RICHLAND, Wash.-A vegetation restoration project is underway in W.E. Johnson Park.
The restoration plan is part of an agreement with the commercial contractor building a hotel at 1289 Tapteal Drive that will impact 5.3 acres of shrub steppe habitat.
The plan includes weed treatment, preparation of the seedbed, weed removal and long-term monitoring, with the ultimate goal of restoring the shrub steppe habitat to its pre-construction level, according to the City of Richland.
The habitat will be replaced in a 2:1 ratio off-site of the hotel construction at W.E. Johnson Park, a 236 acre park east of the Yakima River.
Dead sagebrush and non-native vegetation were mechanically removed from the site in the first phase of the restoration plan, according to the City, and three applications of herbicide are scheduled for May through August to remove invasive weeds.
Replanting of the are is set for the fall and winter of 2024.
