1	Opportunities for Using Plants to Attain a More Sustainable Environment
2	What is Sustainable? Long-term success of processes that integrate the needs of people and wildlife without impacting the environment beyond the point of self-recovery (Sprout Strategic Plan 5/04)
3	Areas Where Plants Can be Used Sustainably Stormwater Management Wastewater Treatment Phytoremediation Upland, Wetland, and Stream “Restoration,” including control of invasive species
4	What Does it Take to Utilize Plants More Effectively?
5	Stormwater Management Plants can be used to control storm water flows through:
6	Wastewater Treatment Plants can be used to remove toxicants through:
7	Phytoremediation Use of green plants to absorb or break down contaminants in soil, sludge, sediment, ground water, and air. More about this next
8	Upland, Wetland, and Stream “Restoration” Use of (native) plants to re-establish historic functions and processes in areas where the original habitat has been disturbed – either through natural or man-induced activities.
9	Restoration, Creation, Enhancement
10	Placeholder for stormwater and wasterwater management discussion on known science
11	Second storm water slide
12	For Any Sustainable Design Project – Establish Goals and Objectives First Checklist of things to consider: When determining the goals for the project, make sure all people who have an interest in the project are involved in establishing the goals – agency, local citizens, developer. Look at what can be done from a regulatory perspective. Do not include components that will not be allowed (e.g. conversion of a forested wetland to an open water habitat). Not all goals are achievable because permits may not be obtained for the work
13	For Any Sustainable Design Project – Establish Goals and Objectives First Checklist continued: Understand that habitats take time to mature so design your project accordingly. Include habitat for target wildlife species. Make sure you limit the number of species you are targeting unless you have a very big site. The habitat needs of one species may be incompatible with another. The site should be designed for minimal maintenance, except for weed removal.
14	Restoration and Weed Control Perform a landscape evaluation first to see what fits in the context of the landscape Perform a reference site evaluation to see what works in a particular habitat type
15	Landscape Evaluation Aerial photographs (available from Corps, State DNR, State DOT, Private sources (Walker and Associates), Local libraries (esp. universities) USGS Topographic Quadrangle Maps NRCS soils maps Local utility surface drainage maps Stream Inventory maps Local wetland inventories, NWI
16	Reference Site Evaluation Can be: the pre-disturbance site or a pristine/ less disturbed site in the same drainage or region. A reference site is one that you are evaluating in order to document characteristics of of the wetland or stream project you are designing, restoring, or enhancing.
17	Document the Following: Landscape Scale Surrounding land use Contributing basin Total wetland area Stream length and connectivity Inlet and outlet structures (site visit)
18	Design Components Hydrologic Modeling (for wetlands and wastewater projects) for everything but the most rudimentary designs. The single MOST IMPORTANT design component for wetland restorations is the hydrologic regime. Plant survival and success is largely determined by the site hydrology. The distribution of plant communities (and individual plant survival) is governed by the local hydrologic regime, which is defined by: depth duration frequency
19	Design Components cont.... Grading Plan Development Functional Evaluation of site before and after or, site before and reference site. The results will be used to drive the design (e.g., x number of snags of specific decomposition class were found in the reference site. The same density will be placed in the restoration/mitigation). Plant Community Selection is made after the hydrologic modeling, preliminary grading plan, and reference site evaluation are completed. If the hydrologic evaluation (and subsequent inlet/outlet preliminary design) defines a hydrologic regime that can be tolerated by the species found in the reference plant community, then the same community can be selected (species presence, percent cover, and distribution). Soil Amendments Always take soil samples from around the site and send it in for a nutrient availability analysis. A reputable lab will ask you what kind of plants you expect to grow in the soil and recommend amendments, if necessary, for your plantings.
20	Hydrologically Important Periods for Plants
21	Relationship between water depth at vegetation sample plot and water gauge
22	Wildlife Habitat Components for Restoration Birds (migratory, resident, waterfowl…) Amphibians (frogs, salamanders) Small mammals (mice, insectivores, bats, mink) Large mammals (beaver, deer, bear) Fish
23	Reports Analyses and sections in report that will need to be done include: Hydrologic modeling for everything but the most rudimentary designs Functional evaluation of site before and after or, site before and reference site Grading and Erosion control Planting details such as species list and community distribution Monitoring plans Maintenance plans A discussion of soil amendments (if necessary) Contingencies section (what can go wrong, and what you would do if it happens) Performance standards (strict in Washington, e.g. 60%, cover by year one, 80% by year 3, 95% year 5, not more than 10% invasive species; 85% survival by year 3 or show natural recruitment has compensated)
24	Design Plan sheets include: Grading plan Habitat features Erosion control Inlet/outlet design Planting details Specifications sheet
25	Installation Problems Poorly trained contractors may not install the plants correctly to begin with. Poorly trained contractors may not perceive or know how to fix design flaws during installation.
26	Installation Problems Plant material is the wrong species, weak, dead, adapted to greenhouse conditions, or the wrong ecotype. Site is not irrigated during establishment and/or irrigation does not have complete coverage.