Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration

Ventura marsh milk-vetch (Astragalus pycnostachyus var. lanosissimus) is a federally endangered plant in the pea family and adapted to sites generally characterized by sandy soils and an available sub-terranean water source for most of the year. With its annual dieback in the winter, it appears to be adapted to winter disturbance and flooding followed by resprouting and new seedling germination in the spring. The specific cues for seedling germination have not proved to be consistent in the field where wet years may not trigger as much germination as dryyears and flooded conditions may trigger more germination than less disturbed sites.Since Ventura marsh milk-vetch (milk-vetch, hereafter) was rediscovered in Oxnard in1997 plants have been planted and monitored on Coal Oil Point Reserve on the NW portion ofDevereux Slough and around the Dune Pond. After initial vigor, both populations were lost due,it appeared, to colonization of open sites by willows and ruderal natives or lost due to drought orflooding. Based on the success of milk-vetch on the sandy site on North Campus Open Space,the Cheadle Center proposed that a more comprehensive study designed to explore otherpotential outplanting sites on Coal Oil Point Reserve and adjacent to the campus lagoon in aback-dune swale at East Depression. With funding from USFWS Ventura Field Office, in the fallof 2022 and winter of 2023 sites were identified, index wells were established and seeds werespread in sandy sites that appeared to be potentially suitable.