Restoration and Rehabilitation

The Forest Service is striving to restore or rehabilitate degraded areas to their proper ecological function to prevent invasive species infestations or to prevent reoccurrence after invasive species removal.

Because each invasion characteristic is unique, specific restoration and rehabilitation programs need to be designed at the appropriate level. The application of appropriate restoration and rehabilitation concepts to invasive insect, animal, or pathogen problems is also a critical component of a fully functional invasive species program. The Forest Service improves its effectiveness by pooling the expertise of partners in rehabilitation and restoration efforts and technology development.

The Forest Service is experienced in conducting rehabilitation and restoration programs—from the project level to broader ecoregional scales, which address the effects of disturbance from a variety of sources—and restoring ecosystem sustainability. With respect the relationship between invasive plants and fire impacted areas, our Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER) program provides support to restore burned areas with native species that have the greatest chances of success and where native seed is readily available.

Resource managers have an increased awareness of invasive species issues and the need to incorporate native or desired nonnative species into restoration and rehabilitation planning to mitigate mining, road construction and maintenance, recreation, and other ground-disturbing activities. The Forest Service has strong partnerships with other Federal, State, and nongovernmental entities. Although invasive species management may not be a stated purpose for these entities, their activities may lead to ecosystem restoration that may help the ecosystem resist future invasions.

Forest Service Native Plant Policy

• The Forest Service has issued a new directive (Federal Register Notice, PDF,73 KB) for the use of native plant materials in the revegetation, restoration, and rehabilitation of National Forest System lands. This first ever national direction on native plant materials will help the Forest Service to develop and implement a native plant materials program throughout the Agency. The policy helps achieve the Agency’s goals of providing for the diversity of plant and animal communities, and restoring native species and habitat conditions in ecosystems that have been invaded by non-native species.

  • Forest Service Native Plant Material Policy (PDF, 77 KB)
• Cottonwood Canyons Foundation 2006 Invasive Weed Program: Final Report - October 2006
  

  Weeds collected by the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation participating groups and volunteers. The Cottonwood Canyons Foundation Invasive Weed program was sponsored this summer by funding from the Wasatch-Cache National Forest, a partnership grant from the Bonneville Coordinated Weed Management Area and in-kind support from Salt Lake County Public Works, who picked up pulled weeds for proper disposal. Volunteers chipped in a ton of hours and sweat effort to map invasive species and pull weeds. Read More (PDF, 947 KB) »

• Eastern Region Non-native Invasive Species
• Eastern Region Native Plant Framework (PDF, 807 KB) ^\1
• Hoosier National Forest's Native Seed Nursery
• Restoring Native Plant Species to the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon and Washington
  
• Rangelands Restoration

Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration

• Watershed, Fish, Wildlife, Air, & Rare Plants: Bring Back the Natives
• Principles for the Ecological Restoration of Aquatic Resources

Ecosystem Restoration Research

• North Central Station: Publication Details: Restoring of white pine in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan
• North Central Station: Invasive Species Management and Restoration
• Restoration of the Native Plant Communities in Longleaf Pine Landscapes on the Kisatchie National Forest, Louisiana

1/ PDF format links require the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view.