D2: Revitalize Riparian, Upland and Wetland Habitat*

See Environmental & Community Benefits section for complete description of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

KPI #1: (Revitalize acres)

Since the inception of the renewed Safe Clean Water Project D2 in FY22, through FY23, Valley Water and its partners have revitalized approximately 3.7 acres. (Acreage total will be updated with FY24 values after June 2024).

• Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency (Habitat Agency) – In FY23, Valley Water and the Habitat Agency entered into a pilot agreement to remove invasive vegetation to enhance special status species habitat at some of the Habitat Agency’s reserve properties with high-priority invasive plant problems. Work began in April 2023 to remove up to 14 acres of barbed goatgrass (Aegilops triuncialis) at the Baird and Davidson Reserves, which encompass rare and sensitive serpentine plant communities, and to remove up to nine (9) acres of artichoke thistle (Cynara cardunculus) from Coyote Ridge East Preserve, which is home to extant populations of the federally threatened species California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) and California red-legged frog (Rana aurora). This work is expected to take up to three years to complete. In November 2023, a three-year agreement was signed between the two organizations to continue this project and allow for additional work on other Habitat Agency preserves. Progress will be reported in future updates.
• California State Coastal Conservancy (Conservancy) [since 2018] – Controlling invasive smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) in partnership with the Conservancy and Invasive Spartina Project. Click for a map of invasive Spartina coverage. In FY23, the Conservancy treated 2.7 acres of invasive Spartina within a matrix of over 8,700 acres of tidal marsh and ecotone habitats in Valley Water’s service area. All 2.7 acres this year are retreatment, ensuring that this aggressive invader and ecosystem engineer does not regain a foothold in sensitive bayland habitats, imperiling endangered species such as the Ridgway’s rail (Rallus obsoletus obsoletus). This partnership is scheduled to continue through 2026.   
• Grassroots Ecology (Grassroots) – In FY23, Grassroots continued its work to restore a section of the San José - Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility buffer lands in Alviso for foraging habitat for pollinators and burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia, California species of special concern). After planting over 825 plants in 2022 into upland habitat islands and seasonal wetland test plots, in FY23, Grassroots increased the restoration area by 0.2 acres by removing invasive stinkwort (Dittrichia graveolens) and yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) around the planting areas. In July 2022, they also conducted a pollinator bioblitz, a targeted identification activity where the goal was to assess pollinator diversity in the restoration area and the adjacent weedier mowed burrowing owl mound plain area. In two 30-minute sessions, the naturalist intern team collected 76 observations and identified 26 insect species, resulting in a snapshot of pollinator diversity in the two different habitat zones. The 0.5-acre restoration area is adjacent to a 201-acre site managed for burrowing owls by the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency (Habitat Agency). The current effort is a native revegetation pilot project and talks are ongoing about a future collaboration with the Habitat Agency and Grassroots to further expand the footprint of the current restoration area.
• Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (Midpen) – The partnership with Midpen in the 2012 Safe Clean Water Program was the most fruitful of the D2 partnerships in terms of acreage of invasive vegetation removed. Because of this, both parties decided to extend the partnership for five additional years until FY28. New projects were initiated in FY23, including projects to control multiple high-priority invasive species in reserves across Santa Clara County. These include projects at Sierra Azul, Fremont Older, and Bear Creek Redwoods Preserve.
  • In FY23, outreach and volunteer work in collaboration with Midpen’s subcontractor Grassroots Ecology (Grassroots) continued in Bear Creek Redwoods Preserve. Grassroots provided six (6) service-learning events, averaging 12 volunteers per event (events were limited in the number of participants to ensure social distancing). Service-learning events are volunteer events where Grassroots staff provide information about the habitat where work is being performed (in this case, the unique redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) wetland ecosystem) and about invasive plant eradication, provide training in invasive plant removal methods and then volunteers do invasive plant removal. Grassroots and volunteers also planted 14,000 native plants into the Bear Creek site 01 wetland area at Bear Creek Redwoods Preserve in December 2022.
  • Midpen’s revitalization effort includes removing invasive vegetation, such as teasel (Dipsacus spp.), yellow starthistle, French broom (Genista monspessulana), and stinkwort, and installing wetland and upland container plants and native seeds at service-learning events with Grassroots and other Midpen volunteer events, including “Land Stewards” volunteer events and Advanced Resource Management Stewards projects. The total proposed project area is 17.8 acres. The work has been initiated on 8.6 acres and is anticipated to continue through FY28. The acreage to be credited to D2 will be determined beginning in FY24.
• City of San José – In FY23, the City of San José and its contractor completed a five-year D2 partnership revitalizing approximately 1.5 acres at the Coyote Creek invasive giant reed (Arundo donax) and other non-native vegetation removal site between Oakland Road and Berryessa Road. Revegetation after invasive vegetation removal activities was done using a native seed mix. Calendar year 2022 was the final year of the five-year agreement. The city and its contractor reported a 90% giant reed removal rate. The 1.5 acres of native habitat revitalization credited to D2 considered the 90% effectiveness rate (1.58-acre site with 1.12-acre giant reed cover historically minus 0.11 acres or 10% remaining to be controlled). Work at the site has been challenging over the years due to camps, which could not be cleaned up during the pandemic but were during other years.

KPI #2: (Early Detection and Rapid Response Program Development)

• Valley Water developed a draft target list of EDRR species in 2019 and will continue to refine it during the EDRR manual development process.
• Valley Water hired a consultant in 2022 to assist in the development of the EDRR Program, as part of a comprehensive Integrated Invasive Plant Management Program. Program manual development, including the EDRR component, has begun, and the CEQA process will be initiated in FY24. The EDRR program manual is expected to be completed on the same timeline as the IIPMP manual, currently planned for development in FY24 and FY25. 

KPI #3: (Early Detection and Rapid Response Implementation)

• In FY23, Valley Water identified and documented 125 populations of target emergent invasive species. When combined with the 69 populations identified in FY22, this results in a total of 194 documented under the renewed Safe, Clean Water Program (since FY22). Once the EDRR program is operational, all identified populations, including those identified and documented before the start of the renewed Safe, Clean Water Program in July 2021, will undergo a prioritization process, based upon the results of which a subset will be selected for treatment.

KPI #4: (Information sheets)

• Valley Water will develop information sheets for high-priority early detection species in the county. The timeline for information sheet development is expected to coincide with that of the EDRR manual, currently anticipated to begin in FY24.

Additional activities:

• Valley Water is a founding and active member of the Santa Clara County Wildlife Corridors Working Group with the United States Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS), California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), Caltrans, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), Santa Clara County Parks, Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency (VHA), Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), Open Space Authority (OSA), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), De Anza College and others.
• Valley Water is an active member of the Santa Clara Weed Management Area (SCWMA) working group with Santa Clara County Parks, California State Parks, County of Santa Clara Division of Agriculture, Caltrans and other area partners.

January 2024