Blog Archives

Irvine Ranch Conservancy Partners with Delhi Center to Bring New Opportunities to Local Youth

9/29/2023

IRC and the Delhi Center's completed nursery.

Irvine Ranch Conservancy (IRC) and the Delhi Center have formed a partnership aimed at
engaging youth in Santa Ana in outdoor exploration, environmental education and sustainability.
For almost two years, IRC has been collaborating with the non-profit community-based
organization in activities such as guided hikes, tours of the land and stewardship. Through these
activities, which are led by IRC and Delhi Center staff, the kids have the opportunity to gain
unique perspectives about their community.

The Delhi Center, which seeks to advance self-sufficiency through sustainable programs in
health, education, financial stability and community engagement, partnered with IRC to promote
its mission for their Adventures in Nature with Teens (ANT) program, funded by a Youth
Community Access Grant (Prop 64) that targets at-risk children and teens in underserved
communities. Over the past year, IRC has been hosting various activities involving the kids
connected with the Delhi Center.

Butterfly Habitat Restoration Continues In Limestone Canyon With New Adaptive Management Techniques

9/20/2023

Funeral duskywing butterfly.

Butterflies are a special sight to see in nature. However, scientists have noticed a decline in certain butterfly populations across Orange County. The IRC team has been monitoring 10 butterfly species in the area, including monarchs, checkered skippers, and funeral duskywing butterflies. They have noticed this startling trend amongst these butterflies on the landmarks as well. To increase and stabilize their populations, the IRC team and its volunteers are restoring butterfly habitats on 11 plots of land in OC Parks’ Limestone Canyon.

After seeing some success with their initial butterfly habitat enhancement efforts, the IRC team and its volunteers noticed that some seeds planted in some plots did not germinate or grow into plants. They are now using adaptive management techniques to change their plan moving forward to ensure even greater success across all 11 plots.

Spadefoot Toad Pond Restoration Project Sees Success

9/15/2023

Newly emerged spadefoot toad metamorph.

For the past few years, Irvine Ranch Conservancy has worked to improve the habitat quality for our local spadefoot toad population through pond refurbishment and habitat restoration, and these efforts seem to be working. Recent surveys at Shoestring Canyon and Irvine Mesa have recorded over 5,000 spadefoot toads in and around the nine spadefoot toad ponds. The team is very happy with this figure, considering just a few years ago they weren’t even sure if there were any spadefoot toads left in the area.

Surveys from February - July of this year, conducted in partnership with USGS and led by IRC volunteers and staff, showed that the installation of pond liners and applications of clay had successfully rendered the ponds capable of retaining water long enough for spadefoot toad breeding and metamorphosis to occur. This past winter’s heavy rains certainly helped, providing plenty of water to naturally fill the ponds long enough for the tadpoles to fully mature. One pond even retained water until July still with evidence of active spadefoot toad activity, while the rest of the ponds had dried up.

Irvine Ranch Conservancy’s Yellow Starthistle Invasive Control Work Proves To Be Successful

9/8/2023

Non-native plant and invasive species, the Yellow Starthistle

Irvine Ranch Conservancy and its partners are constantly working to prevent the spread of non-native plants and invasive species that threaten the ecosystem on the Landmarks, one of which is yellow starthistle. Over the last 6 years, the Invasive Control team has been working hard to reduce the yellow starthistle population at two particular areas in the northern portion of the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks. So far, their efforts have been successful, indicated by a significant decrease in plants at one site and a near eradication of plants at the other.

This non-native plant is a serious emerging invasive species with spiny, yellow flowers and leaves extending down the stem that gives a winged appearance. Because yellow starthistle propagates rapidly and reproduces very quickly, with tens of thousands of seeds annually, the plant can spread fast and cause issues like crowding out native plant species, depleting soil moisture reserves, decreasing biodiversity, and creating a less resilient natural community.

Irvine Ranch Conservancy Partners with Delhi Center to Bring New Opportunities to Local Youth

Butterfly Habitat Restoration Continues In Limestone Canyon With New Adaptive Management Techniques

Spadefoot Toad Pond Restoration Project Sees Success

Irvine Ranch Conservancy’s Yellow Starthistle Invasive Control Work Proves To Be Successful

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