Unwanted Guests: Managing Invasive Weeds Along Hat Creek

Invasive species are a major problem for Hat Creek. For our first official week of work, we committed our time to pulling different types of invasive plants. These noxious species can out compete the native plants and begin to take over the area. We hope to clear up areas that contain these invasives, particularly in locations where there will be future planting of native vegetation as part of the Hat Creek restoration project that will be occurring this fall.
Star Thistle is a highly invasive plant and in all the western states, California has the largest infestation of this noxious weed. Because of its abundance around Hat Creek, it is nearly impossible to remove by hand pulling methods. We pulled star thistle in strategic satellite patches around the creek to try and slow its spread. We concentrated our efforts along the trails and roads. This will help hinder its spread into different areas around Hat Creek. Teasel was the next invasive we pulled. There were five major satellite patches where we worked. Since Teasel is a bi-annual plant, which means it takes two years to mature and seed, we focused our efforts on removing the plants that would seed this year. This allows the young plants to grow and then can be removed next year. A few years of this treatment method and the plant can most likely be eradicated from the riparian area surrounding the creek. Poison hemlock and bull thistle are less common invasive plants that we treated along Hat Creek. The hope is that by getting these plants that have not had time to establish large colonies, that we can make it easier to control or eliminate them.
Invasive Species are very detrimental to Hat Creek. They are able to out compete and overtake an area. Our goal this week was to help slow or stop the spread of these plants to prepare the area for the large scale planting that will be occurring in the fall. By eliminating the invasives, the native plants will have less competition and will have a larger chance of establishing themselves once they are planted. These efforts will greatly help the overall restoration project on Hat Creek.