The project will address reed canarygrass (RCG) and other invasive plants which will otherwise limit and degrade essential habitats at the two largest and key populations for recovery of oregon…

This Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Recovery Implementation program (CFDA 15.657) provides $204,753 to the Wildlife Conservation Trust to address invasive plants that are degrading essential habitats for the recovery of the Oregon spotted frog in the North Puget Sound region.

The project will combine annual management of reed canarygrass and other invasive plants with longer-term solutions to replace them with native plants compatible with the frog's habitat requirements. Specific activities include removing reed canarygrass to create additional persistent aquatic habitat and shallower seasonal water for breeding, as well as replacing reed canarygrass in floating root mats with native sedges and plants. The project will test and adapt these methods at two key sites to restore 1.0-1.3 acres of essential Oregon spotted frog habitat. The award has a period of performance from February 2025 to February 2028.

The project will address reed canarygrass (RCG) and other invasive plants which will otherwise limit and degrade essential habitats at the two largest and key populations for recovery of oregon spotted frog (OSF) in the north puget sound (puget trough ecoregion). The project will combine annual management (annual mowing and manual removal) with longer-term solutions (i.e., replacement with native plants that are compatible with OSF habitat requirements and that will be easier to manage). The project will complete the first phase of habitat restoration at the samish river preserve, where methods have already been tested and proven, by removing RCG to create up to 0.6 acres of additional persistent aquatic habitat for larval rearing and use by post-metamorphic stages 0.4 acres of shallower seasonal water (including EGG-laying oviposition habitat) and replacing RCG with sedges and other appropriate native plants in approximately 0.7 acres of floating root mat. Without conversion of the floating root mat to native species, the densely interwoven and buoyant layer of RCG roots, rhizomes, and associated peat, covered by a thick layer of thatch, would continue to limit OSF habitat. At the wash. Dept. Of transportation s potter road site, we will test and adapt comparable methods to restore essential habitats and design a site-specific management plan. Objectives at potter road will prioritize restoration of a 1.0 acre habitat area by removing and replacing RCG in shallow oviposition habitat and removing a developing floating root mat which will otherwise eventually eliminate deeper aquatic habitat. Depending on the pace of work at potter road, invasive plants may be addressed in an additional area of 0.2 to 0.3 acres. At both sites the project will use field-planted emergent vegetation mats (evms) and other methods to establish native replacement plants. The evms will be comprised of biodegradable coir (coconut fiber), which serves as a combination substrate mulch layer and weed barrier, planted at an initial density of about 1.2 to 1.5 plants square foot. Evms will be monitored and weeded as needed as the plants achieve high density. The criteria for project success will be the acres of managed and restored habitat and resistance to reinvasion, supported by other measures of effectiveness of the restored areas to provide favorable habitat and to maintain or expand OSF populations at the two sites.