3.15 Develop a Revegetation Plan

The last step in the planning process is to write a revegetation plan which is the blue print for successfully implementing a revegetation project. It contains project objectives, site treatments details, plant species that will be used, and planting methods. This document is referred to during project implementation by contractors, contract inspectors, and road project engineers, as to what will be done and the reasoning behind the action. Managers refer to it for roles and responsibilities, timelines, and budgets and it is often shared with maintenance and operations personnel in case there are special maintenance requirements for that section of road. Because revegetation projects often exceed five years, from start to finish, planning personnel may not be available during or after implementation for consultation or perspective and the revegetation plan may be all the construction engineer, road builder, revegetation contractor, and monitoring personnel may have as background for the project.

Developing a revegetation plan has the added benefit of forcing the designer and the teams the designer works with to think more clearly about the project. In the process of developing a revegetation plan, for instance, subjects that may not have been fully addressed during meetings, are discussed at greater depth resulting in better decisions. Another important aspect of this document is that when a draft plan is sent around to managers, maintenance personnel, engineers, and other teams for review, the comments that are returned to the designer are considered and appropriate changes made to the document. There may be several drafts that are made to a revegetation plan and each draft documents the thinking that went into the plan. Not only does this process record decisions, it creates ownership and understanding of the project by others. It is not uncommon for the best ideas to come from organizing and writing a revegetation plan. So, the revegetation plan is more than a report, it encapsulates the process for how a revegetation project was developed.

There is no size or set format for a revegetation plan but there are elements that may be common to all. These include a summary of the:

• Revegetation objectives and desired future conditions (DFC targets)
• Vegetation, soils, and climate of disturbed and undisturbed sites
• Revegetation unit map and unit description
• limiting factors & site resources
• Site improvement treatments
• Contract specifications
• Species & plant materials table
• Seed sources
• Planting and seeding plans
• Monitoring
• Schedule
• Budget
• Roles and responsibilities
• Maintenance strategy

Chapter 4 gives an example of a revegetation plan that is specific to developing pollinator habitat. Other examples of revegetation plans can be viewed in the Native Revegetation Resource Library by typing "revegplan" into the search field.