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April 2013
PARKS & PARTNERS
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Broom in bloom... an evergrowing problem
Would you want to drive a fire engine or evacuate on the road you see above if it was burning in a wildfire? Like many roads, this one is packed with broom on either side. In this case, it's French broom, the most widespread of 4 invasive broom species found in the U.S., California, and the S.F. Bay Area in particular:
...similar issues, but not to be confused with:
Broom species tend to colonize disturbed areas which makes roadsides a perfect habitat for them. Other places they might easily get established are where there has been a fire, flood, landslide or grazing. Once established, they produce an abundance of long lasting seed which builds up in the soil and creates a persistent ecological problem which can take many years and many dollars to deal with. When broom invades fire roads it becomes a public safety problem as well. More...
TOP BANNER PHOTO: Alta Avenue / Alta Fire Road fuel reduction project in Golden Gate NRA near Marin City showing condition in 2001, prior to treatment.
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What can be done about it?
Broom species are very successful along the Pacific Coast because they are adapted to a similar Mediterranean climate with wet winters and dry summers, yet here in North America, they are far away from their natural competitors. A wide variety of techniques are used to control broom infestations. Most situations require the use of several techniques in an integrated approach which combines the results of different methods to achieve the goal of protecting native ecosystems.
The following examples summarize the treatment options:
MANUAL - Pull it.  Students from Terra Linda High School in San Rafael help pull French broom with weed wrenches near Phoenix Lake.
Pulling broom, whether by hand or with weed wrenches, is the simplest way to get rid of it. Just about anyone can do it, so it creates a great opportunity for volunteers who want to get involved in restoration. For instance, juniors and seniors from Terra Linda High School kicked off the field trip season by joining Marin Municipal Water District staff for a visit to the Mount Tamalpais Watershed in the fall of 2009. After a talk about water conservation, water supply and distribution, and the importance of local rainfall for drinking water, the group was divided to do activities. Half of the group focused on pulling broom plants (which at the time had infested over 1,000 acres of watershed lands), while the other half collected data to track changes in broom spread over time, and learn about the overall distribution of plants in the watershed. More...
MECHANICAL - Cut it. Chip it.
 Work crew chipping French broom on Alta Fire Road near Marin City in Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Between December 2001 and April 2002, approximately 1.5 acres of broom, consisting of about 25,000 plants, were removed from the Alta Fire Road using a combination of pulling, cutting and chipping. This was the first phase of the Alta Avenue Fuel Reduction Project and chipping was critical at this stage because the plants were older and very large. After the final year of removing the "old growth broom" from this site in 2003, new seedlings began to emerge from the seedbank. It took several years for these new plants to flower, but by the 2006 field season, aggressive follow-up removal was needed again, due to the abundance of new plants produced from the extensive seedbank that had developed prior to the project. By 2008, the annual removal effort leveled off and still continues at approximately 50,000 broom plants per year with an annual cost of approximately $6K. Any broom removal project involving a well established population with a well established seedbank will be a long term project . "It's important for managers to realize that the follow up needs associated with broom removal projects may continue well past 10 years," says Christina Crooker, project manager at the Alta Ave. site for Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.
CHEMICAL - Spray it. Paint it.
 
Use of herbicide to control Scotch broom at Point Reyes National Seashore. Seedlings that sprouted after burning were sprayed while the stumps of larger plants were painted after cutting.
Herbicide is used as a control technique for broom either by targeting plants with a backpack sprayer or painting it around the edge of stumps to target the growth tissue (called the cambium layer) which kills the plant. The use of herbicide is carefully controlled through an Integrated Pest Management Program which limits how much is used and where it can be used in order to minimize any negative impacts. Prescribed fire can kill broom plants as well, but also stimulates new seedlings to sprout from the seedbank. Backpack spraying was used at Point Reyes National Seashore in 2011, in the year after burning to eliminate vast numbers of post-fire seedlings before they had a chance to produce any new seed. Larger broom plants were cut and left to dry out before burning. The outer edge of the stumps were treated with herbicide after cutting to prevent the broom from resprouting at the base.
