The Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District has been working to restore degraded habitat since 1993. The RCRCD conducts on-the-land rehabilitation by removing invasive species and reestablishing natural landscapes to native species.
The RCRCD helped restore portions of Sycamore Canyon, the Fairmount Park "wilderness", Castle View stream, the Alessandro Arroyo, Mockingbird and Temescal Canyons, the Santa Ana River at River Road in Norco, and Golden Star Creek.
In riparian areas (along a waterway) the RCRCD cuts, sprays herbicide, and monitors re-growth of Arundo donax, commonly called giant reed. This invasive member of the grass family can grow to over 30 feet in height and can consume up to 5 acre-feet of water each year. It grows so densley that it degrades habitat for birds and animals. Additionally, Arundo can grow up to a foot per week, creating a serious fire hazard.
After cutting the top growth off the plant, all re-growth is sprayed with a biodegradable herbicide (specially approved for use in waterways). The glyphosate salt herbicide stops the movement of water in the plant, "drying" it up. Three to five years of quarterly spraying is needed to completely kill the root structure.
Santa
Ana Watershed Association of Resource
Conservation Districts (SAWA)
The RCRCD cooperates in a larger effort to restore the health of the Santa Ana Watershed. That effort is being conducted by SAWA, the Santa Ana Watershed Association of Resource Conservation Districts. SAWA field biologists monitor populations of the endangered Least Bell's Vireo and other rare birds, such as the Yellow Billed Cuckoo. Biologists trap and remove invasive species, such as the Brown-headed Cowbird, considered a 'nest parasite" because it lays its eggs in the nests of other birds.
For more information about restoring habitat in the Santa Ana Watershed, please visit the SAWA website at www.sawatershed.org/.
