Restoring natural habitat is an important part of the practical work undertaken by The Nature Conservancy. The field of restoration science is young, and its practitioners, both in the universities and in the field, are still searching for the best, most cost-efficient ways of returning damaged ecosystems to health. Given the limited funds available for conservation and the magnitude of the work to be done, cost efficiency is crucial if habitat restoration is to succeed. Among the problems that face restoration specialists are selecting the most promising sites and choosing the appropriate techniques for each site. The Nature Conservancy of California proposes to use seismographic technology to help solve those two problems.

The StrataView seismograph, manufactured by Geometrics, Inc., uses both refracted and reflected sound waves to produce images of underground strata to depths of 500 feet or more. This technology has never been used in ecosystem restoration, but its worth has been demonstrated in the fields of geophysics, archaeology, and paleontology. The images it produces would allow scientists to reconstruct a given area's geological history and to map present underground features such as ancient, buried stream channels or layers of hardpan impermeable to plant roots. With this information in hand, restoration specialists could select sites whose combined soil, subsurface, and water conditions offer the best chances of successful, cost-efficient restoration projects. They could also choose the restoration goals and techniques best suited to the sites.

The Nature Conservancy of California and University of California at Davis are appling this innovative technology to a potentially pathbreaking riparian-tidal wetlands restoration project. The Conservancy has considerable experience with riparian restoration in its Cosumnes River, Lassen Foothills, and Sacramento River Projects. The pilot project is on its recently-acquired McCormack-Williamson tract, a 1,600-acre leveed island in the Delta within our Cosumnes River Project Area. This site has many advantages, some of which are noted below.

Here, the technology is being used not only to help pick the best restoration sites and techniques, but also to foster development of appropriate wetland channels when tides and floodwaters are allowed to once again access the island. If this application of the technology proves successful, there are already networks in place through which we can report the lessons we learn to habitat restoration projects throughout the country, the Conservancy's nationwide Freshwater Initiative, and our allied public agencies and private organizations across the United States and abroad.