Habitat Restoration

Edgewood Preserve’s Extraordinary Biodiversity

For nearly 20 years, the San Mateo County Parks Foundation has supported the habitat restoration efforts of Creekside Science and Friends of Edgewood at Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve. Edgewood is a very special place due to its extraordinary ecological diversity thanks in part to 160 acres of serpentine soils. According to the Friends of Edgewood, the preserve supports over 500 distinct plant species, of which a dozen are rare or endangered. The preserve is also rich in fauna including over 80 species of resident and migratory birds.

The Friends of Edgewood is an all-volunteer group whose mission is to protect Edgewood’s extraordinary biodiversity and foster lasting connections with Edgewood and the larger natural world. They have been living this mission since 1993 and have many programs – from bluebird monitoring to the Weed Warriors and the Bay checkerspotters. The San Mateo County Parks Foundation has been a proud supporter of their creative and relentless approach to stewarding Edgewood’s diverse ecosystem.

Early and long-time efforts focused on the Bay checkerspot butterfly, which is found in rare serpentine soils in only two counties in California. It has been struggling to hold on at Edgewood Preserve. Bringing back the Bay checkerspot butterfly is one element of the Friends of Edgewood’s multi-pronged strategy to restoring all 467 acres of Edgewood Preserve. It is known as Project 467 and includes the Weed Warriors plus three other projects the Parks Foundation has provided support to – San Mateo thornmint, white-rayed pentachaeta and grassland restoration.

The San Mateo thornmint and white-rayed pentachaeta are both federally endangered plant species found only at Edgewood Preserve and their total numbers in 2024 were approximately 38,000 and 18,500. These numbers represent a significant increase from their original dire straits, bringing the plants back from the edge of extinction. Meanwhile, restoring Edgewood’s grasslands to their former species diversity is no small undertaking. Hand-pulling grass is much different from hand-pulling yellow star thistle. Experiments included testing hydromechanical pulverization (HMP) treatments with different mowing regimes and re-seeding.

Volunteers play a big role in all of this through weekly weeding sessions and the collecting and growing of native grassland seeds at Edgewood Farms. Volunteer support is always welcome! All reap the rewards throughout the year, and especially during the springtime, when Edgewood shows off with its magnificent and colorful wildflower displays.

This restoration work has been led by Creekside Science and the Friends of Edgewood with key partners including the San Mateo County Parks Department and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 

 

French broom removal at Huddart Park

In October 2023, the Parks Foundation participated in a field training on lessons learned from the wildfire fuels treatment in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) at Huddart and Wunderlich county parks. The WUI is where the built environment meets the natural environment and where catastrophic wildfire becomes a greater risk. Significant work by the County, San Mateo Resource Conservation District and CAL FIRE went into reducing vegetation in the understory at these two Woodside parks, helping to make them more resilient to wildfire. Reducing fire fuel throughout the parks is a massive undertaking, and once done, is work that must be maintained going forward – work that can be difficult to fund. One takeaway from the field training was learning about the growing problem of French broom at Huddart Park.

French broom, which often grows in dense patches, burns readily and can move a ground fire up into the forest canopy. It is thought to have been introduced to the Bay Area in the mid-1800s as an ornamental. Since then, it has become an aggressive invader threatening native plants and increasing fire hazards. On a more positive note, French broom is an easy plant for volunteers to remove six months out of the year.

To complement the County’s investments in creating wildfire resilient habitats, the Parks Foundation reached out to Grassroots Ecology about expanding their work into Huddart Park.

Since 2015, Grassroots Ecology has engaged local volunteers, especially youth, in bringing back native upland habitat to Cooley Landing in East Palo Alto, a Midpen preserve. A former dumpsite with stunning bay views, Cooley Landing is surrounded by tidal salt marsh that is home to several hundred species of shore birds, fish, and mammals. Thanks to Grassroots Ecology, it has become a wonderful bayside location at which to volunteer and learn about sea level rise.

We wanted to bring some of that same energy to Huddart Park. The Parks Foundation approached Grassroots Ecology about adopting a site at Huddart Park that is near trails and overrun with French broom. For the last two springs, and with an eye toward expanding this effort, the Parks Foundation has been testing out a pilot project with Grassroots Ecology. Volunteers, including many students, have focused their broom removal activities along the trails around the East and West Meadow picnic areas. Their primary focus has been on eliminating mature plants to prevent seed persistence, but they have also removed young broom and Italian thistle near Richards Road trail.

Huddart Park is a great place for young volunteers to learn about redwood trees, climate-resilient forests and the use of prescribed fires by indigenous peoples. Connecting children and teens to meaningful volunteer opportunities in the parks gets them outside, developing skills and thinking more about their role in the natural world. It is an investment in the future!