Habitat Restoration and Maintenance for 2C Ranch/Trabuco Creek
This 54-acre project site consists of 40 upland/coastal sage scrub acres and 14 riparian acres. The topography ranges from steep to flat and was highly invaded by artichoke thistle and mustard.
Project Facts
- City of San Juan Capistrano
- Orange County, California
- 40 CSS acres and 14 riparian acres
- Achieved successful agency sign-off

The Challenge
HRS took over the project at the start of Year 3, with the project not meeting the required success criteria due to a lack of consistent weeding, continual irrigation issues from improper installation, and being behind schedule for planting and seeding the upland/coastal sage scrub areas.

The Solution
HRS performed minor grading work to repair the numerous deep erosion gullies found throughout the site. Additionally, HRS installed various BMPs throughout the site to prevent erosion of the steep hillside prior to the site being stabilized with the hydroseed application. HRS provided aggressive weed maintenance, along with additional irrigation installation and repairs to provide proper irrigation coverage for the 20,000 plants and 40 acres of hydroseed installed on this site. The 14 acres of riparian habitat exhibited dramatic growth on all installed container plants within the first year of installation.

In Our Words
“Several Orange County Measure M experienced drought-related complications and delays. Of those 5-6 other projects, this project is the first to get sign-off by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.”
Jon Stafford
Project Supervisor, Irrigation Specialist
What We Did
Our restoration expertise provides the right staff and equipment to meet permit requirements.
- Habitat restoration
- Coastal Sage Scrub (CSS) habitat
- Environmental Constraints Analysis
- Erosion control
- Habitat maintenance
- Irrigation installation and maintenance
- Riparian habitat
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