The old growth forest area of Big Basin, near the old HQ site, has experienced many changes from the 2020 fires. One of the most obvious this summer being the encroachment of invasive plants along the Redwood Loop Trail. Prior to the fire this area was heavily shaded by the tree canopy and there was over a foot of organic material on the ground and that combination of shade and mulch made it difficult for non-native plants to get a foothold. But no more.
This summer several non-native plants have developed in wide swaths along the Redwood Loop including the Bull thistle, which is now flowering and starting to release seeds. The crew isn’t noted for our weeding skills and only did it once in he past. More thistle seed will only increase the problem in future years. So for the August 6th workday, the Trail Crew switched gears from the usual burn pile work to help the resource management group remove as much thistle as possible.
It will require a multiple year effort as the number of thistle seeds are gradually reduced, as plants are removed, and the organic material on the forest floor increases making it more difficult for seeds to germinate, so this was only a beginning.
The work itself was straightforward with the relatively soft soil making it easy to pull the plant even by hand. The most difficult part was avoiding the numerous thistles that could even penetrate leather gloves.
After removing the plant, any flowering seed heads were cut or pulled off, bagged for removal from the park, and the remainder of the plant was tossed on nearby burn piles. By the end of the day we had cleared numerous thistle choked areas and filled six large plastic bags with seed heads that would not have a chance to disperse their seeds.
Although not a typical type of Trail Crew work, every thistle removed now is a big step in reducing future spread. As one Trail Crew person said, 'It was the biggest help the Crew could provide the park right now and it would be heartbreaking to see the Redwood Loop overwhelmed with invasives for years to come'.
The crew put in 182 hours and thanks to Arnold Arcolio, Daryn Bieri, Nan Bowman, Alison Breeze, Jim Brooks, Rory Brooks, Michele Gelblum, Mimi Guiney, Steve Guiney, Elana Guiney, Rebecca Guiney, Josh Hill, Tommy Ha, Charles Jalgunas, Matt Kelsey, Janette Mello, Sean Miller, Mike Peasland, Dale Petersen, Bruce Washburn, Daniel Zichuhr, newcomers Julie Charles, Kasper Smits, Mike Stiehr, and Jennifer Mo, with the expertise of an invasive plant specialist from the Santa Clara Valley Water District who was recruited for the day for this important work.
Redwoods recovering and a couple of the 3 generation Guiney crew.
by Mike and Jeff
photos by Bruce, Daryn, Julie, Mike, and Mimi
Postscript by Bruce: I visited Big Basin a couple of days after the workday and hiked the Dool Trail. I saw in a pop-up Visitor Center this display about Burn Piles. I guess given how numerous and notable the piles are, the park rangers get many questions about them. I thought they selected some BBVTC-grade high-quality burn piles in the photos.