10 March 2009 - 15:46, Tinman said:
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Now that the SFPUC seismic retrofit is nearly complete and nothing major has gone wrong yet, it’s possible to begin to attend to the one benefit to Mt D that resulted from the work: a new, wide cleared space along the northern pipeline route. This space constitutes a Maginot Line between the invaded areas within the old Sutro tree plantation on the west and the rich scrub/grassland regions on the east — with only the relatively narrow strip of remaining trees still in the “good” section.

We previously had spent a lot of effort trying to create such a line to limit the encroachment of English ivy, blackberry, and particularly cape ivy — the nastiest and most aggressive of the invasives on Mt D. This new cleared space provides a much wider and more absolute barrier protecting the important areas. The space is growing nicely with blue wild rye (Elymus glaucus) planted by Natural Areas Program staff after the trench was filled back in.

However, there are pockets of invasives on the “good” side of the line, and this month we attacked and removed one of the worst — an ugly patch of cape ivy:

Here you can see the cape ivy winding through the elderberry bushes and California blackberry, along with our valiant volunteers and staff busily removing it.

We then moved to the grasslands on the NE Slope where some of the most complex, rich collections of wildflowers are. This shot shows us removing English plantain and hairy dandelion from the outstanding displays of lomatium, checkerbloom, buttercups, and footsteps of spring:

The rains over the past month have really accelerated the wildflower displays, which are spectacular right now on Mt D and are not to be missed! Here are…

Johnny jumpups:

Lupine:

Footsteps of spring:

Over the next several months, the wildflower palette will evolve as these diminish and new species come to the fore. Don’t miss the spectacle!

Comments

2009-04-03 21:44:40 -0700, Daphne said:

I like the photos—they helped me identify those Johnny Jump-ups and the footsteps of spring. There are some large patches of what I believe are narrow-leaved mule ears on the SE slope—and lots of oxalis that needs to be pulled!

2009-04-03 21:55:22 -0700, Tinman said:

Unfortunately, pulling oxalis just seems to make it mad. Herbicide is really the only way to eliminate oxalis. This has been tried in certain patches with considerable success, but the Natural Areas Program staff lack the necessary budget and resources to handle the problem, which is extensive as you correctly note.

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08 February 2009 - 12:47, Tinman said:
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This month we took on a troublesome patch of cape ivy near the La Bica and Myra entrance. Cape ivy is a particularly noisome adversary because it grows exceptionally quickly and it regrows from the tiniest fragment of stem or root left behind. This patch lies above the main trail into the park and below the most critical grassland areas below the Levi Site — so extirpating this nasty nest is crucial.

Here our valiant group fans upward into the patch, grubbing out the cape ivy as we went:

Fortunately our regular band of volunteers was augmented by a sizable group of students from the Stewart Hall High School. The kids worked hard and successfully. At the end of the day, we had completely removed all visible traces.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to patrol this patch regularly, as there is no way we could avoid leaving a fair bit of root behind — which will spring quickly back up. Still, substantial progress was made in protecting the vital areas further up the hill.

Comments

2009-02-11 18:54:14 -0800, rcbakewell said:

I look forward to visiting Mt. Davidson soon. This place features significant habitat for migrating birds and rare native plants.
ROB B

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