Terrestrial Habitat Restoration

While existing laws and programs now protect or encourage preservation of many natural resources and landscapes, there is a clear need to go beyond protection and preservation – to restoration of damaged critical natural habitats.  Habitat restoration preserves our natural heritage and restores the critical “services” the natural environment provides.  Restoration, as it is broadly defined, is the act, process, or result of returning a degraded or former habitat to a healthy, self-sustaining condition that resembles as closely as possible its pre-disturbed state.

IRM has the staff and capability to work closely with a variety of landowners to design, develop and implement restoration efforts including:Restoration Plans and Noxious Weed Treatment and prescriptions for several terrestrial habitat types including:

Services

  • Threatened/Endangered Plant Restoration
  • Native Planting/Seeding
  • Restoration Thinning
  • Snag Creation
  • Mechanical Treatment
  • Fuels Reduction
  • Prescribe Fire
  • Terrestrial Noxious Weed Treatment

IRM staff can assess, inventory and map the habitat (plant and tree species, wildlife needs, soil conditions, slope, hydrology, etc) and  to determine the scope of the project and the best possible plan of action to restore the area to its native state, or the client’s desired condition.  IRM can work in oak woodlands, ponderosa pine & Douglas-fir forests; as well as open and upland prairie and meadows.

Noxious weeds pose a huge threat to the health of terrestrial native habitats. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices such as hand removal, mechanical removal, herbicide application, bio-controls, fire and dense native planting.

IPM programs use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. This information, in combination with available pest control methods, is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment.

Due to the delicate nature of our PNW ecosystems and the realities of twenty-first century habitat management, IRM provides our clients with a full range of IPM services to meet the needs of the habitat and the customer.  Each project IRM attends to provides a unique set of challenges, but with each challenge comes an opportunity to restore the health of an ecosystem.