Santa Clara Arundo: The Siege Continues
By Doug Morgan, Operations Manager
Autumn in the Heritage Valley of the Santa Clara River, the area upstream of Santa Paula and down stream of Piru, is beautiful this time of year.
The mornings are cool and damp. The afternoon temperatures often dip to near tolerable double-digit levels and the smell of freshly tilled dirt is prevalent on the subtle breeze.
Orderly rows of petite greens, herbs and celery, begin to emerge in the fields, lovers of the cool damp mornings that dry into bright sunny afternoons, the same growing conditions that have been ideal for citrus the last 150 years.
Occasionally we pass a field prepped for a large amount of parking, dotted with straw bales and pumpkins and we think, “I don’t remember seeing pumpkins growing out there.”
And usually I smile remembering the times I was bussed out to the ‘pumpkin fields’ just east of Turnpike Road in Goleta to ‘pick’ my very own ‘farm fresh’ pumpkin.
Autumn is also a good time to eradicate Arundo.
Despite the bucolic beauty of the drive, inside the more active river channel our adversary awaits. Arundo donax, giant reed, is an insidious monster of an invasive species (see past issues for some of Arundo’s history and negative effects).
The fertile and now consistently wet Santa Clara River is prime Arundo habitat and it has grown into impenetrable “monocultures” 30’ tall.
Sprinkled throughout the 200 acre site are a few native species that once the Arundo is removed, we’d like to have remain alive to provide food, forage, cover and nesting sites for several of the endangered and sensitive species that have called this area home since way before the pumpkin patches arrived.
Now that restoration has hacked out some of the invasive species and a few islands of natives remain, other desirable species again are rebounding as a result. The process to eradicate Arundo gets a a bit complicated, but the CIR crews are very experienced in plant eradication techniques and capabilities.
Restoration near to and on this site has been occurring for nearly 25 years and it is evident in the amount of Least Bells Vireo, (LBV, Federally listed as an endangered species) our very experienced bird monitors have identified over the course of this project timeline.
Generally, the nesting season of the LBV’s is between April and October, and no work would be allowed. Not long ago there were estimated to be only a few hundred nesting pairs of LBV left in the world.
Habitat loss and the introduction of the Brown Headed Cowbird have taken their toll (cowbirds lay their eggs in the LBV nest and when the larger cowbirds hatch they kill the LBV chicks and destroy the nest.)
CIR has been selected because of our history, experience and success working in delicate areas alongside sensitive species to remove invasive plants. There are others working on the Cowbirds.
My favorite part of the job is working with experts that have spent a lifetime dedicated to their specific interests.
CIR moves supplies and personnel through the Arundo forest with specialized vehicles.
Crews work each day to remove harmful Arundo.
The Santa Clara River is wet, prime Arundo habitat.
Our Bird Monitors from the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, (WFVZ) are some of the best in the world, and their museum in Camarillo is an amazing collection that is regularly visited by avian researchers from all over the world, and totally worth a visit. It was an honor to work with them on this project.
They worked very closely with us, teaching our team and ensuring that the LBV’s and other species were not disturbed by our presence as we were granted permission to continue our operations during the nesting season. The monitors examined every square meter of the potential work area and located all the nesting sites.
These locations were logged in our data collection app that each crew member carried and physically flagged with 250’ radius buffers of strictly enforced no entry rules. They also helped us identify areas of native diversity that would appeal to the returning LBV’s and others once the Arundo was removed.
They were with us all day, every day, always in sight. We were the “restoration ninjas” stealthily entering and removing threats to the native species all the while preparing for a more aggressive approach once the birds have left the area for the season.
And as of this writing that is where the project is, we have daily crews of up to 20 members hacking trails and sometimes tunnels through the Arundo old growth to allow access for our crews. We have cut miles of temporary trails, roads and ladders, set locations through the Arundo and poison oak and as soon as access is ready, our team enters.
Because of the delicate work we were able to do, the more aggressive processes are moving much faster and much more efficiently than anticipated. Next April when the LBV’s and others again return, I can only imagine them saying to one another…
I love what you have done to this place.
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