Prairie Restoration Underway at Rancho Corral de Tierra

By Grassland Restoration Coordinator Elena Wolff, Golden Gate National Recreation Area & The Great Basin Institute

National Park Service Bio-techs Jackie Krisalis and Jesse Fujikawa installing native grass seed lines within the footprint of a Monterey Pine removal area. Seed lines are covered with a protective, biodegradable landscape fabric to prevent birds from eating the grass seeds. NPS / Elena Wolff

December 2024 - Work on the Montara Prairie Renewal Project began in Fall 2024. The restoration project, initiated by Golden Gate National Recreation Area Biologist Eric Wrubel, aims to protect and enhance coastal grasslands in the Montara Parcel of Rancho Corral de Tierra. We have already completed pre-restoration monitoring, and removal of several acres of invasive shrubs and conifers within historic grassland footprints. As the rainy season begins in the San Francisco Bay Area, native grass seeding and forb planting efforts to revegetate areas where conifers and shrubs have been removed are also underway.

Several pounds of native grass seeds will be raked in lines within conifer and scrub removal areas to restore historic grassland extents where trees have been removed as part of the Montara Prairie Renewal Project. NPS / Elena Wolff

The grasslands in the Montara Parcel of Rancho Corral de Tierra in San Mateo County have undergone major changes throughout history, as land management and disturbance regimes have changed. When Native Americans were the primary stewards of this area, their cultural burning practices kept grasslands open from shrub and tree encroachment. In addition, large ungulates like elk grazed through these grasslands periodically, maintaining the health of native grasses and forbs that once dominated the landscape. During Spanish colonization, these historic conditions were replaced with intensive agriculture and grazing, which lasted through the mid-20th century. Coupled with neighboring urbanization, those changes brought invasive species to coastal prairies, shrinking historic grassland extents and impacting habitat health.

Currently, the biggest impacts to coastal prairies in the Montara Parcel are from invasive shrub and conifer species, including Monterey pine and Monterey cypress. Native to only a few small areas in California, these conifers have been widely planted worldwide. They produce large amounts of seed and grow quickly in open areas with sufficient sunlight (i.e. grasslands), and they can rapidly convert grasslands into forests if left un-managed. In the past 30 years, over 30 percent of Rancho’s grasslands have been lost to woody plant invasions. Absent more restoration projects like this one, we may expect to lose most of this park unit’s grasslands within the next sixty years.

Over 3,000 native grassland species plants will be installed within historic grassland footprints at Rancho Corral de Tierra this winter. Pictured here is Hickman’s potentilla, which is being planted into a scrub removal area. NPS / Elena Wolff

Visit the Montara Prairie Renewal Project immersive StoryMap (also embedded below) for more details about the prairie’s history, and restoration planning and implementation process. Golden Gate intern Whitney Wyche created this content to engage park visitors and community members with interactive photos, maps, and a dynamic story about the prairie, and the need for restoration. The StoryMap is linked on interpretive signs that are posted at the project site as well. It is best viewed on a computer.

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For more information

Contact Golden Gate National Recreation Area Public Affairs at goga_public_affairs@nps.gov.

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