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Invasive plant removed near Russian River
Circuit Rider, landowners target arundo plant
By George Snyder, Staff Writer
Just down stream from the Highway 128 bridge, a feisty 100-horse power machine was working hard last week to get rid of a giant patch of a fast-growing reed cultivated for thousands of years in Mediterranean Europe and the Middle East for the good things it provides.
The work, taking place on a 56-acre patch of riverside land owned by Syar Industries, is an experiment being spearheaded by the Windsor-based Circuit Rider Productions using mechanical means to get rid of the plant, Arundo donax, for the bad things it does here, like outgrowing native vegetation, destroying riparian habitat and sucking up lots of scarce water.
“We think it's going well,” said Rocky Thompson, restoration planner with Circuit Rider. “We are very happy with what seems to be happening.”
What was happening was the mower - commercially known as a Fecon Brush Hog mounted on a “bobcat” tractor - was wading into thick, 10-foot stands of the reeds, chewing them up and turning them into mulch to be left on the gravelly river bank to die and dry.
A subsequent cutting and replanting with native vegetation by Circuit Rider will hopefully return the riverbank into at least some of the rich habitat that used to be there.
The mechanical equipment was being run by a three-man crew from the Sacramento office of Pestmaster Services, which honed its arundo removal in the Los Angeles area in major anti-invasive weed campaigns there, according to Dirk Ungersma, Pestmaster operations manager.
“We think this will take about two days,” he said of the removal, adding that the machine, one of the firm's smaller but more maneuverable pieces of equipment, was able to spare native trees while grinding away the invasive weed smothering them.
“We've had lots of practice at this,” he said.
Arundo donax, which is still used as an ornamental plant in many places because of its bamboo-like quality and it's use in the manufacture of woodwind reeds such as the oboe, bassoon, clarinet and saxophone, can produce some 25 tons of high quality fiber that can be used for bio-fuel and other uses.
In the wild, Arundo, which spreads by means of underground rhizomes, is more destructive than useful and is hard to get rid of.
“Some five thousand acres of Russian River Basin is infested with arundo,” said Noelle Johnson, who is conducting Circuit Rider's arundo outreach program. “We've already cleared out about a thousand acres while working on the tributaries. This is our first push on the main stem of the Russian.”
She said the current arundo removal operation is the culmination of more than a decade's worth of study and planning for the removal of the plant, found in the Russian River watershed from Redwood Valley in Mendocino County down to its mouth at Jenner.
“We started out at the top of the watershed, Redwood Valley, back in 2003. The plant spreads by breaking off bits of root during flood times and dispersing downstream,” said Johnson. “By starting at the top there is less chance of reinfestation once the plant has been removed.”
She said funding for the project has come from the California Coastal Conservancy, the California Department of Fish and Game, the California Wildlife Conservation Board, the Sonoma County Water Agency.
Saying that handclearing arunda has cost about $3,000 per infected acre, Johnson could not say what the final bill might be if and when arundo is largely eradicated from the Russian River system.
“There's no way to get a handle on that,” she said, “this is an on-going operation.”
The project is also being conducted in cooperation with the Mendocino Resource Conservation District, the Sotoyome Resource Conservation District and local landowners including members of the Russian River Property Owners Association.
Arundo, commonly called Spanish cane, Carrizo cane, giant cane and just arundo, was first introduced from the Mediterranean to California in the 1820's for roofing material and erosion control in Los Angeles area drainage canals.
Later, because of plantings as an ornamental and because of its use in musical instruments, the plant has spread throughout warm coastal freshwater throughout the country.
Arundo outgrows native vegetation and provides very little in the way of food or nesting habitats for native wildlife. It also competes for water with native plants such as willows and in a region of growing water scarcity, especially for the miles of vineyards depending upon Russian River Basin water for irrigation, with grape growing.
In addition, the dense stands of arundo also present a continuing fire danger because of the dead leaves and other material to be found there.
Almost as important as the removal of the invasive plant itself is the spirit of cooperation between agencies and landowners along the river, 95 percent of which is privately controlled.
Without access to infested areas on private property, said Thompson, it would be impossible to fully eradicate the invasive reed, a sentiment seconded by Rand Dericco, vineyard manager for Syar.
“I'm in favor of this and Syar is in the catalyst here because this is a good spot to begin,” said Dericco. “It's important to get landowner involvement, because if everyone isn't involved it just won't work.”
Jim Syar, meanwhile, said his part in the effort was to accomplish two goals. “We own about 13 miles along the river and we are interested in seeing the community and the environment benefit from something like this.”
