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Wildflowers, Plants, and Revegetation Practices at the Wulf Test FieldMay 25, 2005 The Wulf Test Field is a harsh site for both plants and animals. It is very windy year-round and in the summer it can be very hot. Fog or low cloud cover is common during late fall, snow can cover the ground for several days during the winter, and spring rains can sometimes be heavy. The site is semi-arid and is in a transitional zone between the Mojave Desert and the southern San Joaquin Valley (part of the Great Central Valley). It is also transitional between the Transverse Ranges of Southern California and the southernmost reaches of the Sierra Nevada. Plants from each vegetational zone can be found in the area. Introduced grasses are the dominant vegetation, mostly cheat grass (Bromus tectorum) but there are herbaceous plants or shrubs such as rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus) and the occassional goldenbush (Ericameria linearifolia). There are some red willows (Salix laevigata) in the creek bottom. Native bunch grasses, such as one-sided bluegrass (Poa secunda) are established in distinct colonies. In the flatter, more protected areas plant cover can be quite dense mostly from introduced grasses. However on steep hillsides facing the wind, plants can be widely scattered to non-existent. Some areas appear to have suffered from either overgrazing (likely by sheep) or from fire before 1997. Ed Wulf, the previous owner, bladed an access road and appears to have periodically scraped the access road with a drag to clear brush. 
Because of my work with wind energy and my criticism of the sometimes poor environmental practices of neighboring wind companies, we have made a special effort to understand the plants that grow on the Wulf field. We have also spent a great deal of time--and not a few days of back-beaking labor--working with various erosion control practices and revegetation techniques. We have attempted to grow various native bunch grasses, wildflowers, and native shrubs on portions of the bare land that dots the site. Fortunately, we have noted some progress for our efforts. Plants that we introduced from seed in the spring of 1997 and 1998 are visibly established in areas that we treated. Notably we have some well-established deerbrush (Purshia tridentata), golden yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum), and California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasiculatum) in areas where we used erosion control mats to protect the ground surface from wind, rain, and intense summer sun. We also have a good crop of widlflowers in wet years. We employed two types of erosion control mats: inexpensive jute netting, and manufactured blankets. Altogether, the jute netting appears to produce the best results, though on very steep slopes the manufactured blanket and coir logs worked reasonably well. We also planted numerous cottonwood (Populus fremontii) and willow cuttings. We also planted some 8-foot bare-root cottonwoods in a seep. Some of the cottonwoods from cuttings are now well established. One is over ten-feet (3 meters) tall. In 2002 PG&E pipline company entered the property and graded the access road without permission. (They have an easement.) Subsequent to my complaints to the Public Utility Commission, PG&E paid for revegation of the access road. We used a local contractor with experience on the area's wind farms to scarify, sow seed by hand, spread straw, and then track the straw into the soil surface with the cleats of a caterpillar tractor. We used a revegation mix that included a sterile barley for a quick cover. The barley grew rapidly and by summer was a fire hazard. We recalled the contractor and cut the barley with string trimmers to about 6-inches (3 cm) height. This technique has worked well. Some native bunch grasses from the seed mix as well as some non-native grasses have become established on the access road as have rabbitbrush from the road border. This page will be updated as time permits. --Paul Gipe FlowersThere is a profusion of wildflowers at the Wulf Field beginning in March and lasting through June. Below are some that we have catalogued. 
PlantsBelow are some of the herbaceious plants found on the site. The Fremont cottonwoods were planted from cuttings. The deer brush was part our our revegation seed mix. Goldenbush occurs naturally and occupies the same niche as rabittbrush. 
RevegetationBelow are recent photos of plants resulting from our erosion control and revetation efforts. These photos also show the two types of erosion control mats: jute netting, and manufactured blanket. We have also used a coir log. 
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