June | 2021 | Sonoma Overlook Trail • Montini Open Space Preserve

You guessed it, yet another invasive species post. You can check out right now if this doesn’t appeal. I would be the last person to fault you for it. For those of us who do it, we recognize it as the obsession that it is. We don’t expect anyone else to be so afflicted Like, EVER.

If you’re still here, this is what’s happening. I’m laser-focused on pulling all of the Yellow Starthistle I can possibly find, as it is blooming now, and racing into seed. And yet we have a window of opportunity to make a serious dent in it this season. We are down to just some areas along Norrbom Road, and after hitting it hard last year, the impact is very evident. I’m finding much less than last year in these areas.

This affords us the opportunity, for the first time ever, of potentially pulling every single plant we see.

That’s why I’m fired up, and going out there every day I can, and pulling every single plant that I can, no matter how small. Because that’s how you reach your goal. Because that’s what it takes to completely eradicate an invasive species from 200 acres of public lands.

If you can’t do what’s required to come in hot, then you have no business taking this on in the first place. Just trust me on that.

Recently we were gifted with a scientific report, “Tree Communities in the Montini Open Space Preserve,” by Greg Perrier, a retired biology professor. In this report, he thoroughly reports on the variety of tree communities on the Perserve, thus greatly expanding our knowledge of this important local ecosystem.

As Professor Perrier writes:

There is little in the literature about the geology, soils, tree communities and grasslands at Montini. For example, the USDA soils map (USDA,1972) shows the hills above the valley plain in Montini as one soil type (the goulding-toomes series), when at least five soils types can be identified there. Vegetation maps for this area (SCAPOSD, 2011) combine oak communities into one type (hardwoods), when at least three oak communities can be identified in Montini. A review of the literature shows the dynamics of these communities is complex and poorly understood. The low resolution of existing data limits the ability to effectively manage this landscape to sustain these plant communities and the values derived from them.

The purpose of this study is twofold. First, to fill in some of the gaps in our understanding of the ecology of Montini to allow for better management of the preserve. And second, to provide baseline data for monitoring changes in the vegetation at Montini over time.

In his report, he identifies three distinct tree communities:

The tree communities are the blue oak – California buckeye woodland, the blue oak – California bay laurel woodland, and the coast live oak – California bay laurel forest.

His accompanying data provides a key snapshot of this ecosystem that future researchers can build upon as essential “benchmark” data. Thank you, Professor Perrier!