Al Cadd, president of the Russian River Property Owners Association, a group which guards private property rights, said his group joined in the effort because it benefits property owners.
“We decided to join in and encourage local property owners to do the same,” he said. “This is good for everyone.”
The work, taking place on a 56-acre patch of riverside land owned by Syar Industries, is an experiment being spearheaded by the Windsor-based Circuit Rider Productions using mechanical means to get rid of the plant, Arundo donax, for the bad things it does here, like outgrowing native vegetation, destroying riparian habitat and sucking up lots of scarce water.
“We think it's going well,” said Rocky Thompson, restoration planner with Circuit Rider. “We are very happy with what seems to be happening.”
What was happening was the mower - commercially known as a Fecon Brush Hog mounted on a “bobcat” tractor - was wading into thick, 10-foot stands of the reeds, chewing them up and turning them into mulch to be left on the gravelly river bank to die and dry.
A subsequent cutting and replanting with native vegetation by Circuit Rider will hopefully return the riverbank into at least some of the rich habitat that used to be there.
The mechanical equipment was being run by a three-man crew from the Sacramento office of Pestmaster Services, which honed its arundo removal in the Los Angeles area in major anti-invasive weed campaigns there, according to Dirk Ungersma, Pestmaster operations manager.
“We think this will take about two days,” he said of the removal, adding that the machine, one of the firm's smaller but more maneuverable pieces of equipment, was able to spare native trees while grinding away the invasive weed smothering them.
“We've had lots of practice at this,” he said.
Arundo donax, which is still used as an ornamental plant in many places because of its bamboo-like quality and it's use in the manufacture of woodwind reeds such as the oboe, bassoon, clarinet and saxophone, can produce some 25 tons of high quality fiber that can be used for bio-fuel and other uses.
In the wild, Arundo, which spreads by means of underground rhizomes, is more destructive than useful and is hard to get rid of.
“Some five thousand acres of Russian River Basin is infested with arundo,” said Noelle Johnson, who is conducting Circuit Rider's arundo outreach program. “We've already cleared out about a thousand acres while working on the tributaries. This is our first push on the main stem of the Russian.”
She said the current arundo removal operation is the culmination of more than a decade's worth of study and planning for the removal of the plant, found in the Russian River watershed from Redwood Valley in Mendocino County down to its mouth at Jenner.
“We started out at the top of the watershed, Redwood Valley, back in 2003. The plant spreads by breaking off bits of root during flood times and dispersing downstream,” said Johnson. “By starting at the top there is less chance of reinfestation once the plant has been removed.”
She said funding for the project has come from the California Coastal Conservancy, the California Department of Fish and Game, the California Wildlife Conservation Board, the Sonoma County Water Agency.
Saying that handclearing arunda has cost about $3,000 per infected acre, Johnson could not say what the final bill might be if and when arundo is largely eradicated from the Russian River system.
“There's no way to get a handle on that,” she said, “this is an on-going operation.”
The project is also being conducted in cooperation with the Mendocino Resource Conservation District, the Sotoyome Resource Conservation District and local landowners including members of the Russian River Property Owners Association.
Arundo, commonly called Spanish cane, Carrizo cane, giant cane and just arundo, was first introduced from the Mediterranean to California in the 1820's for roofing material and erosion control in Los Angeles area drainage canals.
Later, because of plantings as an ornamental and because of its use in musical instruments, the plant has spread throughout warm coastal freshwater throughout the country.
Arundo outgrows native vegetation and provides very little in the way of food or nesting habitats for native wildlife. It also competes for water with native plants such as willows and in a region of growing water scarcity, especially for the miles of vineyards depending upon Russian River Basin water for irrigation, with grape growing.
In addition, the dense stands of arundo also present a continuing fire danger because of the dead leaves and other material to be found there.
Almost as important as the removal of the invasive plant itself is the spirit of cooperation between agencies and landowners along the river, 95 percent of which is privately controlled.
Without access to infested areas on private property, said Thompson, it would be impossible to fully eradicate the invasive reed, a sentiment seconded by Rand Dericco, vineyard manager for Syar.
“I'm in favor of this and Syar is in the catalyst here because this is a good spot to begin,” said Dericco. “It's important to get landowner involvement, because if everyone isn't involved it just won't work.”
Jim Syar, meanwhile, said his part in the effort was to accomplish two goals. “We own about 13 miles along the river and we are interested in seeing the community and the environment benefit from something like this.”
Al Cadd, president of the Russian River Property Owners Association, a group which guards private property rights, said his group joined in the effort because it benefits property owners.
“We decided to join in and encourage local property owners to do the same,” he said. “This is good for everyone.”
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