine Falls Slump • Tipsoo Area • Steven’s Canyon

27. Highway Construction

28. Resource Advisor 52 issues resolved

29. Exotic Plant Control Program Components Research/Surveys/Demographic Studies Priority Setting Control/Treatment Effectiveness Monitoring Refinement of Methods Prevention Collaboration

30. Exotic Plants: Introduction & Spread

31. Exotic Plants: Introduction & Spread

32. Exotic Plants: Introduction & Spread

33. Prevention Of Spread (vehicle wash)

34. Orange hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum) Serious threat Limited distribution Difficult to control (but herbicide does appear to be effective)

35. Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius) Medium threat Narrow distribution Easy control (but seed long-lived)

36. St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) Low/Medium threat Wide distribution Difficult control

37. Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea maculosa) Serious threat Narrow distribution Difficult control

38. Exotic Plant Control: Methods

39. Exotic Plant Control Methods

40. Exotic Plant Control Methods Flatpea (Lathyrus sylvestris)

41. Exotic Plant Control: Monitoring

42. Exotic Plant Control: Collaboration

43. Hazard Tree Management Current Program Complete Hazard Tree Management Plan Complete initial surveys for all developed zones - 2003 Treat identified hazard trees - site closure, tree removal, conversion to wildlife trees

44. Mitigation Options • Move target • Temporary site closure • Permanent site closure • Remove limbs • Top tree • Remove tree

45. Hazard Tree Management

46. Ecological Impacts Ohanapecosh Campground