PRESCRIBED FIRE - Burn it.
 Estero Prescribed Fire in 2010 at Point Reyes National Seashore to burn Scotch broom after it was cut and left to dry out.
Fire has been used in combination with mowing, cutting and pulling to control Scotch broom in the Estero since 1993. The goal of the prescribed fire in 2010 was to reduce the densest part of the infestation in the Estero area which is threatening a large part of the park. The vegetation that was burned was grassland mixed with coastal scrub and Scotch broom. The broom was cut and allowed to dry out out prior to burning. Monitoring has shown that after a series of 5 multi-method treatments, the broom population was significantly reduced. The Scotch broom infestation at Point Reyes National Seashore threatens both the quality of the rangeland in the pastoral zone and the native ecosystem, including 15 rare plant species and several animal species of concern.
BIOLOGICAL - Eat it. Infect it. *
Goats grazing on Scotch broom to manage an infestation in Vernonia, Oregon. Photo by Michal Thompson, The Hillsboro Argus.
Originally published June 23, 2010, in the "Goat guy..." article by Kathy Fuller.
Insects and fungal pathogens that destroy plants can provide a biological control strategy if they are very specific to broom. Three insects have been purposely introduced for control of Scotch broom, including the Scotch broom bruchid ( Bruchidius villosus) which also attacks French, Spanish and Portugese broom. For more information on this insect, its distribution, and effects see:
Coombs, E. M.; Markin, G. P.; Forrest, T. G. 2004. Scotch broom. In: Coombs, Eric M.; Clark, Janet K.; Piper, Gary L.; Cofrancesco, Alfred F., Jr., eds. Biological control of invasive plants in the United States. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press: 160-161. Goats have also been used successfully to remove broom and other weeds, however, they are not at all specific in their diets, and require a lot of extra management to ensure they don't eat all of the native plants too.
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Bay Area Headlines Over 30 utility pole fires reported Thursday (San Benito News, April 12, 2013) Marin Grand Jury Endorses Herbicides to Reduce Fire Risk on Mount Tamalpais (Marin Independent Journal, March 25, 2013) Marin County Grand Jury Report - "Marin on Fire Redux" (County of Marin, March 19, 2013) Grant Awards Announced by California Fire Safe Council (CA Fire Safe Council, 2013) For a national perspective, see also: The Who, What, Where, and Why of Letting it Burn (High Country News, April 15, 2013) |
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Upcoming Events
MAY 29 - REQUEST FOR NEW APPLICATIONS / CA FIRE SAFE COUNCIL GRANTS CLEARINGHOUSE OPENS - The California Fire Safe Council is accepting applications for wildfire prevention grant funds...Contact the grant manager in your region for details. More...
2013 SUDDEN OAK DEATH TREATMENT WORKSHOPS - 2 hr workshop offered multiple times now through November 2013. Meet outside of Tolman Hall, UC Berkeley. Contact: kpalmieri@berkeley.edu More...
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Defensible Space and California's Public Resources Code 4291 
If you own a home, or any other type of structure in California that is located near open space, you will probably want to be familiar with the part of the public resource code which is often just called "forty- two ninety-one".
Who: A person that owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure in, upon, or adjoining any mountainous area, forest-covered lands, brush-covered lands, grass-covered lands, or any land that is covered with flammable material, shall at all times...
What: (a) Maintain around and adjacent to the building or structure a firebreak made by removing and clearing away, for a distance of not less than 30 feet on each side of the building or structure or to the property line, whichever is nearer, all flammable vegetation or other combustible growth...
(b) Maintain around and adjacent to the building or structure additional fire protection or firebreak made by removing all brush, flammable vegetation, or combustible growth that is located within 100 feet from the building or structure or to the property line or at a greater distance if required by state law, or local ordinance, rule, or regulation...Full text...
Keep in mind that your local community or your insurance company may have stricter requirements. April is a good time (after your taxes are done, of course!) to check the requirements if you aren't sure what they are.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Chapman
Fire Communication and Education Specialist
S.F. Bay Area National Parks
415-464-5133
email
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