The California Wildlife Conservation Board has awarded a grant to the National Forest Foundation for $1.245 million to assist with ecosystem recovery efforts on the Angeles National Forest.

The project will be implemented throughout the Big Tujunga Canyon Watershed which is located just north of Sunland and Tujunga within the ANF and portions of the new San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.  The project will focus on riparian areas where non-native invasive plants can spread rapidly and degrade native plant communities and habitat.

It is through partnerships and collaboration that goals envisioned by the Forest Service become realities, fostering the return of healthy watersheds, forests, and endangered and threatened species, giving visitors to the forest a natural and more profound outdoor recreational experience.

“We are proud to have built a tangible partnership with the National Forest Foundation”, said Tom Contreras, Forest Supervisor, Angeles National Forest. “And we are grateful for their continued support and commitment to ecological restoration efforts by designating the Big Tujunga Canyon watershed as an integral part of the “Treasured Landscapes” campaign.”

The U.S. Forest Service and the National Forest Foundation will co-manage the projects starting with the removal of invasive weed species for more than 200 stream miles, to include: Spanish broom, tree tobacco, tamarisk and sweet clover.  This effort will focus on those corridors where the species arundo and “tree of heaven” are invading riparian areas.  This will be followed by active restoration, planting of oaks and willow cuttings.  To ensure success, continued weeding, watering of plants, replanting and monitoring will be essential. In-stream restoration will also take place to ensure three sensitive and a threatened fish species — the Santa Ana sucker, arroyo chub, and the Santa Ana speckled dace — are able to fully recover and thrive in the watershed.

“The WCB’s investment signals the urgency and importance of ensuring these treasured places are not only healthy, but also accessible to the millions of diverse residents who live nearby. The NFF is grateful for the WCB’s vote of confidence in our work on this exciting project,” said Bill Possiel, NFF President.

The NFF will work with the Forest Service to implement project tasks from now until June 2017, except chaparral restoration which will run through June 2018.  The Forest Service has interdisciplinary teams of hydrologists, fisheries biologists, wildlife biologists, ecologists, botanists and recreational resource managers who will continue to provide monitoring and required resource protection measures on an ongoing basis as needed.