Sand Dune Habitat Restored to Help Preserve Endangered Species Protected by the MSHCP
On a picturesque fall morning of October 19, several dedicated volunteers ventured off to the Jurupa Hills with the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority (RCA), Rivers & Lands Conservancy, and the Riverside County Park and Open-Space District (RivCo Parks) with the goal of conserving and restoring the sand dune habitat for the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly.
The Delhi Sands flower-loving fly, one of the five invertebrate species listed on the MSHCP, is not just a fly. It’s a vital pollinator species with significant ecological benefits to the sand dune habitats that were once abundant in our region. By volunteering to manually remove dense large buckwheat shrubs with deep roots, our volunteers helped restore the habitat for the fly by exposing sand lands from the dense shrubs. This seemingly destructive act is, in fact, a form of land management that greatly benefits endangered species like the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly. In just a few hours, our volunteers removed over 1.3 tons of buckwheat shrubs and other vegetation, creating more open sand habitats for the fly.
As volunteers were pulling buckwheat scrubs from the soil, volunteers also were collecting their seeds. The collected seeds will be used in further restoration work on other parts of the reserve. Species such as the threatened California gnatcatcher prefer dense coastal sage scrub habitat. For this reason, it is essential to maintain balance for both species by maintaining an open sand habitat for the fly, and ensuring scrub cover remains suitable for the gnatcatcher, with a goal of a happy medium of roughly fifty percent vegetation cover. Approximately 105 pounds of seeds were collected in one day.
The RCA, the Rivers & Lands Conservancy, and RivCo Parks had a great time clearing shrubs and collecting seeds. Additional volunteer opportunities to help restore habitats and educate families about the conservation work in western Riverside County are planned for next year. Sign up to the Vista to get the latest information about volunteer opportunities.