Restoration of disturbed park lands includes those
areas actively disturbed by past park management
activities or other human actions, as well as the
restoration of natural conditions to areas where the
natural process has been disrupted through human
actions (e.g., the widespread disruption of the
natural fire regime through suppression).
The primary site where visitor facilities have been
abandoned, removed, and the site restored is Giant
Forest Village (Link to detailed Giant Forest Restoration pages) in Sequoia National Park. A century of
human impact had produced a forest structure where
canopy openings, or gaps, were present where groups
of trees had been removed to make way for buildings
or parking lots, and little to no natural
regeneration had occurred. Removal of visitor
facilities and the restoration of landforms, soils,
and vegetation began in 1997. Over a two-year period,
about 300 buildings and associated infrastructure
were removed and 28 acres made available for
restoration; a total of about 60 acres will be
restored by project’s end. Restoration includes
restoring natural landforms, mitigating soils
impacts, and revegetating to mimic natural
regeneration following fire in surrounding areas of
Giant Forest. This is a pulsed type of restoration,
where once soils are stabilized and restored,
plantings are established, and irrigation is removed,
the site will be managed similarly to surrounding
natural areas of Giant Forest.
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Parking lot of the Giant Forest Lodge in Sequoia National Park prior to demolition and restoration.
© NPS photo by Athena Demetry.
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Giant Forest Lodge parking lot one year after asphalt and culvert removal, restoration of the stream channel, and transplanting of native riparian vegetation.
© NPS photo by Athena Demetry. |
During road and building construction projects, park
vegetation and soils are disturbed. Revegetation with
native plants following construction is done to
stabilize soils, facilitate establishment of a native
vegetation cover, prevent invasion by non-native
species, and provide screening and landscaping.
Natural
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