[FACT SHEET] – On behalf of the Bouquet Canyon Network, Antelope Valley Resource Conservation District, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Cooper Ecological Monitoring, Inc. funding and permits have now been finalized for the Bouquet Canyon Creek Restoration: Control of Invasive Weeds, and the project will now begin implementation:

This project is a collaborative effort of the Bouquet Canyon Network (BCN), Antelope Valley Resource Conservation District (AVRCD), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Cooper Ecological Monitoring, Inc., California Conservation Corps (CCC), and the LA County Fire Department (LACoFD); each of which have equitably band together in order to achieve an improved ecology of Bouquet Canyon creek within a five year period.

This watershed and ecological restoration project will take place on 3.5 mile stretch of Bouquet Canyon Creek, between the boundary of the Angeles National Forest and the City of Santa Clarita.

The project will begin implementation in Fall 2011, and will continue through Winter 2016.  Due to environmental resource concerns within the creek, both the human and wildlife habitats must be taken in to consideration.  Therefore, the project will be implemented over five seasons between the Fall/Winter periods (October to March).

The initial phase of the project will be to remove invasive weed sites (Giant Reed, Tree Tobacco) from the creek in order to improve watershed, decrease flooding events, and reduce fire hazards.  After the invasive weed population is controlled, a restoration protocol will be implemented in order to encourage the return of native plant populations.

This project was made possible by funding from a grant through the Antelope Valley Resource Conservation District and the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project’s Community Wetland Restoration Grant Program.  The Antelope Valley Resource Conservation District is a special district of the State of California and assists the communities we serve to manage and enhance their natural resources, through education, leadership, and expertise in science-based conservation.  The District boundaries encompass approximately 1.65 million acres bounded by the east by the San Bernardino County Line; the north by the southeast Kern County; the west by the Ventura County line; and the south by the urban Los Angeles/Santa Clarita area and Angeles Crest Highway. You can visit their website at www.avrcd.org

Should you have questions about the implementation of the project, please contact the project coordinator at: 805-641-3781 or the Antelope Valley Resource Conservation District at 661-945-2694 ext 107.

Debra Gillis, Grant Administrator AVRCD

Hudson Minshew and Paul Nguyen, GPS/GIS Mapping, NRCS

Dan Cooper, Wildlife Biologist,  Cooper Ecological Monitoring, Inc.

Jill Taylor, Weed Abatement Crew Manager, CCC

Chief John Todd, Fire Restoration Unit, LACoFD

Roger A. Haring, Project Coordinator,  BCN