Category Archives: Invasive Species

An Update on the War

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Filed under Invasive Species, Italian Thistle, Stewardship, Yellow Star Thistle

ThistlePirates2Today I went out to assess the invasive Yellow starthistle infestation this year. I’m happy to say that it’s less than last year, but it’s still there. We may still be several years away from complete eradication.

But the really depressing thing to see is that Italian thistle is simply taking its place.

This has me thinking that my strategy needs to be this:

  • Eradicate Yellow starthistle (essentially steady the course on what I’ve already been working on).
  • Control Italian thistle in specific areas (trailside and on the Upper Meadow of the Sonoma Overlook Trail).
  • Clone myself. I’ve already signed up Dan Noreen to join “Thistle Pirates” (see graphic) and I hope to sign up others as well. If you wish to join, let me know. You get a free t-shirt, but be careful, as it can come with an obsession.

If you wish to join us, let me know! People along the trail are very appreciative of this work.

The Third Wave

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Filed under Invasive Species, Italian Thistle, Winter

IMG-2727I’ve been pulling Italian thistle (an invasive monster) since mid-November. It’s now mid-March and we still have very young plants coming in (see pic, gloved finger for scale). Today, I decided to call it the “third wave” but I have no idea if it comes in waves at all, or just constantly. Or if it comes in waves, how many can we expect? Five? Ten?

All I know is that it will continue to come in for quite some time, and I need to keep an eye out for these little guys probably well into May. Part of the reason may be the very wet winter we are having, as none of the thistle is bolting yet but the plants, in some cases, are becoming very large. This presages a massive stalk, which will mean more bulk to deal with when we need to begin bagging the thistle and carrying it out.

Also, the rain is preventing me from using 30 percent vinegar to battle big patches, since I need sun to follow spraying, not rain that will wash it off. So far we haven’t many stretches of dry weather.

Sorry to be a Debby Downer, but these are just some of the challenges we face when attempting to control invasive thistle on these lands.

Look who’s hiking and working on the trail

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Filed under Hiking, Invasive Species, Stewardship

Every Wednesday morning at 8:30 a group of hikers gather to hike the Overlook.

Up (30 minutes), then the Top (catch breath and take photo) and then down (30 minutes). Here’s a few photos from the top by the bench from this past year of Wednesday hikes.

And look who we bump into on the trail nearly every week. Hint–he’s going from rock removal to invasive removal –see his blog posts!

Join us at the Trailhead kiosk on Wednesdays. . . the hike is open to the public. Good way to start the day. . . and enjoy the view from the top!

The Game is Afoot

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Filed under Fall, Invasive Species, Italian Thistle, Plant Life

Picture of an Italian thistle plant.

A young Italian thistle.

I know what all five of you who read this blog are thinking: “Oh no, not again!” you’re groaning. And I don’t blame you.

Yet again I’m blogging about invasive species management on the Overlook and Montini properties, as I have for years. But as you might imagine, there’s a reason for that, and it’s because we’re in a decades-long fight that we may never win.  So buckle up, buttercup, here we go again!

I first sighted Italian thistle popping up in early November. Certainly by November 8, two days earlier than last year, I noticed more than one patch of it. Therefore, today I went out on the Montini Preserve and pulled not only the one pictured plant (the largest one I found today), but also many other, much smaller plants. The game is definitely already afoot, thanks to some early rains.

So far I’ve been unable to tell if our previous work has made much of an impact on the problem. My instinct is that we haven’t yet, that we still have a ways to go to seriously reduce the seed bank present in the soil. There seem to be plenty of plants along the trail on the Montini, which is where I’ve focused much of my attention, so there doesn’t seem to be much progress there. Yet.

But if there’s one thing I know, it’s that invasive species management is a long game. And few people know what the long game takes better than I do, I submit. So once again I saddle up, and enter the fray. I’ll see you out there.

And So it Begins…

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Filed under Invasive Species, Italian Thistle, Plant Life, Seasons, Stewardship, Winter

IMG-1011Today I realized that the invasive species removal season had started — earlier than it ever has during my tenure. The earliest I had started removing Italian thistle from the Sonoma Overlook and Montini Preserve properties had been in December. But now, with our early rains this season, the thistle has already started coming in (see pic).  This essentially cuts my “down time” from four months to three, meaning the thistle removal season is going to be nine months long this year. Ouch!

One nice thing, though, is that I will have a three-week “vacation” in May, when I put in on the Colorado River rowing an 18-foot raft for 17 days. Since I just recently got off a 19-day trip doing the same thing, call me one lucky guy!

But mostly I’ll be out there, day in and day out, pulling these plants so that we can eventually eradicate them, as we almost have with the Yellow starthistle.