Arundo and Tamarisk Control

Arundo has overtaken the Salinas RiverThe RCD of Monterey County is working with landowners, farmers, the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s office, and other stakeholders to implement the Salinas River Invasive Non-Native Plant Control and Restoration Program, with a goal of eradicating Arundo donax (arundo) along 90 infested river miles and preventing further spread of invasive Tamarix sp. (tamarisk).

BACKGROUND

Arundo is a non-native bamboo-like plant that forms dense stands that can grow over 30 ft tall. It crowds out native vegetation, degrades wildlife habitat, consumes large amounts of water, increases the risk of flooding to adjacent farm fields and cities, and poses a fire hazard. Tamarisk is a non-native woody plant that has come to dominate many river systems in the arid southwest.

In 2011, the California Invasive Plant Council determined that the Salinas River watershed had the second-largest infestation of arundo in California (apx. 1,500 acres). The largest stands occurred from Greenfield to Gonzales, but arundo can be found along the entire river. Tamarisk is also scattered throughout the watershed and is continuing to spread. 

The Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s office, with support from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, sprayed scattered patches of arundo between King City and the Monterey/San Luis Obispo county line between 2008 and 2009, but a large-scale, coordinated approach along the entire river was needed to work towards eradication.

Beginning in 2009 with support from the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner, the RCD worked with Jason Giessow of Dendra, Inc. to develop the Salinas River Invasive Plant Control and Restoration Program. In 2011-2014, the RCD secured all necessary permits to conduct invasive plant control along the length of the Salinas River in Monterey County. The RCD of Monterey County is working with the Upper Salinas-Las Tablas RCD to ensure that scattered populations of arundo and tamarisk are controlled in the upper Salinas River watershed in San Luis Obispo County, so that re-infestation of treated areas downstream does not occur.

FUNDING

The RCD has received funding from local, state, and federal sources to support our program:

• 2014-2019: $1.1 million from the California Wildlife Conservation Board Habitat Conservation Fund
• 2016-2021: $3.4 million from the California Wildlife Conservation Board through their Stream Flow Enhancement Program funded by Proposition 1
• 2018-2023: $1.8 million from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program
• 2019-2023: $2.9 million from the California Wildlife Conservation Board through their Stream Flow Enhancement Program funded by Proposition 1
• 2019-2020: $60,000 from the California Department of Food and Agriculture through their Noxious Weed Grant Program
• 2014-2020: Over $400,000 from the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office in direct financial contributions and in-kind technical support
• 2019-2023: $150,000 from private farm companies and the City of Soledad in cost-share agreements  

METHODS

Treatment of large arundo stands on the Salinas River typically begins with mowing in the fall, which reduces standing biomass and causes a flush of regrowth from the underground rhizomes in the spring. Arundo resprouts are then sprayed with herbicides the following summer-fall, and in each subsequent year until no sprouts remain. Smaller, scattered stands are treated with herbicide without prior biomass reduction. Herbicides used consist of wildlife-friendly formulations containing glyphosate or a glyphosate/imazapyr mix approved for use near water.

MONITORING

All work areas are surveyed by wildlife biologists prior to treatment. Areas where special status species or their habitats are found are avoided. Biological monitors work closely with the contractors conducting the work to ensure there is no “take” of threatened or endangered species. The RCD also takes water samples to ensure the river is not impacted by herbicide drift.

Areas of arundo treatment are mapped in the field as work occurs to track progress and ensure all areas needing treatment are covered. Photopoint monitoring occurs each year before work begins to observe changes in the landscape over time. The RCD also tracks changes in the plant communities in areas where arundo has been controlled, to determine the efficacy of arundo treatments and the progress of natural revegetation.      

In 2019, the RCD began working with partners at California State University Monterey Bay and Pathways for Wildlife to investigate how removing arundo influences bats, invertebrates, and mammals that live in the river corridor.

PROGRESS

By the end of the 2021 work season, approximately 866 acres of arundo had been treated under the RCD’s program. An additional 99 acres of arundo have been treated under the Salinas River Stream Maintenance Program. 

GET INVOLVED

If you are a landowner or grower interested in arundo control on your Salinas River property, contact Emily Zefferman. Funding may be available through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program to help pay for arundo treatment on your land.

Arundo Control Program Photos

Learn more about our Salinas River Invasive Plant Control and Restoration Program by watching this short video, WITHIN REACH: Releasing Arundo's Leafy Grip on the Salinas.

Learn more about the impacts of our work on wildlife movement in the Salinas River by watching this Zoom recording of a presentation on two years of wildlife monitoring data by our partners Pathways for Wildlife.

Partners:

Funding By: