Group Name: Tour maturing riparian forest revegetation sites along Coyote Creek in the Santa Clara Valley. Ranging in age from 20 years to 14 years since planting, these riparian habitat restoration projects were implemented as compensatory mitigation for unavoidable flood control and transportation project impacts. Biologists and restorationists from the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, H. T. Harvey & Associates and the California Department of Transportation will present the results of long-term vegetation and wildlife monitoring programs at these riparian revegetation sites. Participants will have ample opportunity to meander beneath the riparian forest canopy and ask questions regarding project design and implementation, monitoring program protocols, and data interpretation. Emphasis will be placed on lessons learned and trends observed as these riparian forests mature. Participants will be asked to evaluate each of these riparian habitat restoration projects in terms of achieving the “attributes of restored ecosystems” identified in The Society for Ecological Restoration Primer on Ecological Restoration. A short distance upstream from where Coyote Creek enters the San Francisco Bay, we will walk a transect through a 14-year old (seven-acre) riparian habitat, a floodplain management area, a 20-year old (four-acre) riparian forest and the mature riparian habitat on the banks of Lower Coyote Creek. Researchers will discuss changes in habitat structure and habitat utilization by wildlife at these revegetation sites. We will visit the Coyote Creek Bird Banding Station where 25 years of data have been collected on avifauna utilization of these riparian revegetation sites and the mature riparian forest. Next, we will tour a 14-year old (21-acre) floodplain riparian habitat restoration project upstream on Coyote Creek in the heart of the Santa Clara Valley. There will be a dual focus to this site visit, on the one hand examining how the site’s hydrologic design was undertaken and then implemented, and secondly how reference areas were used to develop the planting layout. One of the reference sites, the adjacent Tennant Road Marsh, will be visited during the tour. Wear sturdy shoes for walking short distances on flat but uneven ground. Expect hot, sunny weather in the valley – bring sunscreen, hat and sunglasses. This trip is not suitable for small children. SER Primer on Ecological Restoration www.ser.org/content/ecological_restoration_primer.asp Coyote Creek Bird Banding Station www.sfbbo.org/migration_ccfs.htm Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, Consolidated Biological Mitigation Project www.vta.org/highways/bio_mitigation.htm